West Ham To "Deal" With "Sorry" Kurt Zouma Over Cat Attacks But Police Won't Investigate

West Ham United have been inundated with complaints after footage emerged on social media of one of their players kicking and hitting a domestic animal.

Former Chelsea defender Kurt Zouma was filmed gleeful striking a cat by his brother Yoan, who was heard laughing in the background.

The footage was shared on Snapchat and later obtained by The Sun newspaper.

A child witnessed the cat's mistreatment too as, in one of the video's upsetting scenes, Zouma is seen slapping the animal out of a youngster's arms.

Zouma also threw a shoe at the pet.

Fans, former players and journalists have all expressed their outrage at Zouma.

But London's Metropolitan Police will not investigate the video, according to Sky Sports, although West Ham in a statement vowed to deal with Zouma "internally".

Kurt Zouma, pictured here in December last year, has apologized for hitting a cat

IMAGO/Sebastian Frej

The statement read: "West Ham United unreservedly condemns the actions of our player, Kurt Zouma, in the video that has circulated.

"We have spoken to Kurt and will be dealing with the matter internally, but we would like to make it clear that we in no way condone cruelty towards animals."

Zouma also issued a statement in which he gave an apology and described his attacks on the cat as "an isolated incident".

"I want to apologise for my actions," Zouma wrote, as reported by BBC Sport. "There are no excuses for my behaviour, which I sincerely regret.

"I also want to say how deeply sorry I am to anyone who was upset by the video. I would like to assure everyone that our two cats are perfectly fine and healthy.

"They are loved and cherished by our entire family, and this behaviour was an isolated incident that will not happen again."