The case stems from an animal cruelty investigation against Alonzo Kyles. Kyles, who is afraid of cats, poured bleach down the basement stairs of his Cleveland apartment building to get an eight-month-old kitten to leave. When Cleveland police arrived, they found the cat had red and swollen paws from exposure to bleach.

Kyles was convicted of a fifth-degree felony charge of abusing a companion animal and sentenced to nine months in prison. His lawyers appealed, saying Kyles should instead face a misdemeanor charge because the cat was not a pet.

Ohio’s law increases penalties for cruelty to companion animals, defined as “any animal kept in a dwelling and any dog ​​or cat regardless of where kept.” The Eighth District Court ruled that the kitten was ineligible because the cat was not “kept” or cared for.