Police: 1 kitten dead after Florida man traps 2 under bucket
BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. — Investigators say a Florida man trapped two kittens in a stiflingly hot bucket, killing one, because he was tired of them wandering onto his property, reports CBS affiliate WPEC.
Police were first called to the Boynton Beach property on May 21 by a neighbor. When they arrived, the woman told them she had noticed a dog in her neighbor's backyard had been left out in the sun.
The temperature that day reached into the upper 80 degree range, so police decided to check on the welfare of the animal. As they approached the dog, they said they heard what sounded like kittens crying from beneath a bucket with a recycling bin placed on top.
The kittens, a male and a female, were lying in the bottom of the bucket, wet, and breathing heavily with their mouths open, police said. The smaller female kitten was too weak to move.
They said the home's owner, Roberto Poli, admitted to putting the kittens inside the bucket because he was tired of them wandering onto his property.
Both kittens were taken by Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control. The female kitten was suffering from heat stroke and severe dehydration. She was euthanized. The male kitten was in better health, but was unable to eat on his own for more than a week.
Poli is charged with two counts of animal cruelty.
