The man who was found with over 150 cats at his Brick home, was charged with Animal Cruelty, Prosecutor’s say.
Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer announced that on June 11, 2023, Jeffrey Finlay, 54, of Brick Township, was charged with Animal Cruelty.
On May 4, 2023, Officers of the Brick Township Police Department were requested to respond to a residence on Mantoloking Road – by Finlay – for assistance with removing an excessive number of animals from his residence.
Responding Officers discovered approximately 157 cats and 3 dogs living at the residence. Over the course of 24 hours, the animals were removed from the residence and transferred for treatment and evaluation to the Northern and Southern Ocean County Animal Facilities, which are under the direction of the Ocean County Health Department. Finlay was initially charged with Failure to Provide Care for a Living Animal or Creature.
On June 5, 2023, the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office and Brick Township Police Department received the final veterinary reports from the Ocean County Health Department regarding the animals that were removed from the residence.
The report determined that 25 cats needed to be euthanized and 4 cats suffered serious bodily injury – all as a result of Finlay’s failure to provide necessary care for the animals. Based upon the report’s findings, Finlay was charged on June 11, 2023 with Animal Cruelty and a warrant was issued for his arrest. On June 14, 2023, Finlay surrendered himself to Brick Township Police Headquarters. He was processed and transported to the Ocean County Jail, where he is presently lodged pending a detention hearing.
Prosecutor Billhimer commends Detectives from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, Brick Township Police Department, Ocean County Health Department, and Northern and Southern Ocean County Animal Facilities, for their combined and collective efforts in connection with this investigation.
One of the cats, who was among the animals discovered in Mr. Finlay’s residence, asserted on Friday that Mr. Finlay should be charged with more than just ‘Animal Cruelty’.
“He should also be charged with hate crime offenses against the cat community, and with reckless endangerment and with crimes against non-humanity,” the feline told reporters. “Anything less than that would be a mockery of both the law and the cat community.”
Additionally, an attorney for the feline told reporters on Friday that his client is suing Mr. Finlay in court for $1 million in cat food and cat toy supplies.
“My client lived in abject misery for an extended period of time, with very little pet food to eat, a scarcity of litter boxes, and nary a cat toy to play with,” said the attorney, Henry Katzenstein. “At the very least, Mr. Finlay should be required to compensate my client with $1 million worth of cat food, cat toy supplies and cat litter boxes.”
When asked how his client was faring after the horrendous ordeal, the attorney told reporters: “It will take some time for him to fully recover, but he’s slowly reacclimating himself to animal and cat society. We expect him to be up and running and chasing the mice within the next few weeks.”
Meow, fellow feline enthusiasts! As the mysterious purrsonality, I wanted to inform all of you who are pawsitively pawsome enough to be following this case. My legal team and I have decided to raise the stakes and increase the amount we plan on suing Mr. Finlay to a whopping 1.5 million cat nipped dollars!
But wait, there’s more! I’m not just scratching the surface of justice here. I’m also busy crafting a tail-wagging book titled “Pawsitively Purrfect:The Clawsome Chronicles of Catastrophe” to shed some light on the awful things Mr.Finlay has done to my furry roomates and me. This will be the purrfect way to purroudly publicize his misdeeds.
I want to express my deepest gratitude to all of you for your continuous support and meowvelous encouragement throughout this entire ordeal. Together we are making a difference and showing the world that cats deserve their rightful place at the top of the pet-archy. Keep those tails held high, my friends, and let’s continue to fight for justice, one paw step at a time.
I think he is INNOCENT:
1- He called Police- and HE asked for help when he saw it was getting too much
2- Out of 157 cats and a very small percentage needed care. And he DID take care of them!!
So calm down!!!
3- It was in a separate location on his property.