Bellevue cat at center of lawsuit against city, King County

A pet cat in Bellevue is at the center of a lawsuit against the city and King County after its owner claimed animal control officials unfairly targeted the cat, resulting in dozens of infractions, thousands of dollars in fines and months of kitty jail time.

Jon Zimmerman is a Seattle attorney representing the Miska the cat and her owner.

"It's just complete targeted enforcement and we feel that it's egregious and outrageous," Zimmerman says, "There aren't very many cats who are issued infractions and certainly not for trespassing."

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Zimmerman believes the only reason Miska keeps getting in trouble is because a neighbor is the former manager for King County's animal control. Out of the 50 infractions handed out to King County cats in the past decade, more than half were for Miska, he explained.

KIRO 7 asked Zimmerman if Miska is really a menace or if the accusations point to a different problem.

"I think this points to a different problem and that problem is an abuse of power," he said.

After all, he says cats go into neighbors' yards all the time without consequences.

"I've never seen a city or a county so hell bent on going after a poor, defenseless cat."

However, some people in the neighborhood share a different perspective on the cat, who they claim, has been terrorizing the neighborhood. Neighbors say Miska the cat has been terrorizing the community by trespassing, taunting and killing other pets for years.

"It's not a regular cat," says neighbor Erin Shumate, "I have on video the cat actually eating one of the kids' show rabbits."

The video shows Miska beneath a porch with Shumate's deceased pet. She and her daughter claim the cat has killed several rabbits over the years.

"It was devastating and I cried so much," she said.

We spoke with a woman who left an angry note for the cat’s owner. She told KIRO 7, it was not a warning, but a frustrated plea to get the cat’s owner to see the angst she is causing.

Since the lawsuit involves King County officials, authorities in Pierce County will decide Miska's fate. Prior to the lawsuit being filed, officials were trying to determine whether to euthanize the cat or kick it out of the county.

KIRO 7 reached out to the City of Bellevue and King County but the agencies could not comment on pending litigation.

Cox Media Group