Burned kitten found in Kensington

A KITTEN was found with burns over much of its body in Kensington yesterday, nearly a day after some cruel punk deliberately set fire to the tiny creature, the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said.

Animal-humane officers recovered the 4- to 5-week-old male kitten from F Street near Clearfield yesterday afternoon. The kitten suffered burns on more than one-third of its body, officials said. Most of the burns were to its head and back.

"This is a horrendous act of cruelty to inflict on a helpless animal," George Bengal, law-enforcement director for the PSPCA, said in a statement.

Officials said they are hopeful that the kitten will survive.

Damaris Alcala said she discovered the burned animal in the street as a small group of people looked on at the corner of F and Allegheny. She said she picked up the kitten and walked to nearby McPherson Square, where she alerted a police officer.

"When I bent down, it was still alive," Alcala said. "There was no hair on top of its head. I put it in a pillow case and when I touched the back leg, it was screaming."

Alcala, a self-described animal lover, said the onlookers told her the cat was burned last night. She was outraged that no one contacted authorities.

"They should've picked him up. It's a kitten. What's it going to do?" she asked.

Alcala said that as she held the kitten and waited for animal-humane officers, she noticed the animal's legs still bleeding. The owner of two pit bulls and a pit-bulldog mix, Alcala expressed disgust that someone would commit such a heinous act.

"They hate themselves," Alcala said of those responsible.

Her husband, Ernesto, added: "That's cruelty. Why would you do that to an animal? It's like doing that to a human being."

The animal was taken to PSPCA headquarters, where it received medical care and pain medication before it was transferred to another facility for intensive care.

PSPCA officers are hoping to get surveillance footage from a store in the area. Tipsetsr should call the PSPCA Anti-Cruelty Hotline at 866-601-SPCA.