Leamington Spa: man facing animal cruelty-related charge - after video of elderly cat being kicked goes viral

A man is facing an animal cruelty charge and will appear in court, after he was allegedly recorded by a doorbell camera kicking a cat - with its owners claiming it later died.

The 71-year-old was arrested after the video went viral over the weekend on social media. Lenny the cat's owners, from Leamington Spa, told MailOnline their cat was over 20 years old, and he died several days after the incident - caught on their Ring doorbell camera. They believe the incident contributed to his death. On Tuesday evening (17 October), the BBC reported that a man was due before Warwick magistrates on 10 November in relation to the video. He had been charged with causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal.

In the video, which has been seen by NationalWorld, a man can be seen approaching a German shepherd-type dog which is off-leash. He put its leash back on before appearing to shake the dog by its collar, as the cat watched on from the pavement.

The man and the dog walked towards the cat, before the man appeared to kick it - sending it flying into the road. The cat then dashed under a nearby car.

Leamington Police earlier told NationalWorld's sister title WarwickshireWorld on Saturday (14 October): they were "aware of a video shared online showing a man kicking a cat... We can confirm that an investigation is underway and the man has been identified".

Lenny's owners told MailOnline they had owned the cat since he was just 12 weeks old. "He's a very friendly cat – we've lived here 23 years and he was just over 20," they continued.

"As much as a family cat, he's the street's cat – anybody that walked past he would go up to and meow, just for a bit of attention."