Complex locks cat in apartment for 10 days, refuses to give it to deceased woman’s family

After 10 days, a cat locked up in an apartment after its owner died is free. The family turned to Better Call Behnken when apartment management refused to release the cat. 

Jennifer Steck said management at Viridian Apartments refused to let her rescue her mother’s cat, Kitty, and showed “no compassion.”

“This cat was my mother’s best friend,” said Steck, who lives out of state and is in town for her mother’s funeral. “She would be heartbroken if she knew this was happening to her cat.”

Debbie Waters passed away on Sept. 21, after paramedics took her out of her apartment. Her cat has been there since. Steck said apartment management told her a staff member gave the cat food and water, but they would not release the cat or let family see the cat. 

“They said, ‘We can’t let you in unless you are the executor of her estate,'” Steck said. “There was no estate. My mom didn’t have a will. All of her worldly possessions were in that apartment. That’s all she had, and that cat.”

Steck said she called Pinellas County Animal Services but was told they couldn’t help unless the cat was in visible distress. 

“The cat is on the sixth floor and no one can see the cat,” Steck said. “Isn’t being alone in that apartment distress enough?”

Steck decided she’d Better Call Behnken, and we called Pinellas County Animal Control and got a different story. A spokesman said apartment management typically calls them to remove animals and find next of kin when owners die. 

Within an hour, an animal control officer was at the complex, ready to rescue Kitty. Just then, management called Steck into an office and told her they had just discovered paperwork in her mother’s file, granting her access to the apartment and the cat. 

We went with her and animal control to help find Kitty. We found a trash can knocked over, with trash and food wrappers strewn around the apartment. 

The food dish was empty. There was a small amount of water in a dish. The bag of cat food was empty and on the living room floor. 

Kitty was found on the top shelf of a closet. She appeared skinny, but well. Scared, she hid, and animal control had to tear a chair apart to secure her. 

Steck is thrilled to have the cat, and the family is determined to give her a good home, the way their mother and grandmother would have wanted. 

“I don’t know if we could have done this without your help. I’m so happy,” Steck said.