Valley woman accused of dumping kitten in mailbox

LINTON, Ind. (WTHI) - A Wabash Valley woman is in trouble after dropping off a "kitty letter."

Linton Police said Breanna Russell put a small kitten in a U.S. mailbox hoping that someone would adopt it.

The kitten's name is Zippy, which is short for zip code. She got her name thanks to an hour spent living on envelopes and postcards in a big blue U.S. Mailbox.

She's active, affectionate, and even adorable. But it seems no one wanted her. So after trying to hand her off to strangers outside the Linton Walmart last week, police chief Troy Jerrell said Breanna Russell, 19, sent her straight down the chute.

"With the heat and things of that nature, no water, food, I'm not sure what the survival rate is going to be in there, but it's not going to be very long," said Jerrell.

Someone saw what happened and got help. Linton police and a postal service employee came and freed zippy from her mailbox tomb.

Russell told police she knew the mailbox was checked daily and that someone would find it.

"It's like having a kid," said pet owner Cheryl Speer. "I would never, ever. They ought to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."

Security cameras from Walmart are what gave authorities a clear picture of just who put the cat inside the mailbox.

"Any time you have an animal, it comes with some kind of responsibility," said Jerrell. "You have to take responsibility."

For Zippy, it's a life free from responsibility. She was playing happily on a Greene County farm Wednesday.

Russell faces one charge of abandonment or neglect of an animal. It's a misdemeanor.

If you have a pet that you can no longer take care of, please contact your local humane society.