Breaking: Atlantic City Cats Beaten, Killed; PETA Issues Danger Warning For Cats Left Outside (Video)

For Immediate Release:
July 10, 2025

Contact:
Nicole Perreira 20-2483-7382

On Tuesday, 26-year-old Atlantic City resident Edwin Sanabia was charged with 13 counts of cruelty to animals after allegedly beating cats with sticks, dragging them by their tails, and using food to lure cats into his home, where he would torment and kill them before discarding their bodies in a dumpster. In response, PETA is rushing an urgent alert to local airwaves, warning people to keep cats safe by keeping them indoors. PETA’s video spot, which features It actor Jaeden Martell, shows a series of sinister characters reaching for a can of gasoline, a golf club, poison, and a shotgun—followed by the warning, “Outdoor cats don’t go missing by themselves.”  

“Just like these cats, who were viciously attacked and killed, cats left to fend for themselves outdoors are at constant risk of being harmed in heartbreaking and horrific ways,” says PETA Senior Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch. “PETA encourages all guardians to provide their cats with a happy and fulfilling indoor life safe from cruel people, predators, speeding cars, and the many other dangers of the outdoor world.”

In addition to suffering from violence and abuse at the hands of cruel people, cats allowed to roam or live outdoors are at risk of contracting parasites or potentially fatal diseases, being attacked by predators or run over by cars, and countless other hazards. PETA notes that cats kept indoors need to be physically and mentally stimulated with a view of the outdoors, toys, climbing structures, scratching posts, cat TV, and other enrichment. PETA offers a catio-building guide as well as a “cat guardian’s bible” written by PETA President Ingrid Newkirk that’s full of tips and available for purchase here.

PETA’s video series has run in Blaine, Minnesota, where alandlord allegedly poisoned cats whom a tenant was feeding; Dayton, Ohio, where a kitten was set on fire; Los Angeles, where a man is accused of shooting multiple homeless cats with a crossbow; and Pequea Township, Pennsylvania, where a cat was shot in the head with a metal arrow. Many more cases are detailed on PETA’s website.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.