NORRISTOWN — A former Pottstown man admitted to an animal neglect charge after authorities said he abandoned his pet cat when he moved from his borough residence to Plymouth Township, resulting in the cat’s starvation and euthanasia.
Jonathan Paul Kidd, 43, formerly of the unit block of Plum Street in Pottstown, pleaded guilty in Montgomery County Court to a misdemeanor charge of neglect of animals in connection with a May 2023 incident.
Judge Thomas P. Rogers, who accepted a plea agreement in the case, sentenced Kidd to one year of probation, the maximum possible supervision for the charge.
“He admitted that he was responsible for the care of his pet cat and that he neglected the cat by failing to provide adequate food and water for it,” said Assistant District Attorney Gabrielle Christine Hughes, explaining the nature of Kidd’s guilty plea.
“Specifically, what happened is he moved out of his apartment in Pottstown and left the cat behind. So, the landlord found the cat that was malnourished and had to be euthanized. Its condition was so poor that the vet needed to euthanize it,” Hughes added.
As a condition of the sentence, Kidd, who most recently lived in the 1700 block of Monterey Drive in Plymouth Meeting, is prohibited from owning or possessing any animals, Hughes said.
“Pet owners are responsible for the care of their animals, and that’s whether they’re moving or no matter what events are going on in their lives. He didn’t stop being responsible for the care of the cat when he left the apartment. He easily could have dropped it off at the SPCA or a shelter and anyone else would have taken care of it. Instead, this cat was left to suffer,” Hughes said.
The investigation began on May 1, 2023, when an animal control officer for the Montgomery County SPCA was dispatched to the Plum Street residence after the property owner reported to police that he found a very sick cat inside the residence after the former tenant moved out, according to a criminal complaint.
The property owner told police he went to the residence on May 1 to conduct renovations when he heard “a moaning noise” and discovered the sickly cat lying on the basement floor of the home and called police.
The animal control officer immediately transported the “gravely ill” domestic short haired cat to the SPCA where a veterinarian determined the cat was emaciated, had shallow respiration and was suffering from numerous ailments that resulted in the cat having to be euthanized. A necropsy on the cat “revealed that starvation and dehydration were the likely causes of the presenting concerns,” according to the criminal complaint.
Authorities said the cat was microchipped and the investigation determined the cat’s name was “Opal” and that she had been adopted, along with a second cat named “Pearl,” by Kidd from a local rescue agency in June 2020, according to court documents. Authorities investigated the incident as a case of animal abandonment.
Police eventually made contact with Kidd who allegedly reported he had been in the process of moving from the Pottstown residence in March 2023, was looking to “rehome” the cat but that he “figured that she had gotten out of the house” through an open door during the moving process. Kidd told police his last day at the residence was on April 1, 2023, according to the criminal complaint filed by Pottstown Police Corporal Todd Istenes.
When police asked Kidd about the whereabouts of the second cat, “Pearl,” Kidd allegedly replied the cat had escaped about three weeks prior to his moving out.
“I asked Jonathan Kidd if he advised his landlord that he couldn’t locate his cat or if he had done anything to look for either of the cats and he stated that he had not,” Istenes alleged. “I asked Jonathan Kidd if he had ever contacted the rescue in which he adopted these cats from and he stated that he did not.”
By pleading guilty to the neglect charge, Kidd admitted that he failed to provide “necessary sustenance and potable water” for the animal to which he had a duty of care.
A charge of cruelty to animals was dismissed against Kidd as part of the plea agreement.
Defense lawyer Edward Joseph Rideout III represented Kidd during the court proceedings.
