A cat who had been living as a stray was carried alive into a Bronx apartment, where the animal should have found safety, comfort, and gentle care. Instead, less than two weeks later, the cat had been killed.
The man responsible for killing the cat pleaded guilty and received a two-year jail sentence, the maximum allowed under New York law, News 12 reported.
Surveillance footage showed the cat being carried into the apartment. An Instagram photo posted two days later showed the cat still alive. Less than two weeks after that, another post showed a cat lying motionless in a pool of what appeared to be blood, according to an earlier Bronx District Attorney’s Office release.
Detectives later found dried biological material on the apartment floor, which the ASPCA identified as feline blood. The organization also helped investigators confirm that the cat was the animal who appeared in both Instagram photos.
For the next 10 years, the man cannot legally have another cat or any other animal, according to the Bronx District Attorney’s Office.
Lady Freethinker thanks the judge for imposing the strongest sentence available, as well as the detectives and ASPCA professionals whose careful work helped uncover what happened to this cat. However, two years is an insufficient maximum sentence for the severity of this crime and highlights the need for legislative change to ensure stronger protections for animals.
