The case of Copito
RECENTLY a young lady told me that her neighbour had threatened to catch her cat and throw it off his private terrace if it stepped on there again.
From now on I will refer to this lady as Onela (which is not her real name as I will not reveal this for her own safety and that of her precious cat Copito). She told me she had rescued Copito from a colony of stray cats in her urbanisation, after several cats from the same colony had died from being poisoned by a substance that an unknown person had put down in the communal garden.
(NB: Cases of cats being poisoned must be reported to any officer of the law – local or National Police, Seprona, Guardia Civil - as a public offence – i.e. one that can be reported by anyone, not just the victim – under article 336 of the penal code, and an offence of animal abuse, for each animal that has died or been harmed)
Copito was lucky, as he was taken off the street and put somewhere safe by Onela. He has a very sociable nature and easily adapted to the attic apartment that she rents. Copito has been medically checked as Onela took him to a vet, who implanted a microchip, treated him against external and internal parasites, and gave him the rabies and feline three-in-one vaccinations.
How lucky was Copito?! He went from living in the street to in an attic and being spoilt for affection. Although Copito still has his feral nature and he likes to investigate and go for walks, like the good cat he is, the only bad thing is that his walks were across the terraces of the other attics near his new home. There were residents who were not bothered by Copito being on their private terraces and one in particular who was bothered by his presence.
Onela started to receive WhatsApp messages from this neighbour, in which he threatened to grab the cat and throw him off, so Onela tried to talk to the neighbour over the phone but he would not answer her calls.
Afraid of what might happen to Copito given the neighbour’s threats, Onela put up a fence which cost her no less than €1,000 – which is especially costly since she does not even own her home. By enclosing part of the terrace of her rented attic to prevent Copito from being able to access the neighbour’s terrace and meeting a tragic end, she has enabled her cat to go out on the terrace for some sun.
Copito is lucky because Onela and her partner are responsible and exemplary owners. With this enclosure they managed to protect Copito from being caught by her neighbour, who presumably does not like cats or could be allergic, or may have dogs or other cats or birds which Copito might disturb, or who could simply have mental problems – this much remains unknown.
After telling me all this, Onela asked: “Can I report my neighbour?”
My answer was: “Yes, you can report your neighbour for the offence of making threats, as regulated in articles 169 and 171 of the penal code.”
The offence can be reported to whichever law enforcement (local or National Police, Seprona, Guardia Civil) you prefer. Although, since the officer you speak to may not be accustomed to this, I advise you to bring in the accusation in writing and also on a memory stick, to make the officer’s work easier and get it done as quickly as possible.
In Copito’s case, I also advised Onela to send a photo of the fence she had put up to her neighbour, and a text message to the administrator of the community and/or the person or agency she rented the attic from, and to the president of the community of residents.
For more information about animal law in Spain and Raquel’s online courses in the subject, see the website www.deanimals.com