BREMERTON – A teenager was arrested for torturing a cat Wednesday after setting it on fire just before midnight Sunday.

After releasing a security camera video showing the person allegedly responsible, police received a tip and interviewed and arrested a 16-year-old male, whose name will not be released because he is a juvenile.

The teen will be held in juvenile holding pending review and consideration of a charge of first degree animal cruelty, a felony, by the Kitsap County Prosecutor’s Office. He admitted to using butane as an accelerant.

The Bremerton Police Department responded to a 911 call after a pedestrian found a cat on fire near 15th Street and High Avenue, near the tennis courts behind the high school complex.

The cat was taken to the Emergency Veterinarian Clinic in Silverdale, but was euthanized almost immediately, according to Bremerton Police Chief Steve Strachan.

“It had severe burns,” Strachan said, “including to its head and face. The skin was badly burned.”

The cat was no longer on fire when the first officer arrived, “but was writhing in pain,” according to the press release.

Strachan said that the officer who arrived first is a pet lover, “like most of us,” and did her best to ensure the cat survived or, if it couldn’t that it was taken quickly to a facility that could quickly and humanely euthanize it.

Strachan said that crimes against animals like this tend to resonate with people.

“We deal with crimes against human beings that are really horrible frequently,” Strachan said. “This doesn’t make those things any less important or less serious but … intentionally burning an animal, it causes people to be angry.

“I think we all sort of understand the sort of visceral reaction people get when an innocent animal is victimized in this way.”

The cat belonged to a 66-year-old man who lived within a block of the incident.

“This outrageous act against a defenseless animal would make anyone angry, but the response shows how many caring people there are out there,” Strachan said. “Diligent work by our officers, detectives and Kitsap Humane Society Animal Control led to this case being solved, and we deeply appreciate the concern and assistance of the public.”

Natalie Smith, director of Animal Control and Animal Welfare at the Kitsap Humane Society, said, “Kitsap County is a community of animal lovers, and the quick justice brought in this case shows that our community will not stand for animal cruelty.”

This is not the first animal cruelty case in recent months in Bremerton.

Strachan said that on Aug. 28, a cat was found with pellet wounds, like those caused by BB-guns. That cat also needed to be euthanized because of the extent of the wounds. Strachan said the pet owners had no idea who might have hurt their cat. He said it had been outside, and returned home with the wounds.

He added, “Obviously, we don’t know if those two are related.”

“It’s very unusual for something like this to happen,” Strachan said. “We don’t see this very often.”