‘Because I’m a dog person’… The shocking reason why a college student ‘beat his girlfriend’s cat to death’

‘I’m a dog person by nature. I beat the cat to death.”

This is what the male college student reportedly stated to police investigators.

On October 5, the Living Environment Division of the Osaka Prefectural Police sent a male college student, A, 21, of Izumisano City to the police for prosecution. A admitted to the crime.

The incident occurred on January 14 this year. It is alleged that he beat the head of a 6-month-old exotic shorthair at an apartment in Kuzunoha-machi, Izumi City, where he was living with a woman he was dating at the time. The abuse took place while the woman was away. The kitten died about three weeks later.

Prompted by the woman he was dating who was suspicious of the way the cat died, A brought the carcass to a veterinary clinic. The veterinarian, who judged from the kitten’s condition that it had been abused, reported the incident to the Osaka Prefectural Animal Protection and Control Center. The center provided information to the prefectural police, and the incident was discovered.

A 3-month-old kitten was taken to ……

Six dogs and cats were kept in the apartment, but it was not only one case of exotic shorthair that A’s abuse was suspected. In April, A allegedly killed a three-month-old ragdoll by punching it in the chest.

The ragdoll’s carcass was x-rayed at the same veterinary clinic that treated the exotic shorthair. The veterinarian became suspicious about the ragdoll as well and reported it again to the Osaka Prefectural Government, and A was arrested in September of this year for violating the Animal Protection Law. He was later released, and the police continued their investigation on a voluntary basis.

The police were continuing a voluntary investigation.

I always disliked cats. I was especially irritated by their meowing. After staying up all night at his part-time job and failing a job interview on the Internet, he became so frustrated that he beat the cat to death. My boyfriend suspected me of abusing another cat I used to have, and I told him, ‘People who hurt animals are not people,’ but I couldn’t control my emotions.”

Animal cruelty continues to increase. According to the National Police Agency, police nationwide made 170 arrests in 2009. In December 2009, a breeder in Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture, was prosecuted for debilitating more than 400 dogs in poor conditions.

In addition to the two aforementioned kittens, two more dogs died of unknown causes in A’s surroundings. The prefectural police are investigating whether there was further abuse.