Milton teen arrested after allegedly killing cat: Arrest Report

SANTA ROSA COUNTY, Fla. ( WKRG ) — A Milton man was arrested after he allegedly killed a woman’s cat, according to a Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office arrest report.

19-year-old Gunner Cole Bush reportedly was arrested April 25 on an animal cruelty charge. He was Baker Acted in December when the incident occurred.

According to his arrest report, a woman called the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office in December to report that Bush had killed some of her kittens.

The woman told deputies she woke up one morning in December 2023 and found that her cat was missing, according to the report. She allegedly told deputies that Bush was the last one to have her cat.

Deputies said the woman searched for the cat and found it in a field next to her home. At that time, the cat was barely alive and she said she watched it take its last breath.

An autopsy of the cat was done and reportedly showed the cause of death was blunt force trauma.

The cat also had a broken leg, both elbows were dislocated multiple digits were cut off and the tip of the tail had been cut off, according to the report.

The woman told deputies and animal control officers that she had found a dog nail clipper with the cat’s hair and blood on it.

She also allegedly found a syringe with a liquid, later determined to be a cleaner used for detailing cars, in it that she believed was used to poison the cat.

The arrest report said Bush had been living with the woman for eight months, and during that time, two of her other cats had gone missing. She found their skeletal remains near where the most recent cat was found.

Bush has been released on a $10,000 bond.

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