It is quite a common sight to see stray cats or dogs walking around your neighbourhood as these animals often take shelter in our gardens or under our cars, especially on hot and sunny days. While some residents don’t mind having these visitors around their houses from time to time, others find these domestic animals a nuisance.
On 1st March, April Hawes from Norfolk in East England became very annoyed when her neighbour’s two cats kept entering her house. Fuelled by anger, the 36-year-old decided to act out violently against one of the cats by grabbing it by the neck and flinging it nine metres into the air.
According to Daily Star, this was recorded by a surveillance camera installed at her neighbour’s house in Dereham, which managed to capture the woman approaching the house with a black cat in her hand and flinging it violently at the house.
Shadow, the less-than-a-year old cat, was left screaming in agony as it suffered soft tissue damage from being thrown, and did not recover from its “very nervous” state after the fall.
Hawes was then arrested and appeared at King’s Lynn Magistrates’ Court on Friday (28th June) to admit causing suffering to a protected animal. However, instead of being sent to jail, she was ordered to complete a year’s worth of community service, along with 30 days of rehabilitation activity, according to prosecutor Josephine Jones.
Hawes was also ordered to pay £85 (RM442) in costs and another £85 for victim surcharge. She said that she regrets her actions and did not intend to cause any harm when she threw the cat.
She also apparently suffered post-traumatic stress disorder after the incident.
Meanwhile, the owner was gracious enough to not seek any compensation from Hawes even though her pet had suffered badly from the fall. Previously, her four-month-old puppy had its mouth taped shut for two weeks by a teen.
Here’s the video:
Poor kitty! Hopefully it recovers well from such a traumatic incident. No animal deserves to be treated like that! 🙁
Also read: Abused Cat Found Dead on Ground Filled With Bloodstains, Parts of Its Fur Also Shaved