A San Bernardino County man has been arrested for allegedly placing a kitten in a freezer, squeezing her then throwing her off a second story balcony.
Fontana police officers identified the man as Lucio Lopez who had left his apartment before they arrived; they later arrested him after finding him driving around nearby.
When questioning Lopez, authorities learned the reason for the animal abuse came because he was "upset" with the stray kitten for coming into his apartment.
Witnesses say Lopez took the (assumed to be 3-4 months old) cat into a freezer then when he took her out he "began squeezing its body as the frightened kitten cried out in pain".
Then when he threw the kitten off the balcony, she had several major injuries to her chest and had a fractured leg.
Fontana Animal Services took the kitten to the veterinarian for emergency treatment.
Doctors, who have since nicknamed the kitten Olive, says she is doing as well as she can be considering the circumstances, but will require surgery and a lot of love.
Fontana officer Rich Guerrero says that if they can find Olive's original owners then they will reunite them, otherwise she'll be put up for adoption once she fully recovers.