James Fiengo, 43, of Port St. Lucie, Florida was arrested on Tuesday for abusing the family cat Joey and is also accused of Daisy, a female German shepherd dog.
Port St. Lucie Animal Control learned of the abuse from Fiengo's wife, who showed animal control the video taken by their 12-year-old daughter.
The stomach-churning video footage shows Fiengo treating the cat like a rag doll, while he makes faces to the camera as if he is enjoying what he is doing.
In the footage Fiengo squeezes Joey’s head while the cat can be heard crying out in pain. He also holds the clearly distressed animal upside down and bats its head as if it was a ball.
Not shown on the video are other claims of abuse made by Fiengo's wife.
She claims Fiengo regularly picked Joey up by the tail and swung him back and forth, squeezed the cat's tail in an attempt to 'crack it like a stick,' threw the cat across the house and punched him in the stomach.
Fiengo's wife says the cat 'doesn't chew right' and has a deformed ear now, reports CBS News.
She also told police Fiengo abuses the dog Daisy by sitting on her and biting her muzzle until she yelped.
She said the family has had two cats prior to Joey that she had to get rid of 'for their own protection' because Fiengo 'cracked' the tail on the first one and threw the second one against a wall, knocking it unconscious.
Fiengo's wife said she has obtained a restraining order against her husband for threats he has made to his daughter for recording the videos.
A veterinarian examined the cat and found cartilage damage to the cat's right ear. The vet also x-rayed the cat's tail and found it showed chronic trauma.
He has been arrested on two counts of felony animal cruelty.
(Daily Mail - March 7, 2013)
