Cops investigating ‘children hurting this poor baby’ kitten in Lakewood

LAKEWOOD — Police said they have spoken to one of two Good Samaritans involved in a social media allegation of abuse on a kitten that was found to have suffered a broken rib.

The allegations were made on the Calling All Cats Rescues Facebook page, which posted that the kitten was rescued by a Good Samaritan from a group of "school children hurting this poor baby they were sticking sticks up his rectum and they damaged his jaw by tossing him around and kicking him."

Lakewood police on Thursday morning acknowledged the post, but said no one had notified them about the incident.

In a followup statement later in the day, police said that they had spoken with one of the two Good Samaritans who removed the kitten from the situation and the doctor who examined the kitten, which has been named Mickey.

Police said the Samaritan they spoke with, a woman whose identity was not disclosed, said she had determined that the incident took place on Monday. She told investigators she called Calling All Cats after caring for Mickey on her own for several days, according to police.

Dr. Glenn Behan of the Barnegat Animal Clinic examined Mickey on Thursday and found the broken rib and irritation to his anus, but expected him to make a full recovery, according to police.

Calling All Cats, on their Facebook page, wrote that Mickey also had a hernia but his jaw appeared to be okay. His bottom lip is detached from the gum but will heal, the group says Behan told them. The group also said Behan told them he gave Mickey pain medication and a prescription for the antibiotic Clavamox.

Police acknowledged that their investigation may not go as quickly as some may like.

"The Lakewood Police Department makes every effort to gather and investigate facts so that we can make an informed and intelligent release in conjunction with conducting a thorough investigation," the department said in a statement.

Lakewood police said they would like to also speak with the other Good Samaritan and asked them to call 732-363-0200.

Police and the state Division of Fish and Wildlife investigated a woman's report in May that she saw a van of children being brought to the retention pond on Cedar Bridge Avenue over the course of five days. The woman told police that the children harassed and beat the birds.

An investigation determined that all but one of the eggs were fine. That one egg had a slight crack but investigators said it could have been caused by "any number of reasons," according to police.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ.

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