Police investigate video showing man kicking cat off steep hill

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte police are investigating a viral video that appears to show a Charlotte man gleefully kick a cat off a steep hill.

The man apparently recorded himself abusing the animal and then posted the video to Facebook.

"In the hole you go!" the man said as he kicked the cat like a football.

"Thanks to all y'all haters that got me a million views," the man said after the video went viral.

The Facebook posts have been removed.

Police said pressing charges is tricky because they don't have a crime scene or any witnesses to work with right now. All they have is the video.

"It's very different than if we had been sent that video, and if we knew that it happened here in Charlotte and we had an address and all that," Melissa Knicely, with Animal Control, said.

Investigators are trying to verify information from the suspected man's Facebook page, which said he lives in Charlotte.

"There's no excuse for that kind of behavior,” Maryann Scolla, who has adopted a rescue cat, said. “God forbid he have children if that's how he's going to treat an innocent animal."

Animal Control started investigating on Wednesday after concerned people from around the country started flooding their social media pages with links to the video.

"The outcry that this has caused shows that people really care about animals," Knicely said.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department officials said rather than tagging them on social media, the best way for people to report animal abuse is to contact their local animal control offices.

Reporting abuse that way helps them take reports quicker and gather all the information they need to start an investigation.

Animal control is asking anyone with information about the disturbing video to call them.

Visit this link for a phone number which allows you to report animal abuse:

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