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Man accused of leaving cat in hot car in Overland Park

Posted at 5:44 PM, Jun 06, 2017
and last updated 2017-06-06 19:32:44-04

Animal control officers say it only takes 10 to 15 minutes from the time you leave your pet in a hot car for the situation to turn tragic.

That didn’t happen in a call they responded to Monday but law enforcement wants this to serve as a reminder. 

Scott Kleban, 51, is accused of leaving his cat in his car with the windows rolled up in a parking lot on the 9800 block of W. 87th Street across from the Johnson County Central Library.

According to Overland Park police, when officers arrived Monday evening they found the cat in 90-degree weather panting. It's one of the distress signals animal control officers say you need to look out for.

“[They] become lethargic, not alert, sometimes if you see an animal in the vehicle it'll be at the lowest place within the vehicle to get out of the sun,” Alexis Rivera, an animal control officer for the city of Overland Park said.

Overland Park firefighters were able to rescue the cat. 

“Getting animals out of vehicles is pretty rare,” Rivera said.

But she added it is common for the number of animal neglect calls to go up as the temperatures rise.

“We'll go and check on the animal say the animal isn't showing signs of distress at that point we will leave the scene because there is no violation at that time. If time allows we'll go back and check on the vehicle,” Rivera said.

And if you think rolling down the car windows helps your pet cool down, think again.

“Right now, it's pretty hot there is no breeze. The animal is not going to be able to get significant air flow to help them,” Rivera said.

If you spot any living creature in a hot vehicle there’s one thing you can do.

“Just give us a call if you're not sure and we'll go out there and check on it,” Rivera said.

The cat rescued Monday is currently sheltered at the Great Plains SPCA.

The owner, Scott Kleban was released on his own recognizance after a video arraignment Tuesday morning. He is expected to return to Overland Park Municipal Court on June 26 at 2:30 p.m.