Whitehorse police are investigating a possible case of animal cruelty, after a kitten died of an apparent head injury.

The injured animal was found in a box by the Porter Creek mall, last Wednesday. The woman who found it brought the animal to the Whitehorse Humane Society.

Dan Moore, the executive director of the Mae Bachur shelter, says the cat — estimated to be about three months old — had "some sort of head injury.

"We weren't sure what had happened, exactly," Moore said. "The kitten was unresponsive, the pupils were blown — basically, there was no response."

The animal was rushed to a veterinarian, but died soon after.

'A disturbing situation'

It's still not certain how the kitten was injured, but the woman who found it spoke to a witness who had seen two boys near the mall tossing a kitten "back and forth, like a ball.

"And when it fell on the ground they would kick it to each other, back and forth," Moore says he was told.

"I have no idea what would motivate that. It's kind of a disturbing situation if that's indeed what these two boys were doing."

Another witness reportedly saw two boys in the area earlier, trying to give kittens away.

The shelter notified RCMP, and police say they are investigating.

Moore calls it a "frustrating" situation, and he hopes that whoever's responsible is found.

"It would be nice to kind of turn the situation around for these two individuals, and get them to understand that this isn't how animals should be treated," he said.