Boyfriend Guilty of Cruelty in Cat's Death

Landrith said that when he reached for the sandwich, the cat latched on to his left ankle and bit him.

"When I felt the teeth of the cat going through my jeans, then I knew I was in real trouble," Landrith said. He said he lifted his foot, placed it in the two-foot-high trash can and "thrashed" until he "disengaged" the cat.

"This case is about the spontaneous reaction of an individual who was being attacked by an animal," Anderson argued.

Luke died on the way to a veterinary clinic. Veterinarian Clinton L. Pease Jr., who performed an autopsy, testified that blood filled the cat's abdomen. The cause of death: trauma.

Luke's owner, Brent Cornell, 25, acknowledged in court that the cat had bitten before. But he said the 14-pound cat was a passive animal who happily wore sweaters and Christmas hats. By last October, he said, Luke had become so arthritic that he grimaced as he descended stairs. "He would sort of melt in your arms," Brent Cornell said.

As he questioned attorneys, Judge J. Howe Brown Jr. noted that Virginia case law on killing animals in self-defense is thin.

Anderson tried to help: He referred to the 1943 case of a Virginia farmer who fatally shot dogs that attacked his chickens. The court determined that the farmer was right to protect his property.

"Certainly if it applies to chickens, your honor, it applies to human beings," Anderson said.

The judge was not swayed. As he read the guilty verdict, Allyn Cornell, who has broken up with Landrith, let out sobs. After the hearing, Landrith called the whole matter a "smear campaign."