Cat tossed into washing machine in Russia, probe ordered

Moscow: Prosecutors in a Russian city have launched an investigation into a YouTube video of a cat tossed into a washing machine, TASS news agency reported.

"We will check the video for animal cruelty," prosecutors in the Urals city of Magnitogorsk said in an announcement on Tuesday.

The four-minute video uploaded on Monday shows an unidentified couple stuffing the cat into a washing machine and turning it on. The couple laughed at the crying cat making fruitless attempts to get out. The soaked, frightened animal was later released.

Under the Russian Criminal Code, animal cruelty is punishable with a fine of 80,000 roubles (some $1,600), corrective labour or up to one year in jail.