A Queens woman’s beloved cat was “stretched” to death by her drunken boyfriend, who in now charged with animal cruelty in the shocking case, prosecutors said Tuesday.
Jalen Gonzalez, 23, is accused of killing the cat, named Kitty, inside his girlfriend’s home on Jan. 12 after she tried to throw him out.
Gonzalez threw a drunken fit when she asked him to leave, at one point grabbing her leg and refusing to let go, prosecutors say. The girlfriend managed to pull herself away, fled the apartment and called a relative asking for help.
When she returned with her uncle, Gonzalez was holding her cat, named Kitty, by her neck and hind legs, stretching her apart, prosecutors charge.
“This animal endured one of the most gratuitously violent deaths that we have ever seen,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said. “The cat was stretched to the point where her head was severed from her spine, and she sustained a crushed skull, fractured jaw and numerous other injuries.”
The attack broke the animals legs and resulted in internal damage that caused blood to gush from her mouth, prosecutors say. Gonzalez’s shirt was covered in blood and blood and vomit was splattered throughout the apartment when he was arrested at the scene that day.
A necropsy revealed the full extent of Kitty’s horrific injuries. Her teeth were ripped from her mouth, her eyes protruded from both sockets and she suffered tears to her diaphragm, artery, liver, spleen and kidney. Her pelvis was shattered and fractures were detected on 24 ribs.
Gonzalez is charged with aggravated cruelty to animals, criminal mischief, attempted assault and harassment. The charges are not bail eligible and he was released after pleading not guilty in Queens Criminal Supreme Court Wednesday.
The suspect faces up to two years in jail if convicted. He is due back in court July 21.
“No animal or person should ever suffer this way,” Katz said. “This is another horrifying example of why New York needs stronger animal cruelty laws to permit appropriate penalties in such cases.”