"It was on CNN this morning. It's ridiculous," Oberhand said Wednesday of Lewis' supposed reign of terror in a Holland Hill neighborhood. "The Associated Press probably got it on the wire and everybody ate it up."
Ruth Cisero, owner of the black-and-white, long-haired cat, said she was deluged with 120 phone calls from media outlets Tuesday after the story first appeared in the Connecticut Post, and another 80 called Wednesday, including the British Broadcasting Corp.
The Connecticut Post Web site with the story has received thousands of hits and e-mails from across the country have been flooding in to reporters.
"I have pages and pages of newspapers and people who want to come here and interview and take pictures of Lew," Cisero said. "All over the place they have covered this story, and I am totally shocked."
Reporters are so hungry for news about Lewis — who's under house arrest for attacking an Avon lady and two Sunset Circle women — that they're also besieging Lewis' closest neighbors for tales about his misadventures.
Stu Hadden, an accountant who lives next to Oberhand, said a Minneapolis radio station called him
"I thought it was a gag," Hadden said. "I'm flabbergasted it's gotten this much coverage."
Tina Luglio, who lives next to Hadden, said her driveway's been packed with news vans from New York television stations.
Ironically, Hadden and Luglio said that until they read about the case Tuesday they didn't know anything about Lewis' attacks or the order by town animal-control officials that the cat be held under house arrest. "We hadn't seen him around lately, and we were wondering if he died or something," Hadden said.
Lewis' fame has spread far and wide via spots on TV news and radio, accounts on Internet sites such as the Drudge Report and MSN, and write-ups in national newspapers.
The nationally syndicated "Inside Edition" dispatched a crew to Cisero's home Wednesday and plans to air a segment on Lewis today. Jon Stewart's "Daily Show" also wants Lewis, said Ron Merly, Cisero's boyfriend.
Jim Nassetta, a friend of Merly's and a former cameraman on the "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" late-night talk show, said he's made overtures to get Lewis on that national show as well.
Cisero, a real estate agent, said she's overwhelmed by the media attention, but grateful she can tell Lewis' side of the story.
Cisero said she also opened her house to reporters because she worried her silence might lead people to think she is "a crazy cat person."
On Wednesday, Lewis lay quietly on a carpet by Cisero's living room window, staring at the forbidden outdoors and ignoring a photographer's attempt to shoot his full profile.
Thomas, an older and heavier cat who five years ago was followed by Lewis to Cisero's home — where she adopted him — seemed startled by all the strangers in the house. But Lewis took it all in stride.
While Thomas fled from a stranger's attempt to pet him, Lewis just bumped his nose into a reporter's shoe and turned to stare out the window.
"He's dying to get outside. I'm hoping he will adjust," Cisero said. She doubts Lewis' house arrest will ever be lifted, and said she's most worried about the possibility that authorities may order Lewis to be destroyed.
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Cisero contends Lewis attacked one neighbor because she stepped into a standoff between Lewis and her cat. Cisero blamed another attack on a neighbor's attempt to shoo Lewis away from her home after Lewis' standoff with her cat.
Donna Greenstein of Melody Lane, the Avon saleswoman suing Cisero for $5,000, was visiting a nearby house when Lewis got to her, but Cisero said she may have stepped on Lewis' tail or closed a door on him.
Others have also complained about Lewis' aggressiveness, but Cisero said they weren't attacked and simply didn't like the cat's hunting skills.
Before his house arrest, Lewis was good at killing squirrels, birds and chipmunks, and some neighbors got sick of seeing Lewis with a bird in his mouth, Nassetta said.
Lewis' hunting and interest in other cats made him a pariah to some neighbors, and they took to throwing water and eggs at him, Nassetta said.
"Part of this bad reaction he is having to people is he has been tormented," Cisero said.
Oberhand, who moved next door to Cisero and Merly last summer, said Lewis never bothered her and let her pet him.
But Oberhand said Pepper, her 4-year-old Lhasa apso, often sat on her porch and barked at Lewis.
Cisero was charged with reckless endangerment after Lewis escaped from her home when he was under limited house arrest. She's to appear in Bridgeport Superior Court April 25.
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