Story By: Ana Lacasa, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: CEN

WARNING: DISTRESSING AND GRAPHIC CONTENT

These heartbreaking images show the two-month-old kitten that died after a firecracker was put in its mouth and exploded during a festival.

The kitten, named Dulcinea, died after a firecracker was put in its mouth during the festival of Saint John in the municipality of Lleida, in the eastern Spanish region of Catalonia.

The incident took place on Saturday when an unnamed man found the animal thrown on the street and took it to the vet, where he was told the female kitten probably had a firecracker explode in her mouth.

Pictures Credit: CEN/@amicsdelsanimalsdelsegria

After initial treatment vets decided to reconstruct the kitten’s mouth in surgery and the operation was a success at the animal protection organisation Amics dels Animals del Segria (Friends of Animals of Segria). 

However, the kitten’s body was too weak to support her recovery, especially as she was fighting an eye infection and could only be fed with serum, and she died.

The organisation told local media: “It is sad and very difficult to assimilate that among us there are human beings capable of doing something like this for fun, but we cannot find any other explanation.

“What is frustrating is that animals do not have a law to protect them properly, so anyone can hurt them without consequences.”

It is unclear if the police are investigating the case or if the cat was a stray.

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