Florida Cat Mutilator Is Put Behind Bars

January 2002

A Florida man, annoyed by his cat’s meowing, cut her throat and mutilated her with a steak knife while a friend took pictures. The owner and his accomplices were arrested after Walgreens photo developers called the police. Photographs depict not only the attack, but also the butchered carcass suspended from a shower rail while the blood-spattered participants “mug” for the camera.

The cat’s owner pleaded guilty to cruelty-to-animal charges, but the case was delayed for months because of threats that the man made against the prosecutor. After pressure from PETA, the original judge–who was outspoken in his lenient stance on animal abuse–recused himself. The case came before the new judge who gave the abuser 10 months in jail.

Read about the link between animal and human abuse.