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A bit-part actor and former Mets minor leaguer went on trial Tuesday on charges of killing his girlfriend's beloved cat in a jealous rage.

"You love that cat more than me!" Joseph Petcka, 37, screamed at his girlfriend, Lisa Altobelli, just before he pummeled 7-pound pussy Norman to death, court papers say.

The ruggedly handsome Petcka, who has appeared in Brawny paper towel ads and "Sex and the City," claims he acted in self-defense after the cat tried to bite him inside Altobelli's SoHo apartment.

Altobelli, a Sports Illustrated writer, is expected to take the witness stand Wednesday.

It took 17 months to bring Petcka to trial because prosecutors insisted he face a felony count of aggravated cruelty to animals. That could land him in prison for two years.

The 6-foot-3 Petcka, who was the Mets' fifth-round draft pick in 1992, pounded the tiny tabby after Altobelli stormed out of her pad in a rage on March 27, 2007, prosecutors said.

Norman, an orange-and-white long hair, died from injuries that included three broken ribs and torn lungs, officials said.

Assistant Manhattan District Attorney Leila Kermani and defense lawyer Charles Hochbaum spent all day picking jurors for the case.

Some of the prospective jurors wondered aloud why Petcka was facing hard time for a crime against a pet.

"This kind of case is a waste of taxpayers' money," said Kelly Scott, who was bounced from the jury pool.

Although some jurors might have been puzzled by the case, pet lovers have bombarded prosecutors with angry letters and e-mails.

Petcka Tuesday seemed impervious to the attention, taking time at lunch to trim his dark brown locks.



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 Found by stupefy: 
 

A cuddly cat who was brutally bashed by an enraged bit-part actor likely crawled into his favorite hiding spot to die, a veterinarian testified Thursday.

Seven-pound long hair Norman died an agonizing death after being pounded - possibly whacked against a countertop - by out-of-control Joseph Petcka, the vet said.

"The easiest way to cause those injuries would be to control the cat and hit its face on a hard surface," said Dr. Robert Reisman, the ASPCA's top animal cruelty investigator.

The animal doc said Norman's horrific injuries were similar to those caused when a pet tumbles out the window or gets hit by a car.

He compared the blows inflicted on the cat to a soccer kick and rejected Petcka's defense claim that he "swatted" the cat in self-defense.

"This is kicking it at a goal," Reisman said. "This was not pushing it away."

Norman suffered three broken ribs, a ripped lung and liver, chipped teeth and torn tongue.

He likely survived for up to 15 minutes following the initial attack, and could have dragged his crumpled body into a bedroom where he was found.

The cat died when blood filled his chest, Reisman said.

Norman's owner, Lisa Altobelli, testified that Petcka despised the orange-and-white cat while they dated for several weeks.

Altobelli, a Sports Illustrated reporter, said she left her short-fused beau in her Tribeca apartment after they had a nasty quarrel on March 27, 2007.

She later found her beloved cat lying dead in its favorite hiding spot beneath her bedside table.

"That's what cats do," Reisman said. "They hide."
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