The teacher, Li Feng, seemed to be demonstrating the “conservation of angular momentum experiment”, which he did twice. The animal’s squeal could clearly be heard as it was dropped.
“It’s good to do it with a cat but we can’t do it with a dog,” Li told his students in the video.
After receiving heavy criticism online, Li apologized for his treatment of the cat, called Laifu, which he owns.
“As the owner of Laifu, I ignored the physical and mental damage caused by the experiment. As a teacher, I controversially acted without considering the potential negative impact it would have on my students and others,” Li said.
Li said he took Laifu for a veterinary check-up after the experiment. He also donated NT$50,000 (US$1,500) to the Taiwan Homeless Animal Rescue Association.
Her pet was adopted from a charity and it sleeps in her bed every night.
Li says he understands that Laifu was scared during the experiment and hopes the cat will forgive him.
Talking to her cat, she said: “I’m going to buy you the best cat food to show how sad I am.”
However, many people on social media remain outraged by his actions.
“As a cat owner, didn’t your heart hurt when it hit the floor?” asked an online observer.
“You are a cat abuser. You are teaching students to do bad things,” said one.
Mistreatment of cats often makes headlines on social media.
Last year, a New Taipei City court sentenced a man to seven months in prison and fined him NT$250,000 (US$8,000) for killing his pet cat with boiling water in an attempt to force his girlfriend to return to him.
