Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies found a cat bound in electrical tape Saturday night as they investigated a suspicious car in the Santa Clarita Valley.
According to the sheriff's department, deputies stopped to check on a vehicle parked behind a closed business. Inside the car, they found two people in possession of narcotics, the sheriff's department said.
Deputies also heard loud meows coming from the vehicle. Inside a pet carrier, they found a cat buried upside down with its front and back paws taped together.
The owner of the cat, who was one of the people inside the car, is now facing animal cruelty charges as well as drug possession, the sheriff's department said. The cat — who appeared to be in discomfort from the tightly bound tape — was freed by the deputies.
Animal control officers took the cat to a shelter, where it was to be treated by a veterinarian, NBC Los Angeles reported.