Ozaukee County

A legal cat fight has clawed its way into Ozaukee County Circuit Court.

The Animal Lobby, an animal adoption agency in Thiensville, has sued a Mequon woman who euthanized a kitten she adopted. By having the 9-week-old kitten killed, the woman violated terms of a contract she signed with the agency when she accepted the kitten, according to the lawsuit filed recently.

The woman, Terri Reed- Hodgson, said the euthanization occurred only after the kitten attacked her, biting and scratching her seriously enough to require hospital treatment, according to her lawyer.

The agency said Reed-Hodgson should have returned the animal if it was no longer wanted. The agency is seeking $3,045 in compensation.

In a countersuit, Reed-Hodgson claims the agency misrepresented the kitten, telling her it was "mellow." After the attack, a veterinarian told Reed-Hodgson the kitten most likely was feral, or wild.

Reed-Hodgson claims that legally she could not have returned the kitten to the agency because police told her the animal had to be quarantined or euthanized after the attack.

She is seeking $1,000 in compensation.

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