Who would be so cruel as to set a cat on fire? Bremerton police looking for a suspect



BREMERTON, Wash. -- It’s a cruel crime, and one Bremerton Police hope someone can help them solve.

Someone set a cat on fire early Sunday morning near the tennis courts at Bremerton High School.

According to a police report, a neighbor discovered the cat on fire and saw that it was still moving. When he went back to his house to grab a phone, he noticed the cat was no longer moving.

The photos are too graphic to share and too horrible to look at, even for Kitsap County Animal Control supervisor Chase Connelly, who has seen animal cruelty cases before.

“The pictures were terrible,” said Connelly. “The cat was completely charred. If you could just picture a briquette, that's what the cat looked like.”

Animal control officers say they had no choice but to euthanize the cat after he was taken to a local veterinarian.

“In the autopsy, we found twine wrapped around the cat's neck, which was pretty tight, probably causing the cat to suffocate,” said Connelly. “He appeared to have been covered in some sort of fuel like kerosene, gas.”

Bremerton police officer Brandon Greenhill got to the scene first, but is thankful he didn’t see the cat in person.

“I'm glad I didn't because I have a cat at home,” said Greenhill.

With very few leads, Bremerton police say they’re scouring the neighborhood for answers. Those who live in the area want answers, too.

“It makes me wonder what kind of neighbors we have,” said Normal Sanchez, who lives near the Bremerton High School tennis courts with his wife and infant son. “Just knowing someone would be capable of doing that, it's pretty cruel.”

Animal control officers believe this cat could have been someone’s pet. They said he was well-fed and even neutered. Right now, they are looking for someone who may be missing a cat or someone known in this neighborhood to dislike them.