COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – An Ohio State University student is seeking justice and answers after her boyfriend’s roommate was caught on camera putting the couple’s cat into a plastic bag as it cried and then leaving their home.
Anis Mohd Zaini, a 23-year-old OSU student, and her boyfriend are the owners of a 7-month-old cat named Mindy. The feline primarily lived with Mohd Zaini’s boyfriend, at his residence in Old North Columbus, which he shared with a few roommates who are also OSU students.
“[Mindy] means a lot to me,” Mohd Zaini said. “I love her like my own child. We adopted her [when] she was little, so we have taken care of her since she's a baby.”
On Sept. 27, around 11:30 p.m., Mohd Zaini said the couple became concerned when they could not find their pet. Mindy wore a collar with a tracker, so the pair was able to pinpoint its location about half a mile north of the house.
“We checked her collar and the collar shows that she's somewhere very far away from our home,” Mohd Zaini said. “So we get out of our house and try to find her in that area and then during that time, we did find her collar in [a] trash can.”
After finding the collar, the pair felt unsafe being in the home. They suspected the only roommate who was also in the house with them that night may have been involved with Mindy's disappearance. Mohd Zaini's boyfriend moved out of the home for a few days, before the pair returned on Sept. 30 to look for evidence to find out what happened.
On Oct. 1, the couple obtained home security camera footage from a neighboring porch timestamped for Sept. 27 at 10:44 p.m. The video shows a person, who Mohd Zaini and a Columbus police report identify as her boyfriend’s roommate, on the porch of their home. The person can be seen placing the cat in what appears to be a plastic grocery bag, then while the view is obstructed by a porch railing, messing with the bag for about 10 seconds as the animal cries. Mohd Zaini suspects the bag was tied shut based on the video footage.
The suspect then walks away from the house, and can be seen on camera returning home at 11:18 p.m. After finding the video footage, her boyfriend filed a police report. NBC4 is not naming the suspect, since no charges have been filed as of Monday.
“Until now, if I saw her picture, I'll cry,” Mohd Zaini said. “I'll feel so sad. Like we invested a lot on her and then knowing that she's gone, and knowing that something bad happened to her, it's so bad. I feel so bad for her, like I couldn't protect her from all of this.”
Mohd Zaini is left without answers as no one has seen her cat, despite multiple posts on social media, including Reddit where more than 1,000 users interacted with Mindy’s story.
“I’m devastated, not just by the loss of my beloved pet, but by the lack of urgency to ensure that those who commit acts of animal cruelty are held accountable,” the post reads. “I’m sharing this in hopes that this story doesn’t go unnoticed and that justice can be served not just for my cat, but to send a message that animal cruelty should never be tolerated.”
Columbus Humane stated it has opened an investigation into the incident. The organization said the suspect claimed to have let the cat go on Indianola Avenue, which is about a seven-minute car ride from the residence. A spokesperson said residents of the Clintonville area should keep an eye out for Mindy.
Despite this, Mohd Zaini does not have much hope her cat is still alive. Along with her claiming the suspect gave conflicting accounts of what happened that night, she said she is concerned the cat would not have survived in a plastic bag for long. Mohd Zaini is hoping to get closure, with the couple offering a $200 reward to whoever may find their cat.
A spokesperson with Columbus Humane said while the case remains open, the organization is expecting to file charges. An OSU spokesperson declined to comment.
