Stray dogs and cats legally protected from abuse, Ohio Supreme Court rules

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Those who abuse a cat or dog in Ohio could face felony charges even if the animal is a stray, the state Supreme Court ruled in a unanimous October decision.

A Cuyahoga County appeals court tasked Ohio's highest court with deciding if pets should be treated the same as strays in animal abuse cases. The state Supreme Court ruled that all cats and dogs, whether pets or strays, are protected under the state's companion animal abuse law. Those who break this law could face first or second degree misdemeanor charges, or a fifth-degree felony depending on a variety of factors.

The decision stems from a case where Alonzo Kyles was indicted on a felony charge of cruelty to a companion animal in April 2022. The charge came after Cleveland police officers found an 8-month-old cat soaked with bleach in the basement stairwell of an apartment building in October 2021. 

Officers testified that when they questioned Kyles, who was found at the top of the stairs, he claimed he was scared of cats and had poured bleach on the floor to make the cat leave. Officers further testified that the cat had red and swollen paws, no collar and was not claimed by anyone in the building. Furthermore, a veterinarian found ulcerations on the cat's paws due to the chemical exposure.

A trial court found Kyles guilty of a fifth-degree felony for abusing a companion animal, and sentenced him to nine months in jail. Kyles appealed his conviction, arguing before the Eighth District Court of Appeals that the law he was convicted under prohibits knowingly causing serious physical harm to a companion animal, and that the state did provide evidence showing the cat he harmed was a companion animal. 

The law Kyles was found guilty of breaking defines companion animals as “any animal that is kept inside a residential dwelling and any dog or cat regardless of where it is kept, including a pet store.” The law does not apply to livestock or “any wild animal.”

The Eighth District agreed the state failed to present sufficient evidence that the cat was “kept,” and it therefore reversed Kyles’ conviction. The Ohio Supreme Court disagreed, ruling that Ohio’s law prohibiting physical harm to companion animals extends to all dogs and cats, including the one Kyles hurt. 

In its ruling, the Supreme Court stated Ohio law is not perfectly clear and that both sides presented reasonable arguments. Supreme Court justices ultimately agreed that since the definition of companion animal in Ohio law includes “any” cat or dog, the animal does not need to be “kept” in order to be protected under the statute.