Tiger Lily, kitten

The two-month-old kitten was burned to death in an oven. (June 5, 2009)

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BRONX, N.Y. (WPIX) - A Bronx teenager is accused of burning a kitten to death in an oven, in what investigators believe was an act of revenge.

Humane Law Enforcement agents of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals say Cheyenne Cherry, 17, burned her ex-roommate's kitten to death in an oven. Following her arrest Wednesday, ASPCA agents say Cherry brushed off the incident as a joke.

"I hate cats," Cherry allegedly told investigators when asked about the heartless crime.

According to officials, Cherry and an unidentified juvenile allegedly broke into Valerie Hernandez's Tinton Avenue apartment on May 6 and trashed the place. They then tossed the woman's two month-old kitten, Tiger Lily, into the oven and cranked up the temperature, ASPCA assistant director Joe Pentangelo said.

Cherry told authorities that she and her accomplice "thought we would play a joke on Valerie and mess up her apartment."

Pentangelo says the suspect and the accomplice left the apartment as the cat cried and scratched at the oven door.

Firefighters found the female cat's remains smoldering in the oven after neighbors complained of smoke coming from Hernandez's apartment.

Cherry and her accomplice also allegedly slashed Hernandez's furniture, unscrewed light bulbs and threw bleach on the walls, officials said.

Pentangelo said the kitten was burned so badly a necropsy had to be performed to determine its sex.

Cherry was charged with aggravated cruelty to animals, burglary, arson, reckless endangerment and criminal mischief. She was released into the custody of her mother. The unidentified juvenile involved in the incident has not been arrested.