The RSPCA is looking for a man caught on CCTV swinging a cat by its tail.
Footage shows the animal attacker seemingly dancing down a road in Ramsgate, Kent, with the black cat at arm's length in scenes of abuse that last for more than 30 seconds.
At one point a man thought to be an accomplice is struck by the spinning two-year-old cat, whose name is Mowgli.
Owner Michelle Buchanan, an IT teacher from Ramsgate, said: "It's horrific. I can't believe anyone would do something that cruel."
"Mowgli is emotional. He's just distraught. He won't go out the door."
Mowgli escaped the attack without injury. But Ms Buchanan, who lives alone with her two other cats Missy and Milly, believes the incident has affected him.
"When I got home he was in my bed so that he would feel secure.
"Now, he'll go as far as the door and turn back. He used to be outside constantly. He'd be scratching at the window."
Her other pets have been affected by the attack too, she said.
"Before this happened my cats used to sit outside the house on the steps and everybody knew them. Since then none of them do that."