Kevin Kelly said he was taking pity on a sick kitten when he fired 17 BBs into the animal April 24.
The 8-week-old kitten suffered a "horrific and torturous death," according to a Pasco County Sheriff's Office report.
Thursday, Kelly agreed to a deal with prosecutors and pleaded no contest to an animal cruelty charge in exchange for a sentence of 26 months in prison.
But it was clear he accepted the deal reluctantly.
"It is a frustrating case, judge, and I don't think I should be sentenced to that amount of time," Kelly told Circuit Judge Pat Siracusa.
"Here's the thing: You can't kill animals," Siracusa replied. "And the state has said this is an appropriate sentence."
Kelly, 27, of 38430 Alway Ave. in Zephyrhills, was arrested May 14 and admitted to shooting the kitten during an interview with an investigator.
He shot the kitten in front of Zephyrhills Family Park residents and told neighbors the animal had mange and that he wanted to end its misery.
A subsequent examination showed the kitten didn't have mange, according to a sheriff's office report.
Kelly sat in the jury box Thursday morning pondering his choices before deciding to take the state's offer. He also could have taken his case to trial Monday or entered a plea without a deal in place.
Then it would have been up to Siracusa to decide an appropriate sentence.
Cruelty to animals is a third-degree felony punishable by as much as five years in prison.
Following the plea, Siracusa told Kelly he had made a wise choice by opting to take the state's offer.
"You would have gotten a much worse sentence from me," Siracusa said.
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