DON'T get me wrong, I'm by no means what you'd call a cat-lover.

In fact just last week I had a good laugh at a funny e-mail I received titled "The difference between cats and dogs" which read: "Excerpts from a dog's diary: 8am - dog food! My favourite thing! 9.30am - A car ride! My favourite thing! 9.40am - A walk in the park! My favourite thing!

"Excerpts from a cat's diary: Day 983 of my captivity. My captors continue to taunt me with bizarre little dangling objects. They dine lavishly on fresh meat, while the other inmates and I are fed some sort of dry nuggets. Although I make my contempt for the rations perfectly clear, I nevertheless must eat something in order to keep up my strength..."

It made me laugh so much because it summed up everything I think about cats: that they're self-indulgent creatures who show little love to their owners.

But the horrific story of the sick thugs who impaled a pet kitten on a 3ft long electrified metal fence-post knocked me ill.

Little TJ the kitten miraculously survived after emergency surgery, but those who carried out the horrific abuse obviously intended her to die in great pain - the fence post passed through her leg and body, narrowly missing her internal organs.

What kind of person does that to a defenceless animal?

Police should do everything in their power to track down the culprits of this disgusting crime.

Surely someone capable of inflicting torture on a defenceless animal like this shouldn't be walking the streets. Who knows what other cruel and twisted activities they are working up to?

Abuse of animals is a horrible crime, and seems to be surprisingly common.

A case in point is that just a few days after the kitten incident another story of disgusting animal abuse came to light - the case of a man who turned his terraced house into a training centre for vicious fighting dogs.

A court heard Nasar Khan, of July Street, Blackburn, had been feeding the dogs muscle-building tablets to build their strength and had adapted a treadmill so a dog's collar could be attached, forcing the animal to run.

Khan has been warned to expect a jail term when he is sentenced next month, and I for one hope he gets one.