Cat killer sentenced to jail

DOYLESTOWN, Pa., Aug. 26 (UPI) -- A Pennsylvania judge Thursday sentenced a 28-year-old man to up to two years in jail for setting a kitten on fire.

The animal with burns over 90 percent of its body was later euthanized, WCAU-TV, Philadelphia, reported. The incident occurred last December.

Daniel Culligan of Doylestown was accused of dousing his cat in lighter fluid and setting it on fire. He then threw the kitten off the deck of his apartment.

"Incarceration was definitely appropriate in this case given the deliberate, willful nature of this crime," said Prosecutor Jennifer Buck.

Kevin Burns, a witness said the 9-month-old kitten, Chica, hit the screen door of his home. He described the kitten as a ball of fire.

"I just seen it on fire and I ran out, and I saw it was a cat and it was sitting there and it was crying," Burns said.

Culligan owned the kitten for a day and said he became frustrated when it soiled his apartment and scratched his son.