By Elio Gugliotti, Editor
NAUGATUCK — After further investigation, police now say a dead kitten found on Hunters Mountain Road over the weekend was not run over by a car, and it’s unclear how that kitten and another one ended up on the road.
The saga started Saturday morning when an animal control officer responded to a complaint of two abandoned kittens — one of which had allegedly been run over — near 258 Hunters Mountain Road.
Police issued a news release seeking information on the incident and a white vehicle, which was believed to be a possible suspect vehicle. The story picked up traction in the news and on social media.
After the initial complaint, Deputy Police Chief C. Colin McAllister said the incident escalated into a possible animal abuse case and was investigated by police officers. As police investigated, he said, conflicting information surfaced.
On Monday, McAllister said the person who was driving the white vehicle contacted the department. He told police he was driving when he saw a kitten in the road that looked like it was sleeping and another kitten walking nearby. He stopped, according to police, saw that the one in the road was dead and then left.
Police on Tuesday spoke again with the witness. Police said the witness could not verify that the person in the white car had abandoned the kittens and did not see the car run over the kitten.
The dead kitten also didn’t have any signs that it had been run over, according to police, and physical evidence showed the kitten was dead before the white car stopped.
McAllister said it’s unknown how the kitten died, but police have ruled out that it was run over. He said it’s also unclear if the kittens were feral or abandoned.
The surviving kitten was placed with a local animal rescue organization, which found it a permanent home.
Police are still investigating how the kittens ended up on the road and asked anyone with information to call the Naugatuck Police Department at 203-729-5221.
