The Sydney community rally behind the Brandy the cat family after it is killed by two teenagers
A community in western Sydney has expressed support for a family whose cat was stolen, tortured and killed last week.
Brandy, a 17-year-old cat who lives with her family in Glenwood, was caught March 8 on chilling surveillance footage being carried down a street by a masked boy.
Police allege that two brothers, aged 12 and 14, stole the red cat from their home before carrying it to a nearby clearing and allegedly torturing and killing it.
In the aftermath of the cat’s death, locals rallied behind the owners by sending bouquets of flowers and letters.
A community has rallied behind Brandy the cat’s family after the beloved 17-year-old cat was allegedly stolen and killed by teens last week (Brandy wi
The family’s home in Glenwood, western Sydney, has been flooded with messages of support as they demand justice for the beloved neighborhood cat (pictured from a letter of support)
The family shared a touching post online thanking everyone for the flowers, letters and messages of support as they coped with the loss of what was the family’s last surviving furry friend (pictured: A bouquet delivered to the family’s home)
Footage shows two teenagers running away with the neighborhood cat. It is alleged that they then tortured and killed the furry cat before dumping it in a pond
In a heartwarming post on Facebook, Brandy’s mom and owner said, “Thank you so much to all of our community members for all of your support and messages.”
“Brandy was cremated and her ashes are now in the safe hands of my daughter.
“We miss her dearly and I wish we could turn back the clock and hold her in our arms again.”
In another social media post, Emily Bidart, who first discovered what happened to the family’s ginger cat, said the family has received messages of support from far and wide.
“My family and I have received tremendous love and support and we really appreciate it,” Ms Bidart wrote.
“We can only hope that our story continues to be known and shared far and wide to help us get justice!”
The family once owned two cats and a dog, and say after Brandy’s death, all of their “fur babies have now crossed the rainbow bridge.”
The feline’s owners checked their security footage after their 17-year-old cat failed to come home last Wednesday and made the gruesome discovery.
Emily Bidart, 28, was just 11 when Brandy became an integral part of her family and told 7News that everyone in the neighborhood knew Brandy as “the weird cat” who goes for a walk in the park across the street.
Now that same park brings with it the harrowing memory of the alleged attack.
“I look out my bedroom window at my mother’s house and that’s exactly where she was (allegedly) killed,” Ms Bidart said.
The red cat Brandy was 17 years old and was known to the Glenwood locals as ‘the weird cat’ who often went for a walk in the same park where he was allegedly killed
Both boys were charged with torturing, beating and killing an animal and cleaning up a killed or stolen animal. They were granted strict conditional bail and will appear before a children’s court on Tuesday, April 4, 2023
Ms Bidart said last Wednesday she drove to her parents’ house in Glenwood and just felt something was wrong when she heard Brandy was missing and she immediately checked the security cameras.
CCTV footage showed minutes after Ms Bidart’s mother left the house to go to an appointment, two boys began searching for the cat, under cars and in the garden.
A boy was then seen running away, reportedly saying, “Do you want to go to the cat?”.
Some 23 minutes later, a boy returned in a hoodie and face mask before reportedly grabbing the house cat from the front yard.
Mrs Bidart said that when she looked at what followed, she had to look away.
“As soon as I (allegedly) saw the first blow to my cat, I had to look away,” she said.
The two boys have since been charged with animal cruelty after detectives from the Riverstone Police Area Command arrested them at a home in Glenwood around 5 p.m. Monday.
Both boys were charged with torturing, beating and killing an animal and cleaning up a killed or stolen animal.
They were granted strict conditional bail and will appear before a children’s court on Tuesday, April 4, 2023.