A Crossville man, 28 year old Kylar Gist, has been arrested for aggravated animal cruelty after he choked and broke a family pet cat’s jaw.

Gist, who was angry that the cat wasn’t using her litter box properly, cornered the cat  (Ellie) in a closet and began choking and beating the pet so hard it broke the cats jaw.  The girlfriend took Ellie to Best Friends Veterinary Hospital where she had to be euthanized.  Police were called in and proceeded to hunt down Gist and arrest him for aggravated cruelty to animals which is a Class E felony in Tennessee.  In Tennessee, a Class E felony carries a possible sentence of 1 to 6 years in prison and fines up to $3,000. Gist admitted  to  the  attack  and  stated  he  probably  “went  too  far”.