Excuse me while I vomit.

Subhumans must not be tolerated. These vermin should be classed as and treated as pedophiles. Shunning is too good for them.

Can psychiatrists point to human recovery from this sort of illness or are we being made aware of future serial killers?

People, please protect your cats and KEEP THEM INDOORS!

I don't understand why it wasn't made public the first time this happened. Why wait until it happened twice? Once was more than enough! And why call it "cruelty" to animals? That phrase is tuned out by most because we've heard it so long. How about "torture" to animals, "murder" of animals? Why not make it sound like what it is. Cruelty to animals sounds like someone isn't feeding them enough, not setting them on fire and exploding firecrackers under their head. Ridiculous.

We all need to report ANY SUSPECTED animal abuse to the police! These scum bags must be stopped before another innocent helpless animal gets tortured and killed.

That is really sick. Parents you need to keep a better eye on your kids, even if you think they are great kids. The same thing happened in FL. They just caught one of the guys and of course everyone said "oh he was just the greatest kid, so nice... etc."
Ther person doing all this is very disturbed.

Is this becoming much more prevalent now around the country or are we just being exposed to it more often now? It seems like minimally we are hearing a story like this every other day locally. Animal torture needs to be perceived as extremely serious by both lawmakers and law enforcement because that kind of abhorrent behavior will without a doubt manifest itself in other ways. Even for people who are not animal friendly, they need to see this as a very dangerous crime against society no matter what your feelings are on pets and animals. Not all animal abusers/torturers turn into serial killers, but almost if not all serial killers had some history of abusing/torturing animals and this needs to be recognized. If not, our neighborhoods need to be very alert regarding the activities in your neighborhoods. I'm not saying to be nosy, but if any animal shows up tortured in your neighborhood you need to be very much on your toes and this might not just be pets-it could be frogs, squirrels, rabbits, etc.

Amen to everybody who posted! It's about time these creeps are treated like the criminals they are!

On an unrelated note, I actually have some GOOD animal news to share. This morning, on my way to work, a young lady stopped her car in the middle of the street. I thought she was having car trouble, so I stopped to help her. She said she stopped because she heard an animal screaming under her car. Popped the hood, and sure enough, I heard a cat howling. I honestly didn't know what to tell the woman, because I was sure the cat was probably maimed and dying. But a moment later, a little kitten appeared behind the radiator -- very frightened but UNHARMED! Another guy and I caught him before he ran into the street, and the lady said she was going to take him home and adopt him! I told her he was a little survivor that was meant to be hers! Just thought everybody should read something positive for a change, to bring up our spirits, considering all the evil that has been happening lately.

To respond to Elissa Strati's inquiry -- you are indeed looking at the work of potential serial murderers and rapists. Several studies have shown (and if you really want to be creeped out, Google them and read the info contained therein) that children who torture animals almost always progress to adults who torture humans.

When you consider the level of coldness it would take to torture a helpless animal, it chills me to the bone to think about what these same children would do to a defenseless person in 20 years.

that is so sad...to harm an cat...cats help to get rid of rats...that is sad

This actually brought tears to my eyes. I cannot stomach that someone would torture a helpless animal. Does anyone know of any volunteer groups or groups that accept donations that work specifically for the prevention of animal cruelty, or is helping out with BARCS/City Animal Control in general the best way to help to fight this kind of behavior?

Each time I hear or read of something like this it makes my blood boil. To put it bluntly, I think that the unconscionable heathens who did this should receive the same treatment. It is truly a shame when crimes such as this go unpunished.

These brats should be hung in public. Personally I would like to eradicate these juveniles myself. The entire State of Maryland should outlaw all classes of fireworks.

Although, at least theoretically, I have compassion for a person sick enough to commit such heinous crimes, as a "cat person" my reaction is that such a creature should be publicly horsewhipped for starters! Then, if convicted, something like "reeducation through labor", preferably working like a slave for animal shelters, or just shoveling sh**!

I guess these kids take after their parents. Baltimore City is full of people that are lower than any species on earth. I would like to discipline these kids. Their parents don't.

My daughter and I volunteer at The Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter, Inc. (BARCS). Everyday, BARCS takes in animals that are beaten, injured, sick, starved or worse. A simple phone call to animal control could have removed the cat. There is no need to torture and kill anything like that. There is something very wrong with people who do these kinds of acts.

What is wrong in our society. These people whom commit such acts are the future of our generation. To harm and animal is nothing short of a cowardly act. The minds of the people/person who commit such crimes is tainted and deserves nothing the less than labotomy.

This is terrible! Assuming the person(s) who committed this crime are youths like the case in Florida, where are there parents????

Only sick and disturbed individuals could do something so horrific and mean to an innocent animal that couldn't defend itself.

How come this was not reported on the news? Is it because it's a cat??? What is up with this?

I am not a violent person but I could quite easily do exactly the same to these lowlifes that did this to these cats and the pitbull a couple of weeks ago. I definitley think an eye for an eye in all cases like this.

Baltimore city is a cess pit as far as I am concerned. Scum breeding more scum.

It's time the government steps in and takes serious action. Animal abuse needs to stop. Cases of animal abuse are finally making top stories in the news and getting peoples attention... but it can't stop there. Our feelings about people who do these horriffic things to animals can't die down in a few weeks after the story is no longer in the news. People need to write letters to the government officials to get the laws changed, keep writing posts, write/email law enforcement groups asking them to develop an anti-animal abuse task force in Baltimore, keep these stories alive until the people who do these terrible things are brought to justice. Don't forget and don't forgive these actions - they are unforgivable. Lately some people have asked questions like... is an animals life worth more than a humans? And, others are upset about how much money was raised for Pheonix. Don't let questions like this influence how you feel. Pheonix deserved every penny that people dontated and sooooo much more than that. People need to be punished severly for animal abuse. The things that are being done to these animals are beyond words. These is NO excuse for this behavior. Animals are living, breathing, loving creatures that can feel pain just like a human. We need to focus on the fact that these awful cases of animal abuse are happening and something needs to be done about it now.

Punishment for animal cruelty - abuse and neglect - needs to be upgraded to very long prison terms, psychiatric evaluations, stiff fines, for starters. Look at the serial killers portfolios; you will get a glimpse of what these animal cruelty losers are aspiring to become. It is hard to believe that animal cruelty has not been considered a truly serious crime when case after case proves that the perpetrators are headed into more violent crimes because the thrill is just too intense for them to stop. This is not rocket science.

Children, youths, adults ALL who commit animal cruelty need to be punished. Training really does start from the baby up, so parents need to step in and stop such nonsense as letting kids hurt frogs and turtles. Teach your children how to care for, cherise and not to harm any animal. Also, our states and local governments need to change laws immediately to reflect the fact that an animals life is indeed that, a LIFE! And despite some people's notions of animals not having feelings, and are not worth much, an animal does feel pain, emotion, connectiveness to it's people, and ALL need to be protected by having our laws changed so that these crimes are punished to the max which needs to be stiff fines and long jail time. No early out!

Many people, and I do emphasize many people consider animals their family members and consider that they have all the privileges and rights that they as humans have. By recognizing this deep love and need these humans have for and with their animal 'children', the court systems would certainly help stop cruel treatment by uncaring individuals by increasing jail time and fines as well as ordering these people to not have any pets or contact with any animal. These people should also be listed the same as sex offenders, and other criminals as they are commiting unthinkable crimes against another living being.

This person doesn't deserve the privilege of living. We need to rid our society of psychopatic people like this. We'd all be better off - this kind of person grows up to be Jeffrey Dahmer, a true menace to society. I'll gladly pull the trigger on them and have no qualms about it. A waste of a life.

i think the young children who this to this cat and the other cat whom had bricks and was burned should be punished because they need to think as if it was one of their family members i just think its plain wrong and it is a severe cause of animal cruelty and their parents should be concered with their behavior for the way the treat these animals