A man was sentenced to 18 months in prison after admitting he involved his children in killing the family cat. Danield J. Collins from Indiana forced his 7-year-old daughter to kill the family cat by holding a knife in her hand and making her stab the pet.

The 39-year-old pleaded guilty to a felony count of animal cruelty and two felony counts of neglect of a dependent. In exchange, the state dropped three other felony charges, The Star Press reports.

Delaware Circuit Court Judge Robert Barnet Jr. called animal cruelty a "despicable act" that betrayed the trust of Collins' children and the family pet. The cat-stabber was also ordered to receive counseling and attend parenting classes and substance abuse treatment. The judge also prohibited him from owning a pet.

Collins was charged after police learned from his stepfather that Collins wanted show his children how to kill by using a knife to stab the family cat. He gave his 11-year-old son a knife to do it, according to an affidavit filed in the case.

But when his son refused to do so, his daughter said her father strangled and stabbed the cat, and then grabbed her hand, and made her stab the cat, too. Officers retrieved the carcass to be used as evidence. The children live with their grandparents.