LYNN – After a five-day civil trial, unsuccessful criminal cases against both plaintiff and defendant, thousands of dollars in legal fees and both attorneys asking jurors not to blame his client for the proceedings, the Walsh family of Saugus will recoup legal fees and get to keep Gray the stray cat.”All this was over a family member,” Plaintiff Diane Walsh said, emphasizing the final two words when asked, “why all this over a cat?””The Cat Case” (as it has become known by attorneys and staff in Lynn District Court) began in August 2009 when a stray cat wandered into the Bond Street neighborhood in Saugus.Walsh and her husband, Leo, named the cat “Gray.” Their neighbors and the defendants in the civil case, Michael Chesna Jr. and his mother, Cheryl, named the cat “Darkness.”The Walshes and Michael Chesna began feeding and caring for the cat. Both families agreed the cat was an “outdoors cat.” But both families – who Diane Walsh wrote in court documents had “bad blood” between them – soon began claiming the cat as their own.The Walshes testified the cat began sleeping at their home in fall 2010, and they took the cat with them to Maine on weekends and to live in June 2011. Michael Chesna said the cat lived in an outdoor cat house he built in 2009. Chesna was angry when Diane Walsh called seeking medical records in early September 2011 because the cat had worms and Chesna learned the cat was in Maine.On Dec. 22, 2012, Michael Chesna and his girlfriend brought the cat to their new home across Saugus. The Chesnas allegedly never replied to calls when the Walshes canvassed their neighborhood looking for the cat.So Diane Walsh went to Michael Chesna’s new home Dec. 26, 2012, and she found the cat at a window. She confronted Michael Chesna when he came home and he refused to return the animal.Diane Walsh filed a criminal complaint in court charging Michael Chesna with larceny of property -$250. Michael Chesna filed a cross complaint with Saugus Police, and Diane Walsh was charged with malicious destruction of property +$250 for allegedly breaking a door when she went to the Chesnas’ house. Cheryl Chesna filed a civil harassment order against Diane Walsh.Judge Albert Conlon found Chesna not guilty of the criminal charge on April 1, ruling that Chesna did not show criminal intent in taking the cat, according to court documents.He said ownership of the cat was not a criminal issue, however, but noted “if this were a civil case, I would have no difficulty ruling whatsoever that the cat truly and rightfully belongs to the Walshes.”Judge Stacey Fortes dismissed the charges against Diane Walsh on May 5, citing no evidence of Walsh acting “maliciously,” according to court documents. The harassment order was denied after a hearing.The cat was returned to the Walshes on May 17 after Michael Chesna was found in contempt of a court injunction ordering the cat returned, according to court documents.The civil case began last Wednesday and involved six claims.The judge would determine the ownership of the cat. But a jury was asked to decide claims related to the dispute of the ownership. The Walshes, as plaintiffs, claimed malicious abuse of process; civil conspiracy; and negligent infliction of emotional distress.The Chesnas claimed malicious destruction of property; intentional infliction of emotional distress; and slander.Trial proceedings were emotional for many participants.”When someone takes someone you love and is holding him, you think the worst things,” Diane Walsh testified. “My beloved cat was kidnapped and being held against his will. Your mind goes to the worst.”(Judge James Wexler immediately ordered “kidnapped” stricken from the official record.)Walsh also said she thought Michael Chesna was “torturing” the cat when he sprayed the hiding and injured animal with a garden hose so he could take it to the veterinarian. (The cat was hiding under the Walshes’ shed.)Defense Attorney Kevin Mahoney repeated Michael Chesna’s claims that Diane