A Middletown humane officer visited Cunningham’s home Aug. 30 for a complaint that he had been harming cats and kittens. During a conversation with the officer, Cunningham gave consent to search his residence, and police found cats in a freezer in the home.

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Cunningham admitted he killed eight of the cats and was arrested and booked into the Middletown City Jail, according to police.

“He killed them in different ways,” Reeve previously told the Journal-News. “He took in a stray. He was cleaning it up and it attacked him, so he said he punched and stabbed it in self defense.”

Another cat did not wake Cunningham up “gently” so he threw it against the wall, Reeve said.

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