LAUREL COUNTY, Ky. (WKYT) - A Laurel County family says they had to lay their cat to rest after a man who rented from them killed it last night.

"Raised him as a kitten, actually. It's name was Kent. My little boy was a baby and he couldn't say kitten, so he called him Kent," said David Taylor.

But Taylor had to lay Kent to rest after he says Charles Farthing, a man who rents an apartment from him, killed the cat last night.

"All of a sudden I heard the shot and I knew there was trouble, so I went and got my gun," he said.

He says Farthing drove off. Sheriff's deputies showed up and stopped the truck. Inside, they say they found Farthing and a 15-year-old with some suspicious items.

"They found rifles in the vehicle. They found a dead fox and a dead cat in the vehicle," said Deputy Gilbert Acciardo of the Laurel County Sheriff's Office.

When they asked Farthing what he was doing, they say he was quick to answer.

"'We're driving around looking for animals to shoot!' It's bizarre! I mean, it's really bizarre and it's kind of scary. They could have hurt someone seriously. They could have killed someone while looking for animals to shoot," said Dep. Acciardo.

Deputies arrested Farthing, charging him with wanton endangerment and criminal mischief. Now, Kent is buried beside a flower bed his family says he loved and David Taylor is trying to figure out how to tell his children what happened.

"You want to tell them as much truth as you can, but at the same time, you want to shield them because they're so young and innocent," he said.

Deputies said the 15-year-old in the truck was released to his family.