An Iowa man stole his former roommate’s cat and sent photos and video of the animal being tortured and abandoned outside in the cold, authorities said.

Chad Toney, 30, allegedly broke into the home of his former roommate in Benton County on Feb. 1 and stole the man’s cat — named Gladys — before sending photos of the animal being abused, the Des Moines Register reports.

The alleged abuse included stuffing the cat’s head into snow and placing a wire around its neck, which Toney also documented with video before sending the footage, KWWL reports.

“That’s [when] the homeowner decided to call law enforcement because the video is disturbing,” Sgt. Chris Rider of the Benton County Sheriff’s Department told the station.

Toney is now facing charges of third-degree burglary and animal abuse — a felony and an aggravated misdemeanor, respectively, according to the newspaper.

The cat’s owner, Spencer Kimm, told KGAN that Gladys was returned to him on Wednesday after being swiped from his Blairstown residence five days earlier.

“The second I saw her, I was like a kid in a candy shop,” Kimm told the station.

Kimm said he believed Toney sent the graphic and disturbing photos to his sister in an effort to get her to talk to Toney. Kimm then asked Toney directly to give the cat back, but Toney refused, prompting Kimm to warn him that he would take the allegation public and post about it on social media.

“I even sent it to him first,” Kimm told the station. “And he’s like, ‘Do it. See what happens.’”

Dillon Franzenburg, Kimm’s friend who was helping him track down his beloved feline, confirmed that version of events, saying that they told Toney to give up the cat or be prepared to “go viral,” he said.

“And he said go viral,” Franzenburg told KGAN.

Kimm’s subsequent social media post was shared more than 3,000 times before he took it down after several alleged threats to Toney and his relatives. Kimm eventually picked up the cat at the home of Toney’s parents at about 12:30 Wednesday, the station reports.

“She was really dirty,” he said. “We gave her a bath right away.”

Toney later surrendered to authorities early Thursday. He also had a warrant for his arrest on felony and misdemeanor charges, the Des Moines Register reports.

Kimm, meanwhile, said he wants to use the frightening experience as a way to increase animal abuse penalties in the state.

“We want to thank everyone for all their help and support big and small throughout everything,” he told KGAN. “Nothing went unnoticed. Gladys sends love to everybody. And I’m also going to be working with [Iowa’s director for the Humane Society of the United States] to hopefully get Iowa’s animal abuse law stiffened in Gladys’ name.”

Toney, of Chelsea, remained in custody Thursday ahead of his initial court appearance, according to the station.