PHOENIX – Authorities have arrested the owner of an emaciated cat with badly matted hair after he took his pet in to be groomed.
The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office was called to the grooming salon at Bethany Animal Hospital on Tuesday and found the cat extremely emaciated and dehydrated.
The cat's hair was also badly matted, leaving it unable to move and causing it to cry when handled.
Jeffrey Hetherington, of Phoenix, told the hospital staff the cat had been in that condition for more than three months.
The cat was euthanized after a veterinarian recommended the pet be put down.
Authorities said Hetherington, 50, was arrested and booked on suspicion of not providing food, water, and medical care to his cat.
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