‘Evil that lives amongst us’: Chesterfield man accused of torturing cats for donations

Editor's Note: This article contains detailed descriptions of animal abuse that some may find disturbing. Viewer discretion is advised.

CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — A Chesterfield County man is being held without bond following accusations that he tortured cats, then went on platforms like TikTok to try and scam people out of money for the animals' medical expenses.

According to court documents, 27-year-old Rodney Travis, Jr. of Chesterfield posted hundreds of videos to TikTok, Instagram and YouTube showing cats in what is described as "extreme distress" to solicit donations.

"If the story is true, he was lying to the public in an effort to try to raise money for his own person -- to benefit from the suffering of these animals," said Christie Chipps-Peters, director of Richmond Animal Care and Control (RACC).

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According to court records, many of the videos were filmed inside a Henrico County hotel room. The footage shows a cat named Hayden bleeding from his mouth and nose, experiencing tremors and having dilated pupils.

A veterinarian told investigators the cat appeared to be on drugs and suffering from head trauma in the videos. Court documents state Hayden was later found with several broken bones.

The text overlay on one such TikTok video reads, "When you're holding your sick cat who's battling cancer and praying strangers on the internet will care enough to help."

Hotel staff contacted the Henrico County Police Division after finding blood smears and clumps of gray cat hair in the room, according to court documents.

"It just is sort of a smack in the face to any legit organization [that] is operating in any capacity," Chipps-Peters said.

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She said that Travis has even attempted to adopt from RACC in the past.

"He was in a full trench coat with ski glasses," Chipps-Peters said. "He walked straight back. He was like, 'I just want an orange cat.'"

Travis was arrested on Feb. 13. Hayden and several other cats were taken to an emergency veterinarian for treatment.

"I don't know ... the kind of evil that lives amongst us that can do something like that," Chipps-Peters said.

Travis faces four felony charges. His next court date is scheduled for March 26.