A rare prison sentence for killing a cat

Someone has finally been held accountable for killing a cat.

In Meriden, Connecticut, a man convicted of killing a cat was sentenced to five years in prison and three years of probation under a felony animal cruelty charge.

Records show the young cat wandered outside his home before being taken, intentionally tortured, and killed.



Investigators later learned that the offender bragged to friends about what he had done.

The case was treated as a felony because the violence was deliberate and repeated, not an accident or a one-time act.

Unprotected lives are easier to harm.

Connecticut already allows prison sentences for severe animal cruelty. 

In this case, the charge was not reduced, and incarceration was included, even though only one year will actually be served unless probation is violated.

The time served is far less than many hoped for, but prison sentences in cases involving cats are still uncommon.

Felony cruelty laws also exist in places like Canada and parts of Europe, yet jail time is still rare. 

This Connecticut sentence included it.

Consequences for cruelty are still uncommon.

What happened in this case points to a much larger problem.

Animals who live without protection face the greatest risk, especially when harm happens out of sight.

That risk starts early for animals born into homelessness.

The world's 600 million stray dogs and 87 million stray cats give birth to over 1 billion homeless puppies and kittens every year. 

Tragically, those who survive also reproduce, creating another generation of homeless strays and repeating the cycle of suffering year after year.

Protection can begin before suffering does.

Many continue being born into a struggle they never chose.

This is why our mission is to end the #1 cause of suffering and death for dogs and cats — overpopulation — by developing a Cookie that will only need to be eaten one time, and it will, in effect, spay or neuter — without surgery.

With your help, we will end this suffering!

Please join us.

Yes, I Want to Help End the Suffering!

Thank you for caring and for helping animals.