Cat burned to death in hideous act of cruelty

A CAT was burned alive in what has been called one of the worst acts of cruelty to animals Wanganui has seen in years.
Wanganui East woman Dawn Potaka came home from work on Wednesday afternoon to find her year-old cat Mittens near death under a tree.
"At first I thought it was a rock but then saw it was a wounded, diseased-looking cat. I went inside and rang the SPCA and told them a cat had come to my backyard to die," she said.
Mittens was so badly burnt she didn't recognise her.
She went back to help the cat and recognised a tiny bit of tabby fur that hadn't been burnt off, and realised the cat was her own.
"I was just horrified and rang the SPCA back, crying." Mrs Potaka's husband, Dean Kensington, put a wet towel around Mittens, who was rushed to Wanganui Veterinary Services.
A drip was put in, but she was put down the next morning when Ms Potaka and Mr Kensington were advised any healing process would be long and very painful.
"It wasn't worth putting her through all that pain."
Mittens was so badly burnt her skin was almost completely gone and the toes had been burnt off.
The police were called and knocked on neighbours' doors, but no-one had noticed anything unusual.
"I can't believe anyone would even do that. Someone has picked up my cat and dropped her into a fire or just set her alight," she said.
Ms Potaka couldn't believe the police weren't taking it more seriously, so began her own investigation.
She found a trail of burnt fur and skin where Mitten had dragged herself home and tried to put the flames out.
"There was black fur on the fence and gate as well as her little bed. She went under a tree, but it was such a hot day there was just no relief."
Ms Potaka wants whoever tortured her cat to see what they have done.
"If there's evidence out there that it could have been a freak accident, then people need to let us know, but I don't see how it could have happened."
The people who did this to her cat were sick, she said. "Some of my friends are psychologists and social workers, and they said this sort of thing is done by people with major problems."
She has put flyers in neighbourhood letterboxes with photos of Mittens, before and after she was burnt, to appeal for information.
Wanganui SPCA manager Val Waters said the case was the worst she'd seen in a long time.
"You have to wonder about the mentality of people? it's very disturbing," Ms Waters said.
The staff member who dealt with the case was disgusted and couldn't get the smell of burnt fur off her clothes.
Wanganui Veterinary Services manager Dave Barton said the extent of Mittens' injuries was horrible.
"It wasn't nice. We normally only see cats with burnt paws after walking over the stove or something ? we've never seen anything like that," he said.