Heartbreaking Footage Shows Man Cruelly Abandoning a Limping Cat in a California Dumpster

Mar. 15, 2025

Man captured dumping cat in dumpster on Monday, March 10.Photo:City of Mission Viejo, CA/Facebook

City of Mission Viejo, CA/Facebook

An injured cat is recovering from a shocking ordeal after being abandoned in a dumpster.

In the footage, the individual pulls up to the secluded dumpster in their car and quickly dumps the cat on top of the overflowing trash receptacle. The heartbreaking clip ends with the feline limping around the trash before watching the man drive away.

“Animal Services received a report on Tuesday about the injured cat found inside a dumpster behind a shopping center near Cabot and La Paz Road,” the City of Mission Viejo wrote in their caption. “The cat, suffering from obvious trauma, was immediately transported to a local animal hospital for evaluation and treatment.'

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Cat found in dumpster.City of Mission Viejo, CA/Facebook

The government agency added in the social media postthat the cat was found 15 hours after being dumped and minutes before the trash “was scheduled for collection.”

Mission Viejo Animal Services (MVAS) launched an investigation into the incident after the feline was discovered and called for help identifying the man in the video.

“MVAS is committed to ensuring Willow receives the necessary medical care and rehabilitation after this senseless act of abandonment,” the post concluded. “We are grateful to the thoughtful person who found and retrieved Willow from the dumpster.”

On March 12, officialsconfirmed in a statementthat a suspect in Willow’s abandonment had been arrested and taken into custody with the assistance of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

“The arrest came just hours after the City issued a press release today seeking the public’s help in identifying the individual who was captured on surveillance footage tossing the cat into a dumpster,” the statement read.

Mission Viejo Animal Services supervisor Kyle Werner shared in the statement that the cat’s owner identified the suspect as her roommate.

In a follow-up statement on March 13, the City of Mission Viejo shared that Willow is a pet cat named BooBoo.

The post concluded that once BooBoo is fully healed, she will be returned to her owner, who “was also a victim of this heinous crime.”

source: people.com