A horrified walker saw a gang of "horrible" teenagers 'kick and swing' a cat by its tail.
The incident took place around 6pm on April 23 in Coronation Park, Crosby when a group of three teenage boys and four teenage girls were spotted abusing the animal. An eyewitness, who did not want to be named, said they saw the group attack the cat, and continue to chase after the animal when it attempted to hide.
The teenagers shouted abuse at the witness after they told them to "stop hurting the cat". The witness said: "When we arrived at the park, we only saw the three lads, they didn't seem to be causing any bother.
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"But during our last lap they were joined by the four girls, and we saw them chasing after the cat. I am so fed up of these horrible little gits spoiling it for other teenagers and giving them a bad name."
"The cat was terrified, they were swinging him by his tail, kicking him and throwing him around. They wouldn't leave him alone, even when the cat run to hide in a bush, they still continued trying to scare it."
They added: "They saw me looking over and started shouting abuse, the girls were worse than the lads. They were calling me all sorts in their little gang, what is wrong with them? I would go absolutely berserk if my kids acted like that."
A local to the park rescued the cat, and members of the Facebook group "Scouse Pets 2", attended to see if the animal had a microchip. Luckily the owner of the cat had also seen a Facebook post and was reunited with their pet.
The owner, who does not wish to be named, told the ECHO : "Baby is the most lovable cat, he's a softie and loves attention. He is only two-years-old, I am in shock over what has happened to him, I am so glad someone was able to take him in.
"He follows me everywhere, I went to the shops and he followed me out the house, but with him going out all the time it wasn't an issue then. I live close to the park and on my way I saw the three lads, but thought nothing of it at the time."
They added: "He has been checked over and there's no obvious signs harm done to him, but I have an appointment set for the vets in-case there is anything going on internally.
"I knew something was wrong when he didn't come back in, he is never away for that long, luckily I saw the post on Facebook, I was so worried. He hasn't left the house at all since it happened, he must be really shaken by it.
"He always goes out then comes and scratches at the door when he wants to come back in, that's his routine. He was gone for almost 24-hours I am so grateful to the person who rescued him, the people who knew what happened didn't even want to tell me what had gone on because it had looked that bad, I am just glad he is safe."
The incident was reported to Merseyside Police who, according to the witness, arrived at the scene prompting the teenagers to flee. Merseyside Police said: "We are appealing for information relating to an incident at in Coronation Park, Crosby on Saturday April 23.
"We were called just before 6.15pm to a report youths – including three males and four females - were attempting to throw a cat into the pond. Officers attended the park but were unable to locate the group of youths. "
Anyone with information can contact us via ‘Merseyside Police Contact Centre’ on Facebook, by calling 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111, quoting reference 812 of Saturday 2423 April.
