Cat that ran onto Wrigley Field taken to local veterinarian
KITTY LIKES TO SCRATCH | Feisty feline may be a local stray, neighbors say
Add another yarn to Wrigley Field lore. Let it be known henceforth as the “cat-tail-grabbing incident” at the Friendly Confines.
Animal lovers are head-over-tails about a security guard’s treatment of an errant feline during Tuesday night’s Cubs-Reds game. Speculation is flying about the cat’s origin and ability to gain a front-row seat at Wrigley Field.
(AP)
Cubs spokesman Peter Chase has an idea of how the cat made its way onto the field.
“The leading theory is that it came into the stadium through right field — the Sheffield entrance — then made its way up to the bleachers and on the field,” he said.
After scurrying across the outfield in the fourth inning, the white, orange and black calico mix was finally captured by a Wrigley Field security guard who was stationed at the left-field bullpen. The security guard picked the cat up by the tail and handed it over to a towel-wielding security worker in the stands, inciting boos from the crowd.
The kitty left, but not before leaving considerable carnage in its wake. Multiple employees were bitten by the cat and needed treatment at Wrigley.
“We’re assuming they’re fine,” said Chase. “Once we get results back about how that cat is, that’ll give us a little bit more information.”
The cat was promptly transported to "a local veterinarian" where it will be examined to make sure it's disease-free, said Chase. The veterinarian asked the Cubs organization to maintain its privacy.
Grabbing a cat by its tail is "definitely not the best way to pick it up,” said Dr. Eileen Murphy of West Wrigley Animal Hospital (which she assures the Sun-Times is certainly not where the cat was taken). “You could dislocate a tail.”
Chase said the team does not currently have a protocol for dealing with streaking felines. But despite fans’ protests, Chase defends the guard’s actions.
“This one was certainly something you don’t come across every day,” said Chase. “The security guard did his best in a unique and trying situation.”
That hasn’t stopped fans from calling the organization today to inquire about the possibility of adoption and to chide the security guard for what many deem to be animal cruelty.
“There’s been calls for adoption. There’s been calls for — you name it. We’re just making sure the cat is OK and our people who were bit are OK and we’ll progress from there.”
As for the cat’s origins, some Wrigleyville neighbors claim they recognize the cat as a resident of Kenmore Avenue — just a few houses away from where Sammy Sosa’s epic, 520-foot home run landed in 2003.
Several cats “live in the garage” on the block, Jamie Kraut told the Sun-Times in an e-mail.
“It’s abandoned and filled with junk. No one ever goes in there, so it’s the perfect hiding place. The neighbors to the north feed them regularly and put out a shelter and heating pad in the winter.”
Kraut said she recognized the cat that ran onto Wrigley as one of the Kenmore Avenue strays.
As far as she knows, it’s nameless.