BUKIT MERTAJAM: The cat seen in a viral picture with a rope tied around its neck and hanging from the rear of a four-wheel vehicle is doing well.
Penang Veterinary Services Department director Dr Saira Banu Mohamed Rejab said the cat had been treated.
"Our officers gave the cat an injection and it is doing well. Just some minor bruises.
"The cat will remain under our care," she said at the state DVS office in Bukit Tengah, near here, today.
She showed newsmen a photo of the cat, saying that she could not bring the feline out so as not to stress it.
A picture of the cat hanging from a vehicle had gone viral, sparking outrage among netizens.
Dr Saira Banu said the department had recorded statements from a man, in his 30s, who was driving the four-wheel vehicle and the vehicle's owner.
The vehicle had been seized for investigation.
Penang DVS opened an investigation paper into the case under Paragraph 29(1)(a) of the Animal Welfare Act 2015.
Dr Saira Banu said the suspect who drove the four-wheel drive claimed he was taking the stray cat to the vet for treatment.
She said he claimed to have placed the cat under a basket at the back of the vehicle.
She said he claimed that the basket flew off, causing the cat to fall off with a rope tied around its neck.
"Another driver followed the four-wheel drive to alert him to what happened.
"The way he handled the cat was not right. It should have been placed inside a carrier inside the vehicle," Dr Saira Banu said.
Earlier today, police confirmed receiving a report about the incident.