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Brit charged for throwing girlfriend’s cat in the laundry

Allan Staughton is facing a maximum sentence of six months in prison for animal cruelty after sending a cat on a 12-second spin cycle. 

 

Chase Hoffberger

IRL

Posted on Oct 24, 2012   Updated on Jun 2, 2021, 8:51 am CDT

Do not do anything to mess with a cat on the Internet. If you do, the Internet will mess you right up.

That’s something that 23-year-old Allan Staughton of Huntington, U.K., learned the hard way after he made the dunce-like decision to throw his ex-girlfriend’s cat into the clothes dryer and send it on a 12-second spin cycle.

Now Staughton’s facing a maximum sentence of six months in prison for animal cruelty, something that wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t posted the video online.

Staughton was outed by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals because of a since-deleted June 14 YouTube video called “You must see this—it will crack you up.”

In the clip, Staughton, picked up his ex-girlfriend’s cat Princess and placed her in a clothes dryer. He then called the cat “the new Mr. Tumble” and pressed “Start,” launching poor Princess on a 12-second spin cycle that left the cat all up in a tizzy. (The RSPCA reports Princess suffered a broken tooth and a tongue injury.)

According to RSPCA prosecutor Robert Starr, Staughton admitted to the fact that “it was a disgusting thing to do” and said that he only threw the cat into the clothes dryer because he thought it would be “funny.”

But the joke’s on him. Staughton’s now expected in court for a sentencing on Nov. 13. If things don’t go his way, he could potentially serve six months in prison and face a fine of up to £20,000.

That’s a hefty price to pay for 12 seconds of sick fun.

Photo via Dat/Flickr

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*First Published: Oct 24, 2012, 2:04 pm CDT