Two Camrose teens charged with putting a cat in the microwave and turning it on have pleaded guilty to unlawfully causing pain and suffering to an animal.
Three 15-year-old boys and a 13-year-old teen were charged after a family pet was found dead in a microwave. An RCMP investigation revealed the cat died when the appliance was turned on.
A family friend of the homeowners discovered the dead cat, named Princess, on Dec. 30 while the family was away on Christmas vacation.
The house had been broken into and trashed.
The two boys, who cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, also pleaded guilty to two counts of breaking and entering.
A group of animal activists gasped when the Crown read out an agreed statement of facts detailing the cat's long and painful death, the Canadian Press reports.
The court documents show the cat screamed in pain for 10 minutes before finally succumbing to its injuries in the microwave.
Some of the activists said the descriptions were difficult to hear.
"You have to wonder how these kids listened to that and not done something," Tove Reece said, a representative for Voice for Animals. "I mean, a clear signal of distress. To me, it shows that something is amiss that these kids are lacking compassion at some level."
Crown prosecutor John Laluk said the accused teens do appear remorseful for their actions.
"At what point if you were involved in that, even if you didn't put the cat into the microwave, do you become a party to that by not taking the proper steps," he said.
The remaining teens will appear in court in November.
They also face charges of unlawfully killing an animal; unlawfully causing pain or suffering to an animal; break, enter and theft; mischief; and possession of stolen property.
The two teens' sentencing has been set for July 17.