BEAVER TWP., Pa. (EYT) — A Knox man was charged with animal cruelty after police say he shot and wounded his neighbor’s cat.

Benjamin Dean Deloe, 33, is facing one second-degree misdemeanor count of animal cruelty.

The charges were filed June 21 at District Judge Amy Long’s office in Knox.

According to a criminal complaint filed by Clarion-based State Police Tpr. Beilman, the cat’s owner returned home at 10 p.m., Friday, May 5, and discovered that her cat had been shot in the leg.

She took the feline to a local veterinarian the next day, and it was treated for a gunshot wound to the right hind leg.

According to the criminal complaint, the owner was informed by a friend that Ben Deloe had allegedly shot her cat.

During an interview with Tpr. Beilman, Deloe said he was sighting in a Remmington .270 rifle at his father’s gun range on Mehrten Road when he saw the cat.

Deloe told Tpr. Beilman that he took aim near the cat and shot the rifle causing dirt to “fly up behind the cat.” The cat then ran away, according to Deloe.

It suffered skin and muscle damage as a result of being shot, according to court documents.

Deloe is awaiting a preliminary hearing.