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Watch: Police Find Cat Abandoned At Watervliet Park, Owner Charged

A man from the region is facing criminal charges after allegedly abandoning his cat at a park.

Derek Richardson, age 30, is facing charges after allegedly abandoning his cat at Watervliet’s Hudson Shores Park on Wednesday, May 31.

Derek Richardson, age 30, is facing charges after allegedly abandoning his cat at Watervliet’s Hudson Shores Park on Wednesday, May 31.

Photo Credit: Watervliet Police Department

Police in Watervliet were called to Hudson Shores Park on Wednesday, May 31, after someone found the cat inside a crate without food or water.

Video shared by the department on Wednesday, June 14, shows the cat inside the crate, which had been left behind a concrete pillar, “obviously to avoid detection,” police said.

Officers determined that the cat had been left there approximately four hours earlier. At the time, temperatures in the area hovered around 90 degrees.

Investigators eventually tracked down the cat’s owner, 30-year-old Derek Richardson, of Watervliet, according to police.

Richardson was arrested and charged with abandonment of animals, a misdemeanor. He was later released on an appearance ticket.

The cat, which officers named “Mittens,” was turned over to the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society for evaluation. The organization said the animal is “doing well.”

“The shelter will soon be seeking a permanent, loving home for the cat to reside,” police said.

Watch video of the rescue here.

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