East Lancs cat lovers slam Kurt Zouma cat kicking video

In the clip, the West Ham professional footballer can be seen dropping, kicking and slapping the animal, while laughter can be heard in the background.

The 27-year-old then chases the cat, before throwing a pair of shoes at it and slapping its head.

Zouma has since apologised for his actions but cat lovers across the country aren’t satisfied with his response, with more than 150,000 people signing a petition to have him prosecuted and his animals removed.

Louise Fowler who runs Little Tinkers Cat Rescue, in Blackburn, said she couldn’t even watch the video as she knew it would “knock [her] sick.”

Louise Fowler who runs Blackburn-based Little Tinkers Cat Rescue

She said: “I am a big cat lover and I just couldn’t watch it – it would knock me sick.

“However, I have shared the petition to my Facebook group as he just shouldn’t have cats when he is doing things like that to them.

“His children were there too and he’s teaching his kids that it’s okay to treat animals like that.”

Louise, who has 15 cats of her own, also criticised his football club’s decision to let him play in last night’s West Ham vs Watford game.

Watford’s visiting fans were quick to make their feelings clear by relentlessly booing Zouma’s every touch and chanting, among other things, ‘RSPCA, RSPCA’.

Former West Ham players Joe Cole and James Collins, at the match working as pundits, felt the club had made a mistake in refusing to drop the 27-year-old.

Despite the widespread revulsion towards the disturbing footage, Hammers manager David Moyes stuck with Zouma “because he is one of our better players”.

Louise said: “He shouldn’t have been playing in that match last night, his football club should have done something and taken action.

“They can see it’s him in the video and if it was anybody else they would soon be investigated.”

Louise says many cats come to Little Tinkers Cat Rescue in “horrendous” condition from owners who shouldn’t have owned a cat to begin with.

She said: “Small rescues like us, we struggle to rehome so many animals. Some cats come to us in horrendous states and our vet bills are between £3,000-£5,000 a month to treat them.

“And then you have people like Zouma who can buy a cat and treat it like that.”

Rebekah Wilson, Foster Manager for Cat Friends of Hyndburn Facebook group, said his actions need to be taken seriously.

The Clitheroe woman, who has nine cats of her own, said: “It’s heart breaking. I look at my animals who are so lovely and gentle and to think that someone could physically harm a cat is repulsive.

“I think cats are often seen as ‘second class citizens’ in the animal world and something like this could only make that misconception worse.

“All that cat wants is love, affection and care and the way he has treated it is just despicable.

“I also think it’s appalling that he was even allowed to play a football game last night and it is setting completely the wrong example.”

Jackie Rawstron, a cat-lover from Accrington said: “What Zouma did was unacceptable and appalling.

“To have his brother sit there laughing about it too in front of Zouma's kid is beyond the pale.

“Zero respect for animals and what values is that teaching his child? Disgusting too that he played for West Ham last night as well.”

Lilian Lingard, from Oswaldtwistle, said: “In a world where we constantly strive for equality and peace, justice needs to prevail for the cat… what kind of role model is he to his children?”

The RSPCA, which has a branch in East Lancashire, has also condemned the “very upsetting video” and said: “This is a very upsetting video. It’s never acceptable to kick, hit or slap an animal, for punishment or otherwise.

“We are so grateful to people who report suspected animal suffering to us and we would like to reassure people we will always look into and, if necessary, investigate any complaints made to us about animal welfare.”