Dad gets 18 months for killing family cat

Man admits to forcing 7-year-old daughter to stab the pet to death

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updated 5:16 a.m. ET Aug. 30, 2008

MUNCIE, Ind. - An Indiana man has been sentenced to 18 months in prison after admitting he forced his 7-year-old daughter to stab the family cat to death.

During his sentencing on Friday, Danield Collins said he was "extremely sorry" for his actions. The judge in the case told him it wasn't "civilized conduct."

In exchange for a guilty plea on animal cruelty and two counts of neglect, prosecutors dropped three other felony charges against the 39-year-old.

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Collins' daughter and his 11-year-old son said Collins ordered them to stab the cat in March because he wanted them to "learn to kill."

Police say the boy tried to hide the cat, but Collins found the animal and strangled it while his children watched.

Collins says he was intoxicated at the time and remembers little about what happened that day.