WEST SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – Yolo County Sheriff’s deputies are searching for the heartless criminal or criminals who set fire to cat last week, causing the cat to be euthanized.

Some people were walking near Circle Park, located at Circle Street and Alabama Avenue, at 11:15 p.m. last Wednesday when they say they saw what appeared to be a ball of fire moving through park. They called authorities and stayed with the cat until Yolo Animal Services arrived

The cat was transported by Animal Services to the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine for emergency care.

“I have nightmares about it,” said Melanie Hatchett, who found the cat. “I toss and turn.”

Animal Services says the cat was doused with an accelerant and then lit on fire.

The cat was a domestic short-hair brown tabby — a stray with no known owner.

Veterinary staff first hoped the cat would survive, but faced with unmanageable pain and possibly the loss of some limbs, the cat was put down.

Anyone with information on this crime is asked to call the Yolo County Sheriff’s Department, Animal Services Section at (530) 668-5287 or the West Sacramento Police Department at (916) 617-4900. A reward is being offered for information in the case.