Authorities said in a news release that officers found the cat yesterday morning after stopping a suspicious-looking bicyclist behind a Wal-Mart in the city of Clovis.
That cyclist turned out to be 24-year-old Cody High. He “initially lied about his name,” police said, “but officers quickly discovered this and determined his true identity, at which time he was found to be on felony probation for drug violations.”
When officers opened High’s backpack to do a search, they found the cat inside and actually thought it was dead at first, they said.
The orange adult cat “had electrical tape tightly wrapped several times around the neck, face, and nose.”
Its legs were also “tightly bound together,” leading police to think it was no longer alive.
But when they removed the tape from its face, the cat started breathing. Animal control officers then took the cat to a vet, where the doctor said the cat “likely would have died in the backpack, had officers not stopped High.”
The cat is said to have a microchip, and will likely soon be returned to its rightful owner.