Warren Jeffs' Mormon cult accused of sending kitten BURIED ALIVE in concrete to threaten man who deserted polygamous sect

A man who found a kitten encased in concrete at his home fears it was sent as a threat from a polygamist Mormon sect.

The
tiny cat was discovered alive but audibly in pain, inside a tube in the
back yard of Isaac Wyler, a former member of the Fundamentalist Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Andrew
Chatwin, who has also abandoned the FLDS, claimed it was intended as a
warning to Mr Wyler to stop speaking out against the church.

The
FLDS achieved notoriety when its leader Warren Jeffs was sentenced to
life in prison last year for sexually assaulting two underage girls he
had 'married'.

Heartbreaking: This cat was discovered encased in concrete in a back yard in Colorado City, Arizona

Chiselled out: Rescuers took a hammer to the concrete in a desperate attempt to save the terrified kitten

Mr Chatwin, who left the church in 1999 and has since criticised its polygamist beliefs, told Right This Minute that FLDS members frequently left dead animals on Mr Wyler's property.

In
the latest case, six weeks ago, a cat was found buried up to its neck
in concrete in a metal tube being used to construct a shade for horses
in Mr Wyler's yard in Colorado City, Arizona.

It was mewling incessantly and
appeared to be struggling to escape in a video filmed by Mr Chatwin and
a friend and later posted to YouTube.

They took down the pipe and cut off the metal, leaving just a lump of concrete with the kitten's head sticking out.

They
then took a hammer to the concrete and hacked it off, but had to leave
lumps still sticking to the fur of the terrified animal.

Distress: The cat could not stop mewing as it was trapped inside a metal pipe

Threat: The animal was said to have been placed in concrete by members of a breakaway Mormon cult

Mr Chatwin handed the cat over to a local rescue charity, but sadly it died a few days later.

When he reported the apparent abuse to a Colorado City sheriff who is allegedly a member of the FLDS, he received little help.

'He
kind of chuckled and laughed a little bit and then he said that if it
was up to him, he'd just throw dirt on it,' Mr Chatwin told Right This
Minute.

Rescued: But the unfortunate cat died at a local animal shelter just a few days after its harrowing ordeal

Last month the Justice Department
filed a lawsuit against authorities in Colorado City and another
FLDS-dominated town over allegations they discriminated against
non-members of the church.

The
lawsuit states: 'The cities' governments, including the Marshal's
Office, have been deployed to carry out the will and dictates of FLDS
leaders, particularly Warren Jeffs and the officials to whom he
delegates authority.'

At
the time the suit was filed, Mr Chatwin described the towns as 'a
theocracy' where 'they keep starving people right out of the community'.