A Garland man has pleaded guilty to felony animal cruelty.

Elijah J. Cottrell, 19, pleaded guilty before Judge Gregory Hammond to a count of aggravated cruelty to animals.

Charges of cruelty to animals and aggravated cruelty to animals — torture were not prosecuted in exchange for the plea.

Warren-based Pennsylvania State Police were dispatched for a report of an incident involving a cat that allegedly occurred at a Fiddlersgreen Road address in Eldred Township.

Two individuals told troopers that “they were having a fire and a cat was rubbing on Elijah Cottrell” and that Cottrell “picked up the cat by the neck and threw it into the middle of a burning fire.”

Troopers report the cat was thrown 25 feet.

The individuals, the affidavit states, showed pictures of the cat to police, who “observed burns on the cat’s paws and face. The cat’s fur also appeared to have been burned. The cat’s whiskers (were) burned off its face and its nose was blackened.”

Dr. Theresa Konzel testified in a prior proceeding that 75% to 80% of the pads on the cat’s feet suffered third-degree burns.