SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) â?? A northeastern Pennsylvania college student facing animal cruelty charges says he stabbed a stray cat to death because he has an immune disease and was worried he'd contract rabies.

Twenty-one-year-old Peter Freshour was ordered Tuesday to stand trial on charges related to the Aug. 4 death of the cat outside Freshour's Scranton apartment.

The University of Scranton student testified that he felt threatened by the animal because it approached him and bit his leg.

Neighbors said they saw Freshour stab the cat several times then throw it in the garbage. Freshour contends he stabbed the cat once with a knife he was using to open boxes, then again to end its suffering.


Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.