Man allegedly threatens to kill apartment employee, throws his cat in rage, police say

SALT LAKE CITY — A man is suspected of trying to kill his cat after threatening an employee of an apartment complex Tuesday morning.

Siddharth Shrivastava, 42, was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail on a third-degree felony charge of torture of a companion animal and misdemeanor charges of threat of violence and intoxication, according to the police affidavit.

The affidavit reported that Shrivastava made threats to kill an apartment management employee and damage the employee’s truck “because he was upset.”

The employee told police he went outside to check on his truck, and Shrivastava was swinging around “some kind of sack with ‘rocks’,” according to the affidavit.

“Shortly after, several employees heard a very loud ‘scream,’ went outside, and found (Shrivastava’s) house cat on the ground and (him) walking away,” the affidavit stated.

The affidavit reported that the apartment employees thought the cat was dead and seemed “lifeless.” The employees told police one of them picked up the cat, and the cat woke up, scratched the employee, and ran away.

A witness told police they saw Shrivastava throwing the cat. The affidavit stated that Shrivastava told police, “I killed my cat.”

When Shrivastava was taken into custody, the affidavit noted that his breath smelled like alcohol. He told police he had a bottle of rice wine and was drinking whiskey.

Court records show that Shrivastava had several incidents with law enforcement this year, including fleeing from police in a car while driving on a suspended license and driving under the influence,