Judge to decide fate of Lewis the cat

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. -- The case of alleged neighbor assaulter Lewis the
cat was headed to state court Tuesday, with a judge expected to decide
whether the feline's life should be spared and whether its owner should
be granted special probation.

Residents of a Fairfield neighborhood say they have been terrorized by
Lewis, claiming the cat's long claws and stealth have allowed it to
attack at least a half-dozen people and ambush the Avon lady as she was
getting out of her car.

Bridgeport Superior Court Judge Patrick Carroll will consider an
application for accelerated rehabilitation for Lewis' owner, Ruth
Cisero. If the judge grants the program and Cisero stays out of
trouble, a reckless endangerment charge would be erased from her
record.

The hearing follows an offer by a Utah organization to offer a safe
haven for Lewis. The Best Friends Animal Society of Kanab, Utah, which
claims to be the country's largest no-kill animal sanctuary, has
offered to take Lewis free of charge.

"If necessary to save the life of Lewis the cat, we agree to provide
Lewis with a place to live out his life at our sanctuary," Russ Mead,
Best Friends' general counsel, wrote in a letter to Carroll.

Another judge told Cisero she would grant her special probation on the
condition that she have Lewis put to death, which Cisero has refused to
do.

Eugene Riccio, Cisero's attorney, said Lewis enjoys life in southern
New England and would prefer to stay here.

The sanctuary in Utah can accommodate about 600 cats in
climate-controlled bungalows and has specialists who know how to handle
cats with behavior problems.

Mead said Lewis would be no threat to the public in Utah because the
sanctuary's closest neighbor is Denny's Wigwam, a curio shop about four
miles away.

The owner of the shop, Victor Sandonato, said he has already been
warned that Lewis might be moving to his neighborhood.

"I live with a cat just like Lewis, and I live with danger every time I
go home at night," he said, adding, "I'm from South Jersey, so I don't
take any crap from a cat."