Pet cemetery wins cat grave court quarrel

The case of the dearly departed Minki, a 12-year-old shorthair cat from the German city of Mönchengladbach, was finally put to rest on Friday. A district judge ruled in favor of a graveyard keeper who had been locked in a strange conflict with Minki's owner.

After holding a formal funeral for Minki last year, the owner claimed that cemetery owner Monika Ludwig had reduced the ultimate size of the grave.

According to the owner's lawyer Torsten F. Barthel, the boundary stones "ran over the cat's heart," with only half the cat lying inside the grave and "its extremities outside." 

It was a situation the owner found "undeserving."

The site owner insisted that she routinely buries pets, and has never had a complaint before. She also argued that Minki's owner and she had not agreed on a grave larger than normal for an animal of that size.

Read more: German dog 'Chico' put down after mauling owner to death

Lawyer: My client is not a nutcase

Judge Miriam Pels agreed, saying that "there is no proof" any other deal existed. The judge also declined a request to have the body exhumed in order to prove that the animal was not fully buried, after asking Minki's owner to think realistically about the state the body would be in.

Barthel wanted to make it clear that his client "wasn't a nutcase…he is a successful businessman, he has a wife and child."

However, according to a court spokesman, the case of Minki could be far from over. By not appearing himself in court, the owner now has the right to appeal without explanation.

"That means the whole story could start over again from the beginning."

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