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NY-bound American passenger abandons 15 cats at Italian airport

ROME — An American faces possible animal cruelty charges for abandoning 15 cats at an Italian airport Tuesday because they weren’t allowed on board.

The 44-year-old tried to check into a Lufthansa flight from Rome to New York with 19 animals, ANSA reported.

But when officials at Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport told him he was only entitled to take four in the hold, he simply dumped them in the arrivals terminal.

The passenger also left behind cat litter and other luggage, sparking a bomb scare, the Italian news agency added.

He took off around 8:45am local time but could still be charged in his absence by Italian police with mistreating animals.