Well, this one’s horrifying. The New York Daily News ispointing people’s attention to a story from Italian newspaper Il Mattino. Apparently a 50-year-old man in the northern region of Lombardy in Italy was adopting cats from nearby shelters only so he could cook them and serve them as meals.

It appears that the unidentified man took in about 15 cats, all around 3-years-old, black, and “meaty.” He would then kill the cats and serve them as food to friends at dinner. It is unclear whether his friends knew what they were eating.

It appears the shelters became suspicious when the man refused to have any of the cats come in for checkups. Lorenzo Croce, president of the Italian animal welfare orgnization, Associazione Italiana Difesa Animali ed Ambiente (AIDAA), told Il Mattino that it was first suspected that the man might have been a Satanist and was performing some form of sacrifice. Instead, after a raid of his home, they found out the terrible truth.

The Daily News notes that he was arrested and charged with animal abuse. If convicted, the married father will face up to 12 months in jail.

More info: New York Daily News, Il Mattino (Italian)