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The Ohio Supreme Court is issuing a ruling that makes abusing any cat or dog a felony offense.
The ruling stems from a case against Alonzo Kyles of Cleveland, who had been accused of pouring bleach on a kitten in the stairwell of his apartment building to get the kitten to leave.
Kyles was later convicted on felony charges of abusing a companion animal, but his attorneys appealed the ruling, saying that the kitten was a stray and not a pet, so the charge should only be a misdemeanor.
The Ohio Supreme Court's ruling states that Ohio's law prohibiting harm to companion animals includes animals that are strays and not just animals that are pets.
Kyles has been sentenced to nine months in prison for his offense.