Pet Cat Suffocates To Death After Teen Purposely Leaves It Inside Washing Machine Overnight

In a “distressing and sad case,” a pet cat was put inside the washing machine overnight until it died of suffocation.

A U.K. court heard Monday that in November last year, Harry Thompson, then 17, “caused unnecessary suffering” to the short-haired cat called Squeak by throwing it before putting it inside a washing machine for an "extreme length of time.” Though he did not turn on the machine, the cat died of suffocation. Upon finding the feline dead the following morning, the accused “mocked” at it.

Thompson pleaded guilty to the crime and was given a detention training order of four months. He was also ordered to pay $244 compensation and was banned from owning pets for five years.

Calling this a “very distressing and sad case for us to deal with,” spokesperson of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty, who investigated the incident, said, "This prosecution shows that the RSPCA will always take a strong stance against animal abuse, cruelty and neglect and if necessary we will take the perpetrators to court. We would always ask anyone who has any concerns about animal cruelty to contact us on 0300 1234 999."

In a similar case of animal cruelty in Texas earlier this year, a teenager was caught on camera feeding his neighbor’s pet cat along with two other kittens to dogs. The cat’s owner rushed to her neighbor’s yard after getting information that “one adult cat and two small kittens” were found dead. Upon arrival, the owner identified the dead cat as her pet named Bonnie. It was not known who the other two dead felines belonged to.