She sold kittens through a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel classified ad:  "Kittens: 8 weeks, shots, dewormed, delivery."

But the people who bought kittens from the woman behind the ad weren't bringing home playful pets. At least six people who bought kittens from Nicole Piotrowski, 38, Burlington, have told police their new pets died within days of bringing them home.

The ad ran as recently as two weeks ago; it is still available online if you search the newspaper's classifieds. The number that ran with it is no longer in service, and the number that lists to her in the phone book has been

disconnected.

Heidi Becker of Oshkosh bought a kitten from Piotrowski for her mother and brother as an early Christmas present.

"It looked healthy," she said. "It acted like a normal kitten. It played, ran around, cuddled. Then the first night it went downhill. It stopped moving and wouldn't eat or drink."

Two days after Becker bought the cat, it had stopped moving around. They took it to the vet, but he couldn't do anything for it.

"I bought the cat on Saturday and took it to the vet on Monday," Becker said. "On Monday night it had to be put to sleep."

They hadn't even had a chance to decide on a name for the kitten.

Becker got one call through to Piotrowski and told her the kitten was sick. All other calls she made went unanswered. When Becker called from other phones, she said Piotrowski would answer, but hung up once she realized who it was. Becker paid $50 for the kitten and her family spent more than $100 on vet bills.

Rachael O'Neil and a friend had similar experiences. The two, who live in the Waukesha area, bought kittens from Piotrowski in late spring. The kittens seemed fine at first, but then got sick and died.

O'Neil said after they got in touch with Piotrowski she offered to give them replacement cats, but not to refund their money.

O'Neil said her friend spent about $300 on vet bills trying to make her kitten better; O'Neil's cat died at home.

The two picked the cats up at Piotrowski's house, O'Neil said.

"It was pretty grungy there," O'Neil said. "There were 15 cats on the porch and four cats in one room, and in the basement were two cages filled with kittens.  It was real weird."

Veterinarians that examined kittens people had bought from Piotrowski said the animals had been sick with illnesses including feline leukemia, anemia, upper respiratory infections and distemper.

This was not Piotrowski's first animal-related contact with authorities. Racine County Humane Officer Jody Halladay said that in 2004 she had told Piotrowski not to sell sick animals and to reduce the number of animals kept in her home. Follow-up was difficult, however.  "I was never able to catch her at home," she said.

Getting away with selling sick animals for as long as Piotrowski apparently has is unusual, Halladay said.  "Usually when we know they're selling sick animals, especially when they know the public has been calling them having problems you're gonna stop what you're doing," Halladay said. "But she didn't. She was making pretty good money off these kittens."

Piotrowski told police she had charged between $40 and $60 for the kittens; victims reported significantly higher charges, as much as $150. Vet bills trying to treat the fatally ill kittens ran into the hundreds.

Piotrowski was arrested by the Burlington Police Department and received tickets for six counts each of animal mistreatment and theft by fraud. The charges will be forwarded to the Racine County District Attorney. She is due in court in March.

Piotrowski has denied any wrongdoing, police say, and instead is blaming the victims for the kittens'medical problems. She told police that some of the customers took the cats with the understanding that they needed treatment for colds, other illnesses she blamed on kittens being taken outside. She also denied allegations that she did not answer her phone when customers tried to get in touch with her.

"She said she's not responsible for any vet bills," said Burlington Detective Sgt. Bret Maus. "Either they were sick due to improper care or they had a disease she was unaware of."

For the people who took home kittens, that doesn't seem right. Becker and O'Neil are pleased the police are taking this situation seriously.  "I just want her to be punished," Becker said. "I know she really hurt my family. I'm assuming she hurt other families. I know I'm not the only one."

Update 1/31/06:  The woman arrested for selling cats so sick they died within days was caught selling kittens again.

Burlington police arrested Nicole Piotrowski for animal cruelty and theft by fraud several weeks ago. She was facing at least 12 misdemeanor charges for selling the sick kittens. Some of her customers spent hundreds of dollars in vet bills trying to cure the cats, but they either died or had to be put to sleep.

Piotrowski has been charged with nine felony counts of mistreating animals causing death, 10 misdemeanor counts of theft by false representation and three misdemeanor counts of mistreating animals, based on allegations that she sold sick cats and kittens.

Each of the felony counts carries a possible sentence of a fine not to exceed $10,000 or 3½ years in prison or both; the theft by false representation charges carry possible fines of up to $10,000 and nine months in prison and the misdemeanor mistreating animals charge carries a possible sentence of $10,000 and imprisonment for not more than 3½ years.

Piotrowski posted the $5,000 bond shortly after her arrest and has not been held in custody. A condition of her bond is that she give up any animals in her home. Burlington police and two humane officers went to her home and did not find any cats, but there were signs that animals had been in the home recently. So far 11 people had complained that the cats and kittens they bought from Piotrowski got sick within days; many died.

She is next due in court at 9 a.m. on Feb. 15.

Burlington's animal control officer and the Racine County humane officer first warned Piotrowski against selling kittens out of her home in 2004. In late 2005 customers of hers began calling the Burlington Police Department complaining that the kittens they bought were sick and dying. The kittens reportedly had worms, upper respiratory infections, diarrhea and distemper.

Burlington police got a phone call from the county's humane officer who said she got an anonymous tip that Piotrowski was again selling kittens, using a different name and phone number. Burlington police had someone call and arrange to buy a kitten, at a $90 asking price. When the phony buyer approached her car, a girl in the back seat handed her a kitten. When Detective Sgt. Bret Maus approached the car, she told him she did not sell the cat, but the girl in the back seat had sold it. The girl started crying and told Maus she didn't sell the cat, and that Piotrowski did.

Maus arrested Piotrowski, who posted the $5,000 bond and was released.  "She's not under arrest for selling a cat," Maus said. "She's under arrest for cruelty to animals causing death."  She told police she wasn't selling cats, but that she was an animal rescue person, and the $90 was a donation.

Update 2/16/06:  The preliminary hearing for the Burlington woman charged with multiple felony and misdemeanor counts of animal mistreatment has been postponed.

Piotrowski was to appear before Court Commissioner Alice Rudebusch for her preliminary hearing, but neither she nor her attorney were in the courtroom when the case was initially called.  She came into the courtroom briefly, prior to her case being called. When Rudebusch called her case Piotrowski was not in the courtroom, and no one was able to find her in the lower level of the Law Enforcement Center. Her attorney, Thomas Kasen, was not present.

Assistant District Attorney Mike Luell told the court Kasen told him he was going to be a little late and that he planned to ask for an adjournment of the hearing until a later date.

The court took a short break and Piotrowski again appeared for a short time before leaving to wait in the lobby outside the courtroom. Rudebusch called the case again shortly after returning to the bench, but Piotrowski did not appear. Rudebusch said she would issue a warrant for Piotrowski's arrest if she did not appear before the court by end of day.

Piotrowski and Kasen did come before Rudebusch in the afternoon, satisfying the warrant. The preliminary hearing has been rescheduled for 9 a.m. March 1.

Update 3/2/06: Piotrowski listened to testimony from witnesses whispering to her lawyer after every few statements.

Burlington police said they received complaints from 26 people, 17 of which have been documented. The complaints stem from kittens bought between September 2005 and December 2005.

Piotrowski did not accept a plea agreement offered by the District Attorney's Office, and the hearing went forward as scheduled. The state called three witnesses.

Christopher Pye, a man who bought two kittens from Piotrowski in October 2005, said he spent about $700 in vet bills for kittens that had to be put to sleep because they had distemper.  "She made a point to say they all had their shots and had been deflead because she had a thing about fleas," Pye said.

He and his family went to buy one cat, but came away with two because both his son and daughter wanted kittens of their own. They spent $100 on the kittens on Oct. 15. Five days later, on Oct. 21, the kittens began to have problems, he said. Pye had the day off work and one kitten, Shadow, was sick that morning.  "She couldn't even walk," he said. "It looked like she was dazed. She would just fall over on her side. I thought maybe the kids had hurt her or something."

He made an appointment for 11 a.m., but within a half hour the kittens' condition had worsened. She was barely breathing and had lost control of her bladder.  "I packed the cat up and took her in," he said. "I went up to the counter and said `I have an 11 o'clock appointment, and I don't think she's gonna make it that long.' " Veterinary staff gave the cat fluids, took her temperature and a blood sample that showed a very low white blood cell count, likely caused by distemper. Later that day the other cat got sick, Pye said, and he brought the second kitten into the office as well. The next day the vet called and said neither kitten was improving, and he had them put down. Their 9-year-old cat had to have tests done to ensure it hadn't caught distemper or anything else from the kittens.  Between purchasing the cats and the vet bills Pye spent $800.

The veterinarian who examined Pye's cats, Jessica West of the Muskego Animal Hospital, said she saw four kittens with similar symptoms that had been purchased from Piotrowski; three died.

Defense attorney Thomas Kasen questioned whether distemper, caused by a virus, was really responsible for the kittens' illnesses. The animal hospital performed blood cell count tests, but did not do another, much more expensive test that can definitively tell the presence of the virus that causes distemper.

"There's nothing else that can cause such a significant decrease in white blood cells in a kitten," West said.  She also said there was nothing Pye could have done to improve the kittens' condition while they were in his home.

Michelle Cannon, a community services officer with the Burlington Police Department, said she and the Racine County Humane Officer had told Piotrowski to stop selling kittens in June, four months before Pye bought his kittens.  They went to Piotrowski's home after a woman called after her kitten died.  "I entered the defendant's home and I noticed the smell of cats," she said. "There were cats running all over the place. Most were pretty sickly looking, with big bellies and runny eyes."

She said there were between 15 and 18 cats, mostly kittens, but a few adult cats as well. She said they considered citing her for a municipal violation, because she had more animals in her home than is allowed, but instead told her she had diseases in her home, likely distemper, and that kittens were dying.  "She agreed they were dying," Cannon said. "Because some had died in her home."

She said they did not issue citations because she hoped at that time that Piotrowski would be willing to work with the department to fix the problems that were occurring.   "I wished to work with Nicole to the best of our abilities," Cannon said. "I thought it was necessary to call the Racine County Humane Officer to come and visit with me to get an expert opinion and to help deal with Nicole so we could work with Nicole before it turned into anything more. I thought at the time that Nicole could curb her behavior before anything more serious had to be done."

Court Commissioner Alice Rudebusch found probable cause, and bound Piotrowski over for trial. Her arraignment is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. March 27.

Update 4/22/06:  The Racine County District Attorney's Office has offered a plea deal to Piotrowski.

Piotrowski's attorney has challenged the finding of probable cause made in January. A judge will now review a transcript of her March preliminary hearing to determine whether probable cause existed to charge her with the 23 crimes.

A status date is scheduled for May 22; her jury trial is scheduled for June 20.

Update 4/28/06:  Piotrowski died last week.

Piotrowski died at her Milwaukee home April 21. Her death is being investigated by the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office; an autopsy will be performed.

According to the investigation report, Piotrowski died after she began to "behave in a bizarre manner." The report states she was acting panicky and attempted to hide in small spaces and beneath a stool. After about 30 minutes she collapsed on the floor. Her son called 911. Her heart had stopped by the time paramedics arrived.

A friend that arrived on the scene told police Piotrowski has previously used cocaine and that she has bought prescription psychiatric medication on the street. No illegal drugs were found on the scene; a prescription bottle containing various pills was found in the home.

She was next due in Racine County Circuit Court on May 22. Her attorney had challenged the finding of probable cause, which allowed the state to issue charges.

Piotrowski's criminal case (Case # 2006CF000129) will be closed. People who believe they bought sick kittens from Piotrowski may still be able to seek damages from her estate in civil court.

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