‘Act of savage cruelty’: Cat dies after being set on fire along Richmond Highway

RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) - Richmond Animal Care and Control (RACC) is asking for information to help them track down the person who set a cat on fire inside a crate along Richmond Highway back in January.

On the evening of Jan. 14, RACC believes the cat was put in a crate, doused with accelerant, and “intentionally set on fire.”

“Nothing really prepares you for this act of savage cruelty,” said RACC Director Christie Chipps Peters.

In surveillance video and images obtained by RACC, which 12 On Your Side is deciding not to air due to the graphic nature of the footage, the cat can be seen running around on fire in the area of Richmond Highway and Sisco Avenue before he died.

“There’s no words that really justify the horrific nature of this act of cruelty. It’s unconscionable. I don’t know how someone can do something like this and continue on with their day,” said Chipps Peters. “Some people like, ‘Oh, it’s just a cat, or it’s just an animal.’ This is a human being setting another living thing on fire. Our concern is someone that can do that is someone that is unsafe in the community.”

In a Facebook post, RACC shared the cat’s necropsy results showed he suffered second-degree and third-degree burns on 60% of his body.

“It’s awful, it’s inhuman to the tenth degree,” said Chipps Peters.

This case comes nearly five years after Tommie the Pitbull’s tragic death. Back in Feb. 2019, Tommie the Pitbull passed away after he was tied to a pole and set on fire in Abner Clay Park. Shortly after Tommie’s death, a bill was passed making animal cruelty a felony in Virginia.

“Our goal is to find the person responsible for this and hold them accountable for it,” said Chipps Peters.

As RACC looks for more information in this case, they need your help finding the responsible person.

“We’re just asking everybody to sort of tap into their memories and if they saw something, please say something because we want to bring this cat justice,” said Chipps Peters.

Concerned citizens and RACC donors have funded a $10,000 reward for any information leading to the arrest of those responsible for this crime (note; this reward has increased since the story was originally published).

Anyone with information regarding this case can contact Richmond Animal Care and Control by calling (804)-646-5573, emailing Robert.leinberger@rva.gov, or reaching out to them on their social media pages. You can also remain anonymous by calling Crime Stoppers at (804)-780-1000.