A 27-year-old West Bend man is facing eight animal-mistreatment charges after police found seven dead cats and one surviving cat inside a storage tote in a dumpster last November, according to a criminal complaint filed Sept. 25, 2026. Jesus Bautista is charged with seven felony counts of mistreating animals and one misdemeanor count related to the cat that survived. The charges are allegations; the complaint says Bautista admitted putting the cats in the dumpster. Online court records showed he was scheduled for an initial hearing in November. West Bend police were called Nov. 2, 2025, after people reported dead cats in a dumpster behind a home near North Eighth and Ninth avenues. Officers found a blue tote in the dumpster with seven dead cats inside and one alive. A woman who lived in the building told investigators that two of her cats were at home and other cats she owned were missing. She identified Bautista as her boyfriend and told police he had said he was dumping the cats, the complaint says. Investigators say Bautista told them he put the cats in the tote while they were alive. He said he and others had been trying to get rid of some cats but could not afford to take them to the humane society. Bautista also told police he thought the cats would be able to get out, according to the complaint. He acknowledged both clasps on the tote lid were closed when he put it in the dumpster. The surviving cat, later named Gizmo, was taken to the Washington County Humane Society and admitted for emergency assessment. The complaint says Gizmo’s blood pressure and temperature were initially too low to register. The cat was cleaned, dried and placed in an incubator for heat support. By Nov. 24, Gizmo was healthy enough to be adopted.