‘We’re sick and tired of people trying to harm animals’: Slavic Village resident’s response after USPS worker is caught on camera apparently pepper spraying stray cats

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - Residents in one Slavic Village neighborhood are furious after home surveillance footage caught a U.S. Postal Service mailman spraying what appears to be pepper spray at stray cats.

There are dozens of stray cats up and down Dalton Avenue. Many of them stay around Andrea Hicks' yard and porch. She watched the video caught by her next door neighbor and posted it to YouTube. “We’re all up in arms about this. There’s no reason these cats need to be sprayed. They don’t cause anybody any problems,” said Hicks.

Hicks said she and her neighbor watch after the stray cats. She has five of her own and a dog. “We feel sorry for them. If we don’t take care of them who’s going to take care of them. It just isn’t right,” she said.

“We’re sick and tired of people trying to harm animals. Poor precious cats,” said Hicks.

The video shows the postal worker using the spray at least three times from the sidewalk before walking up to deliver mail.

Clinton Smith’s pet cat, Playboy, was also hit by the postal worker’s spray. “I don’t know if it got in his eye or not but it’s close to his eye,” said Smith. He said it doesn’t make sense. “The cats out here aren’t bothering nobody and you’re just going to spray the cats for no reason at all.” He said, “that’s like messing with someone who’s homeless because they’re laying on the street.”

Smith said he heard what happened from neighbors and noticed orange debris on his porch. Since then, Playboy has stayed much closer to his house. “I don’t see no reason for it. You see where my mailbox is, away from my porch, so you come up, put my mail in the box. The cat’s on the porch, so why would you even spray?”

In an e-mail to 19 News a representative from The U.S. Postal Service said: “USPS takes these incidents very seriously and will investigate the matter.”

Copyright 2020 WOIO. All rights reserved.