They said the kitten was hurt so badly, they had to euthanize it.
Lupe Morales said she is terrified of letting her dogs out because she is afraid someone might hurt them.
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| RIP little tortured kitten |
"I have three dogs and I would feel really bad if someone did anything to mine," Morales said.
And that is what happened Friday night, when animal control workers said a Rolling Acres Mobile Estates resident saw several 10 to 12-year-olds abusing a four-week-old stray kitten.
"The report that we got from the caller was they were throwing the cat in the air, and letting it fall to the ground repeatedly," said Jackson Animal Control Officer Whitney Owen.
["This 4 week old male kitten was tortured (thrown against a wall which lead to one of its eyes exploding, they attempted to drown it 3 times in motor oil, beat it with sticks) the police were called and the kitten was seized to be humanely put to sleep.
"No one would step up to say exactly who the childeren were.....all that was disclosed was that it was 2 boys and 2 girls of Hispanic decent between the ages of 10-12 years old.
"RIP sweet kitten. Please keep your eyes and ears open people you if you even think an animal is being abused call your local PD or ACO.......we are the only help these innocent animals have!!
"Two other kittens were found and seized along this one and are in custody with Barn Cats Rescue to be vetted and then will be available for adoption. All donations are appreciated and all adopters are welcome." -- Abused Animals of West TN]
Jackson animal control officers said they took the kitten to a local veterinarian to assess his injuries, but the vet had to put him down.
According to officers, the last time they had to euthanize an animal from something like this was in 2010.
Animal control said it gets two to three animal abuse calls a month.
"We have a pretty serious cat overpopulation issue in that area [Rolling Acres] and so strays are a daily problem," Owen said.
Workers said they get so many calls from there, that they have to put out live traps, but they only help for so long.
"With such a high volume of people, you've got a lot of pets, and a lot of cats, and you know, that one cat's great grandmother may have an owner, but since she had a litter of kittens, and then that litter of kittens has had kittens, nobody owns them at this point. Several people feed them, but nobody claims ownership," Owen said.
[Exactly what does this have to do with children getting enjoyment from beating and torturing a kitten to death?! There's a time and a place to talk about cat overpopulation and strays. Now is not the time.
What she should have been addressing is children being left unsupervised, children growing up with violence in the home and doing the same to innocent animals, talking about how serial killers start out by torturing animals, that clearly these children have emotional and psychological issues and that they need to be found and addressed.]
Morales said she is not surprised after hearing about the kitten abuse, but still she is saddened at what happened.
"They should have to pay for what they did because that was an animal that they hurt," she said.
Animal control officers told 7 Eyewitness News they seized two other kittens that are being cared for by a veterinarian until they can be adopted.
Anyone with information about this case is asked to contact Jackson Animal Control at (731) 425-8545, or the Jackson Police Department at (731) 425-8400.
(WBBJ - June 18, 2012)