Ponzu, the Instagram-Famous Cat, Dies After Altercation in a New York Park

Ponzu, a beloved Instagram cat, has died after an incident in New York on Easter Sunday. According to his owner, Chanan Aksornnan, she was walking her animals in a park in Brooklyn, New York, when the NYPD says a child tripped over Ponzu’s leash.

“I was shocked because my cat flew up to the air and then fall down on the ground. And then he was panicked already at that stage,” Chanan explains to Inside Edition’s Les Trent. “And I look at the kid, the kid was looking back, and then he saw that the cat was in the panic... he stopped, right. He's starting to run and dragging my cat along the way to here.”

She adds, “I was sitting here and hugging him, like on my chest, trying to calm him down because I know that this is going to be the last, last date because he has a heart problem.” The child ran off, and Ponzu’s heart gave out shortly after.

Afterward, Aksornnan says she was approached by the child’s mother and a group of about seven others who berated her for yelling at the child. Words escalated to a physical altercation, and she was knocked to the ground.

“They was on top of me. I didn't know anything anymore because I was doing like this, because they're trying to attack my face. They're using their fingernails, those long fingernails, trying to poke my eyes,” Chanan explains. “What kind of human being is this? My cat is dying on my chest, and you didn't even come and asking, is everything okay? Are you okay? There's no mercy.”

Authorities say that a woman has been charged for assaulting Chanan. And she and Ponzu’s almost 48,000 followers are in mourning.

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