INDIANAPOLIS -- An east-side Indianapolis man is getting support from his neighbors after he was charged with a felony on suspicion of shooting stray cats with a BB gun, reported WRTV-TV in Indianapolis.

Police and animal care and control officers went to his home July 7 after someone reported he had shot a stray kitten. The man, 67, admitted he shot the kitten and other stray cats because they had become a nuisance and he wanted to reduce the neighborhood's population of stray cats, according to police.

Police said the kitten died.

The man, who was not named, was arrested on a felony charge of cruelty to an animal, which is punishable by a prison sentence of up to three years and a fine of up to $10,000. The city also issued him five citations on suspicion of animal cruelty, punishable by a fine of $2,500 per offense.

Some people in the neighborhood said Tuesday that they can't believe he faces that much punishment.

"Here we have a homeowner that's been here for numerous years, a retired man on medicine, and they lock him up? ... That ain't right," one of the neighbors, Bruce Thibo, said.

The neighborhood has vacant homes and weed-covered lots strewn with trash -- an ideal habitat for stray animals, the television station reported.

Residents in the area said they sympathize with him.

"To get arrested on a felony for shooting a stray cat because it is a pest, with a pellet gun, to me, is one of the worst things I've seen laws do in a long time," Earl Nation said.

However, not everyone in the area supports the man.

"I don't know what his problem is, but nobody should be shooting a cat for being on the property. Cats roam free all over the place," said Terry, a cat owner who declined to reveal his last name.

The city's animal care and control division is full of once-stray and abandoned cats. The division acknowledged that some people are frustrated with the number of animals on the loose in the city, but that people have other options.

"Understand that our capabilities are limited. We just can't hang out in your back yard and wait for cats, but we will do what we can," division spokeswoman Media Wilson said. "There are resources we can refer you to, but it's never OK to just start shooting animals."

Last year, the city euthanized 4,833 cats.

The man who was arrested said he probably will spend the rest of his life savings to defend himself against the charges.