# 938. Despicable act

Police search for kitten-slaughtering animal07/19/2006

Story filed by NewsCenter16 ReporterJudi Lykowski

INDIANA--An Elkhart man has allegedly committed a despicable act of animal cruelty; police are looking for Mike Pifer, the man who is accused of killing his neighbor's five-week-old kitten.

An Elkhart man has allegedly committed a despicable act of animal cruelty that could put him behind bars for up to three years as well as receiving a steep fine of $10,000.Police are looking for Mike Pifer, the man who is accused of killing his neighbor's five-week-old kitten.

Neighbors say he killed the kitten and put its head in his freezer.When police came knocking, they say he had no hesitation turning overthe evidence and telling them why he did what he did. Dennis Witte, a cat lover in the neighborhood, says that it is no secret how much he loves to take care of his animals Even his neighbors know, which has actually made some of them fond of cats as well.

Bob Gilbert, who lives next door says, "Dennis takes good care of his cats and I feed them too, and they're all friendly."He noted that they are all healthy too, especially the youngest of the bunch, a five-week-old long haired calico kitten. This past Friday, he says, that kitten died at the hands of his neighbor, Mike Pifer.Witte says, "He was laughing and he had the kitten's head in his left hand and then the big ole' knife that he used. He said the kitten pooped on the floor by his motorcycle."

Gilbert witnessed, "He had the cat's body in his hand by the tail with his head gone, he was bragging about what he had done and he thought it was funny."Then neighbors say Pifer threw the body in a trash can and put the kittens head in his freezer, behind the door of his apartment, where the sign in the window reads: "Warning I don't call 911." Witte says, "I'm still in shock that he did this."

He and the other neighbors there do call 911, so now this incident is an Elkhart Police investigation.Neighbors say the man who killed a five-week-old kitten is Mike Pifer,whose apartment window displays this sign, "Warning I don't call 911"Witte says, "He hasn't come around, Elkhart City Police need to put him in jail. He needs whatever time they give him."Gilbert poses a scary question, "If he'll do that to a kitten, what else could he do?"

Animal cruelty charges pending . When police first responded to the complaint, Pifer handed over the kitten's head and showed them where he dumped the animal's body. He told them he did it because he was tired of all the cats in the neighborhood. Police say when they locate Pifer he will be charged with a class D felony count of animal cruelty.