By Levi Parsons For Daily Mail Australia

Published: 02:30 EDT, 15 June 2022 | Updated: 22:14 EDT, 15 June 2022

Footage of a woman dragging a cat by the leash across a road as she clutches a box of fried chicken has caused outrage.

The pet owner, donning headphones and wearing track pants, is captured strolling outside KFC at Brentford Square, Forest Hill, in Victoria with the reluctant grey and white feline in the rain.

Those filming the incident from their car across the street can be heard laughing hysterically as the woman drags the helpless animal along the footpath before eventually crossing onto the bitumen.

Social media users called the behaviour an act of abhorrent animal cruelty.

The pet owner, donning headphones and wearing track pants, is captured strolling outside KFC at Brentford Square, Forest Hill in Victoria with the reluctant grey and white feline in the rain

'People in the car laughing are right up there with the b***h dragging the cat,' one person wrote.

Another said: How do you sit there and laugh at that?

A third called the unknown cat owner a 'putrid slob' for her treatment of the animal.

The RSPCA is now investigating the video after it was brought to the organisation's attention by Daily Mail Australia on Wednesday.

Anyone who has been witness to animal cruelty is urged to come forward and report the incident to the RSPCA. 

Social media users called the behaviour (pictured) an act of abhorrent animal cruelty

The RSPCA is now investigating the video after it was brought the organisation's attention by Daily Mail Australia on Wednesday

The animal welfare group said it is legal to walk a cat on a leash - and in many cases preferred - as the animals can prey upon native birds if they're allowed to roam.

'If you do decide to walk your cat on a leash, it is crucial that you attach this to a harness rather than a collar,' the RSPCA recommends.

'Cats can easily slip out of collars or may choke if they escape and become entangled.'

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