Police arrested a 59-year-old man Friday after a witness claimed he strangled his cat during an altercation between the two.
Bloomington Police Department Sgt. Shane Rasche said Lloyd Miller called police at 11:07 p.m. Friday claiming there was a woman at his home at 2500 S. Rockport Road who refused to leave. Miller told police the woman assaulted him, and he had injuries on his head and left arm.
Rasche said police arrived at the residence and spoke to the woman. She told police she and Miller began fighting around 6:40 p.m. inside the home.
While they were in the kitchen, Miller picked up his cat, placed both hands around its neck and swung it back and forth. The female said it appeared Miller was attempting to harm or strangle the cat, so she struck the cat out of his arms. The cat scratched Miller's arms.
The cat appeared healthy when officers checked on it, Rasche said. Its name and gender are unknown.
Miller admitted to officers he had grabbed his cat around its neck but said he did not apply pressure. Officers saw marks on Miller's arms appearing to be cat scratches. They found no evidence the woman had assaulted Miller as he originally claimed.
Miller was charged with torture of a vertebrate animal and taken to the Monroe County Correctional Center.
