WASHINGTON – Two small kittens had to be euthanized after someone tried to declaw them without any pain medication. Now a District man is charged with felony animal cruelty.

It’s among the worst cases of animal cruelty Scott Giaccoppo says he’s ever seen. “This was not a surgical procedure done by a veterinarian under anesthesia. This was a horrible, horrible act,” says Giaccoppo with Washington Humane Society.

Giaccoppo says Eric Gaskins allegedly declawed the kittens, and in doing so, broke all the bones in their feet. As a likely result of their struggles, each kitten had four broken legs. After an initial assessment by a veterinarian, it was determined the cats would have to be euthanized.

“The wounds had become infected