Alleged cat burglar: Vigilante or victim?
OCEAN PARK — A neighbor dispute here has literally escalated into a cat fight between two women who live an alley apart.
It’s a case of a missing cat — “Grace” — or possibly now named “Stevie.”
For the past week, a flyer has been circulating in this neighborhood that claims C i n d y Lambert’s gray tabby was “catnapped” by her neighbor, Jennifer Harding, who has allegedly renamed it “Stevie.”
Lambert, who lives in an apartment on the 2500 block of Fifth Street, claims Grace was taken last week by Harding, who lives in an apartment on the 2500 block of Fourth Street.
Harding, a Santa Monica attorney, said she hasn’t taken Grace, despite claims that he’s been seen confined to Harding’s patio laced with chicken wire.
“It’s just untrue,” Harding said. “I haven’t stolen anyone’s cat. I don’t want to contribute any more to the drama.”
H a r d i n g said she does-n’t have a cat by the name of G r a c e.
W h e n asked if she has a cat n a m e d “Stevie,” she wouldn’t comment. “This has been a difficult situation,” Harding said. “There has been a great deal of unfortunate behavior with regards to this, not on my part.
“The issue of ownership seems to be different in (Lambert’s) Alejandro Cesar Cantarero II/Daily Press WHY MUST I CHASE THE CAT: Cindy Lambert, holding a photo of ‘Grace,’ wants her pet back. understanding.”
Grace went missing on July 12, when he broke from routine and didn’t come home in the evening to eat and walk with Calvin, Lambert’s dog.
Lambert said she suspected Harding took Grace because Harding had allegedly shown an unusual interest in the cat days before he disappeared.
It all started earlier this month when Harding left a note on Lambert’s Jeep, asking that Lambert call her to discuss the cat.
“Jennifer said to me, ‘you let your cat outdoors? He could be hit by a car,’” Lambert recalled. “I said to her, ‘he’s a smart cat, I’m not too worried. Then Jennifer said to me, ‘Well, I tried to get him into my car, to see if he could be an indoor cat.’
“I said to Jennifer, ‘excuse me, the cat is accounted for. He is my cat.’”
Lambert and her neighbor, Apryl Mefford-Hemauer, distributed flyers in the neighborhood on July 13, which in part reads “Attention: My cat has been found!!!... Bad news — he has been taken by Jennifer Harding... In her world Grace my cat has now become Stevie !!!... This is Twilight Zone stuff! Please help!”
They said they didn’t approach Harding directly at first, hoping she would come forward on her own. They stuck the flyer under Harding’s doormat.
The next evening, on July 14, Lambert and Mefford-Hemauer noticed Grace on Harding’s patio.
“Oh, my God,” Mefford-Hemauer said to Lambert. “She’s got Grace.”
Claiming Harding has been uncoopera-tive, Lambert and Mefford-Hemauer have begun a saturation campaign in their neighborhood, passing out literature which implicates Harding as the new owner of the cat.
Mefford-Hemauer and Lambert have filed a police report.
Santa Monica Police Department Lt. Frank Fabrega said a detective has been assigned to the case. Once the detective’s investigation is complete, the city attorney’s office will decide whether or not theft charges are warranted. If Grace is valued at more than $400, Harding could face a felony if charged, Fabrega said. If the cat is valued under $400, it’s a misdemeanor.
Lambert said a V-chip placed inside Grace by the Los Angeles County Animal Shelter has since been activated by Harding.
Lambert said she discovered Grace had the V-chip, a tracking device, after taking the cat to a veteran more than a year ago.
Lambert opted to not have the V-chip activated, but told Harding about its existence during a conversation.
“Now it’s something I regret,” Lambert said.
Harding has activated the V-chip, according to Lambert. Harding wouldn’t comment.
NEIGHBORS AT ODDS OVER PETS, RESP ON SIB I L I TIES Danielle Charney, Harding’s neighbor, said she has known Harding for 20 years. She described Harding as an intelligent, well-respected attorney and animal lover. Charney said Lambert, on the other hand, is known as a difficult neighbor and “one of the problems of the animal population.”
Charney said Lambert in the past has denied being Grace’s owner. In addition, Charney said Lambert has irresponsibly exposed Grace to abusive animals and school children by letting the cat roam outdoors.
“Cindy said (Grace) was a ‘community cat,’ a stray that she fed,” Charney said. “Between living life in the bush, or giving (Grace) a proper home that’s safe with health care and proper food, my vote is going that way every day of the week.”
Several neighbors have gotten involved in the cat fight. One man, an attorney who preferred to go by “Chris,” said he was called a “fat faggot” whose dog, a pug, was described as “ugly” when he tried to dissuade Lambert and Mefford-Hemauer from distributing their flyers.
Another neighbor, who prefers to go by “Vera,” said Harding allegedly stole her cat 13 years ago. “(Harding) called me an irresponsible cat owner because I allowed my cat to wander into the alley,” Vera said. “She was a major animal activist and was concerned my cat would be picked up by UCLA researchers.”
Vera called police. They told her nothing could be done because it was a he said/she said dispute. Vera, unsatisfied, continued to harass Harding until she sent her cat to a new home.
“It’s just disgusting there is no law out there protecting people and their pets,” Vera said. “Pets are like children.
“They are part of your life.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 20, 2005. Read the original PDF.