An 11-year-old boy was arrested on a felony charge of animal cruelty after a neighbor caught on camera the child repeatedly throwing his pet cat into the air and onto the ground.
The boy told Port St. Lucie police that the cat, named Ray, had pooped in his bedroom as he went to do his homework. The boy said he cleaned up the poop and was mad, so he took Ray outside to the front yard.
According to the police report, during the course of about five minutes, the 11-year-old threw Ray into the air and let him crash to ground six times. After many of the tosses, the cat appeared motionless or dazed. Four times, the boy threw the cat directly at the ground. And, at least once, the boy kicked the cat.
A neighbor child saw what was happening and, at the direction of his mother who was indisposed at the time, used his cellphone to film the abuse through a bedroom window, according to the police report. When the mother was able, she reviewed her child’s footage and notified authorities.
Police got permission from the 11-year-old’s mother to interview him while at school a couple days later.
The child told the officer “Ray was alive and well,” according to the report.
When asked what should happen to someone who does this, the boy said the person should go to jail, the report states.
Authorities went to the home and secured Ray, another housecat, and a bird.
Ray and the other cat were taken to a local veterinarian who determined Ray sustained soft tissue injury to his tail. The other cat appeared to be in good health.
