Owner convicted: He left indoor cat outside for month

A man who kept his domesticated cat indoors for nine years before turning him loose outside a house he was having built was convicted Tuesday of four counts of animal cruelty in Frederick County District Court.

Gregory Moser, 30, of Middletown , immediately appealed his convictions, which allows him to have his case heard again by a jury in Circuit Court.

After more than three hours of testimony, District Judge Oliver John Cejka Jr. found Moser had failed to provide Sparkles with adequate food, water, shelter or vet care when he left the white cat and two others on the grounds of his future Marker Road home Feb. 4.

The temperature at the time was below freezing, neighbor Michael Bryant testified.

Bryant said he saw Moser and his wife, Maria, make frequent afternoon and evening visits to their lot before they moved in.

After Gregory Moser dropped off the cats in February, he built a three-sided structure of concrete blocks and a tin roof. He put blankets inside.

Still, from time to time, Bryant would notice cats trying to get into his barn.

Then, on March 12, he saw Sparkles, the white cat, struggling to move near his barn.

"It couldn't move its back feet," Bryant said. "It looked really weak. It didn't make any noises."

Bryant called Animal Control.

Officer Edward Mitchell responded. He found no food or water inside the shelter Moser had built for the cats. Nor did he see other cats.

He took Sparkles to the Frederick Emergency Animal Hospital.

Sparkles was significantly hypothermic and weighed about 4 pounds when veterinarian Jayne Tung examined him. He should have weighed 10 to 12 pounds, she said.

"He could not walk," she said in testimony. "Nor would he stand. He could barely lift his head up."

Sparkles had a poor to grave chance of recovery, she said. "He was a candidate for euthanasia."

Tung estimated it could have been at least one to two weeks since Sparkles had eaten. He was also dehydrated.

"There was no food material in his abdomen," she said.

Doctors at Buckeystown Veterinary Hospital took over Sparkles' care after the emergency hospital closed for the night. Examinations there did not turn up any other medical conditions that would have caused the cat's emaciated state.

Neglect was to blame, veterinarian Brooke Loewenstein testified.

Sparkles' condition ranked at the bottom at the nine-point scale veterinarians use. His ears also showed signs of frostbite.

Mitchell contacted Moser for questioning, first by phone, then in person.

Over the phone, Moser told Mitchell he had been dropping off food every day, but had stopped when he realized other animals could be getting into it, Mitchell testified.

Seeing bird carcasses on the property, Moser thought Sparkles had been fending for himself, Mitchell said.

Moser did not testify during his District Court hearing.

Sparkles recovered under the care of the Animal Control staff and later a foster family before he eventually was taken into a new home in July.

Assistant State's Attorney Colleen K. Swanson urged Cejka to find Moser guilty for putting his cat into extreme conditions after keeping the animal indoors for nine years.

The sudden change put Sparkles at risk.

"It was at death's door" when the officer responded, she said.

Defense attorney Eric W. Schaffer said Moser had no way of knowing Sparkles was so ill. He hadn't seen him in a while, but he was putting out 20 pounds of cat food a week.

"There is no evidence of willful neglect," he said.

Cejka said Sparkles' physical condition spoke volumes and found Moser to blame for the cat's near-death experience.

Because Moser had no prior criminal record, Cejka suspended four concurrent 90-day jail terms.

He also ordered him to pay $257.50 in fines and court costs and $337.28 in restitution to the two veterinary hospitals.

The judge then stayed his ruling, pending Moser's appeal.

If convicted again, the next judge will impose their own sentence.

Each cruelty charge carries as much as 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.

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