How Lewis The Cat Clawed His Way to World Fame

Fairfield's so-called "Terrorist of Sunset Circle" has some new friends in his kitty corner. Lewis, the 5-year-old black-and-white longhaired cat who made international headlines this week, now has a profile on MySpace.com

The Connecticut Post first reported on Lewis last week after his owner was arrested and he violated his house arrest, put in place following alleged attacks on an Avon representative and neighbors in the Sunset Circle area of Fairfield. Fairfield Animal Web surfers can visit www.myspace.com/lewisthecrazycat to view his member profile, created by out-of-state fans who admit they have never met Lewis. The site was created on Thursday; as of Saturday, Lewis had 25 registered friends on the MySpace online social network The Connecticut Post first reported on Lewis last week after his owner was arrested and he violated his house arrest, put in place following alleged attacks on an Avon representative and neighbors in the Sunset Circle area of Fairfield. Fairfield Animal Control Officer Rachel Solveira issued a restraining order on Lewis after determining he posed a potential threat to town residents.Lewis's owner, Ruth Cisero, fed him Prozac twice a day for two months in an effort to forestall any unruly behavior, but weaned him off of the drug when she felt he was suffering a negative reaction. Solveira arrested Cisero for failing to comply with the restraining order and for reckless endangerment after Lewis escaped the house and attacked

another person. One victim, Donna Greenstein, sued Cisero following the attack.

Cisero confirmed that Lewis is under lifelong house arrest and that now one of the victims is pushing to have him euthanized. "My biggest fear is someone reporting that [Lewis] got out when he has not, and I will be arrested again," Cisero said. She has a hearing at Bridgeport Superior Court on April 25.

Lewis has made international news, with coverage on local stations as well as CNN and BBC. Perhaps it's only appropriate that Lewis joined MySpace.

"As long as the media and law hold him to 'person' standards, he might as well have a MySpace profile, too," said Ryan Tompkinson, 25, of Pine Hill, N.J., one of Lewis's new MySpace "friends."

Friends Erin Reeves, 23, of Sudbury, Mass., and Chandana Ravi, 22, of Oak Park, Ill., created the MySpace profile as a joke amongst their friends.

"[Ravi] and I were talking last night and thought this would be funny, so we made a page," Reeves said. "[Reeves] thought it would be funny to do a MySpace page from the cat's point of view, since the only one not really represented in the stories is Lewis," Ravi said.

While some people express concern for the condition and treatment of Lewis, others wonder at the widespread attention this story has garnered.

"It's absurd that a cat story would be aired on 'respected' new programs, preempting actual news," Tompkinson said.

But Cisero is grateful that her side — not to mention Lewis's — is being represented.

"I am so appreciative of all the good trying to be done by most of the media," she said. "The only thing I want is the truth so that people can make a fair judgement."

After all the hype, the creators of Lewis's profile have a soft spot for the confined kitty. "I've never seen the cat, nor do I know the owner. I just kind of felt bad for him," Reeves said.

"I did feel bad for a cat that is forced to take Prozac, has a restraining order against it and is under house arrest," Ravi said. One of Lewis' MySpace pals thinks the profile will serve an additional purpose for the house-ridden feline.

"Maybe we can even find a Louise the crazy female cat for him on here, too," Tompkinson said, "because every crazy cat needs a counterpart."