A 59-year-old man from Moscow risks spending up to five years behind bard for allegedly using a live cat as a weapon against police, last year.

On October 4, 2018, the suspect, Gennady Shcherbakov, was reportedly sitting at the foot of his apartment building’s stairwell. He had been drinking heavily and was causing a ruckus, so some of his neighbors called the police to report the disturbance. However, when police officers arrived on the scene and told Shcherbakov to go home, he refused to comply and instead grabbed a nearby cat and shoved it in the face of one of the police officers. The confused feline allegedly tried clinging to the man’s face, scratching him badly.

Photo: Erik-Jan Leusink/Unsplash

A year after this bizarre incident occurred, authorities have opened a criminal case against Shcherbakov on charges of violence against police. According to the Baza Telegram channel, the suspect denies using the cat as a weapon against the police officer, insisting instead that the animal jumped on his face by itself. No word on whether the animal was injured during the incident.

Shcherbakov already spent the night of the incident in jail, but if found guilty he risks spending up to five years in prison. It is not clear why authorities took a whole year to open the criminal case.