AUSTIN, Texas (KWTX) – The Austin Police Department’s Animal Cruelty Unit has filed 13 Class A misdemeanor charges of Cruelty to Non-Livestock Animals (Abandonment) against Nayzak Najm, 27, following an animal cruelty investigation in South Austin.
Police said officers were called around 5:22 p.m. Feb. 5, 2026 to an apartment complex at 10101 S. 1st Street after a resident reported multiple malnourished cats in a neighboring unit living in unsafe, unsanitary conditions.
According to APD, apartment management told officers the former tenant, Najm, had moved out in mid-January after turning in her keys. The lease expired Jan. 31, and management entered the unit to begin restoration work tied to prior flooding issues when the animals were discovered…