Man arrested after violently slamming cat on concrete, throwing it in dumpster in West Deptford

WEST DEPTFORD, N.J. (CBS) -- Police in Gloucester County are investigating a disturbing case of animal cruelty. Authorities say a man threw a cat on the concrete multiple times for no apparent reason.

West Deptford police say the man who did it was captured on camera and is now behind bars. The cat, amazingly, survived.

Taylor Olive captured the attack on camera and she says she's still shaken by the incident. She says she couldn't watch the video and sent it right to the police.

"I cry about it every day," Olive said. "It's awful."

Olive is haunted by the violent and disturbing attack that happened outside her front door at the Forest Creek Apartment Complex in West Deptford.

"I couldn't even watch it fully," Olive said. "I really only heard it."

Olive came home Sunday night to find droplets of blood near her apartment, so she says she checked her doorbell camera and then immediately called the police.

The video obtained by CBS Philadelphia shows a man walking into the frame and approaching a cat on the ground.

The rest is too graphic to show.

West Deptford police say 51-year-old Christopher Pozzi violently slammed the cat to the ground at least three times for no apparent reason.

Police say Pozzi then walked away and came back a short time later to throw the cat in a nearby dumpster.

"She's definitely brighter than she was when she first came in," Dr. Josh Erde said.

Inside the Pitman Animal Hospital, Eileen the cat is now recovering after x-rays show her jaw was broken in two places.

"It's broken and then shifted forward," Erde said.

But Eileen is showing signs of progress.

Erde says she started eating on her own a little bit, but she now needs surgery.

"For her to come away with the broken jaw and that's pretty much it," Erde said. "I think she was really lucky."

Police arrested Pozzi the next day. He is now facing animal cruelty charges.

"I'm glad that it happened in front of my door because I'm one of the only ones with a camera," Olive said, "so if it happened in front of anyone else's door, we wouldn't have caught him."

According to the Department of Corrections, Pozzi has a history of violent behavior. He spent nearly 20 years in jail in Florida after pleading guilty to second-degree murder and he has a number of past charges in New Jersey.

As for Eileen, she is scheduled for surgery Friday. Doctors are hopeful she will make a full recovery.

In:
• New Jersey
• Gloucester County