Leamington Spa: police investigate after man recorded kicking elderly cat - which owner claims later died

Warning: story contains distressing content which may upset some readers.

A man has reportedly been arrested after he was recorded on a doorbell camera appearing to kick an elderly cat, whose owners say later it died.

A social media appeal was launched over the weekend to find the man, after Lenny the cat's owners, from Leamington Spa, told MailOnline they saw the Ring doorbell footage on their phones. Lenny was over 20 years old, they said, and he died several days later. They believe the incident contributed to his death.

In the footage, the man can be seen approaching a German shepherd-type dog which is off-leash. He puts its leash back on before shaking the dog by its collar, as the cat watches on from the pavement.

The man and the dog walk towards the cat, before the man appears to kick it - sending it flying into the road. The cat then dashes under a nearby car.

Leamington Police told NationalWorld's sister title WarwickshireWorld on Saturday (14 October): "We would like to reassure the community that we are 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."

Metro reports a man has since been arrested in connection to the footage. Lenny's owners told the Mail they and their neighbours found the video "shocking".

"We've had him since he was a kitten, since he was 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."

Even when local police came over to speak with them, they said Lenny meowed at them "even though he was quite poorly" by that time. "After he was kicked we all noticed a lot of difference in him. He got slower and was just not him. He never used to want to be in all the time."