BELLEVUE, Wash. - A Bellevue woman received a settlement of $125,000 after her tabby cat Miska was accused of trespassing in a Bellevue neighborhood. "This case was about the unjustified and incredible prosecution of a domestic house cat in Bellevue," said Jon Zimmerman, cat owner Anna Danieli's attorney. "This was really an historic settlement involving a cat in the state of Washington." Attorney Jon Zimmerman says Anna called him after her family's cat was taken away, and she received thousands of dollars in fines.
Zimmerman and co-counsel, attorney Jeffrey Possinger, argued in the case that Miska is not a "vicious" cat as had been alleged, but is instead a loving pet.
Zimmerman said Miska was just "being a cat" when the citations started rolling in. "The cat and its owner were issued more than 30 violations," said Zimmerman.
After looking at the number of violations, he believed that Miska was being targeted. "No other cat had been cited that many times in Bellevue or King County," said Zimmerman.