THE “PUSSY” CASE

Northern Advocate, 7 December 1935, Page 4

THE “PUSSY” CASE

MAGISTRATE’S COMMENT QUESTION OF CATS AGE [Special to “Northern Advocate.”} AUCKLAND, This Day. Giving his judgment in the Auckland Police Court yesterday in the “pussy cat” case, in which Mrs Eva Kem, was charged with stealing a cat worth £5, the 1 property of . Margaret Lee, Mr W. R. McKean, S.M., said:

“The whole matter rests upon whether the cat in front of me is three years old or only a little more than a year old,” said the magistrate, at the conclusion of the evidence.

When the case was resumed a qualified veterinary surgeon, called by the defence, stated that it was not possible to determine accurately the age of a cat after seven months of age, but he expressed the opinion that the cat in court was a different one from that shown in the photograph. Mr McKean: “A leopard cannot change its spots, and I very much doubt whether a cat can change its stripes. I am convinced the cat is the property of Mr Lee. Mrs Kem would have been well advised to have returned the cat, to which she seems to have become so attached.” The case was adjourned for three months, counsel asking that a conviction should be avoided if possible. Defendant was ordered to pay £1 5/costs.