Woman calling for justice after cat caught in illegal coyote trap

A cat is recovering Wednesday after it was caught in an illegal coyote trap in Cathedral City. The cat’s caregiver is now calling for justice.

It was a few weeks ago that Teddy, the cat Carol Kamenis takes care of, failed to come home. After several hours she knew something was wrong. That’s when she discovered the coyote trap, with Teddy caught in it.

“I can’t get over the image of when I first saw him there, helpless,” Kamenis said.

Kamenis said she believes he was left behind by his owners. While he’s not her cat, he comes to her every day for food and treats. When he didn’t show up for breakfast or lunch one day, she knew something was wrong.

“Six o’clock comes around and now I’m really panicked,” Kamenis said.

She lives in a community called The Canyon, where she began searching for Teddy. That’s when she found him caught in a trap.

“And I saw a cat, so I ran and I’m calling ‘Teddy, Teddy, Teddy’ and there he was with his right paw caught in this trap,” Kamenis said.

After emergency treatment and $1,350 in vet bills, Carol wants justice for Teddy.

“They said they were going to keep him overnight. Keep him on antibiotics. There were no broken bones, thank God, but there was damage to the soft tissue,” Kamenis said.

While the community’s bylaws state no pets are allowed outside without an owner or leash, Kamenis said that’s beside the point since the traps are illegal.

“From what I understand from the initial investigation, the trap did appear to be an illegal trap. But we’re looking into it carefully,” said Andrew Hughan with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

We stopped by the management office and were told there would be no comment and that the matter has been resolved.

“If a trap is found on a property, it’s found to be illegal, the investigation could be who would bare responsibility and it could be the property manager or the subcontractor,” Hughan said.

Kamenis doesn’t know if the traps are gone, but she’s worried about other animals or even kids.

“What if that was a child that just happened to get out and put his hand or foot into it?” Kamenis said.

For now all she can do is help Teddy recover and hope this doesn’t happen to anyone else.

Originally The Canyon was going to reimburse Kamenis for the vet bill, but after talking to management it said it is not responsible.

Experts said if you see a trap like this stay away from it and call a law enforcement agency or your property management company.