Clovis police rescue cat bound with electrical tape, arrest man on cruelty charges

A Clovis man was arrested on animal cruelty charges after police reportedly found a cat tied up with electrical tape in his backpack.

Sgt. Vince Weibert said Cody High, 24, was stopped by an officer because he was acting suspiciously in the 300 block of West Shaw Avenue behind Walmart. He provided officers with false information about his identity, but when officers learned his true name and established he was on felony probation, his backpack was searched.

Inside, the officers found an adult male cat bound by electrical tape around its neck, face, nose and legs.

Initially, the cat was thought to be dead, but when the tape was removed from its nose it began to breathe. The animal was taken to an emergency veterinarian, who removed the rest of the tape and reported it would have died had officers not discovered it.

Animal control is trying to find the owner.

In addition to the animal cruelty allegations, High was booked on suspicion of providing false identification, possession of narcotics paraphernalia and probation violation.

This story was originally published January 18, 2016 at 12:58 PM with the headline "Clovis police rescue cat bound with electrical tape, arrest man on cruelty charges."