A Sydney woman has been charged with animal torture after she allegedly killed her cat by stabbing it 20 times and throwing it off a second-floor balcony.
Police found the body of a cat after being called to the unit at Dee Why on Sydney's northern beaches on Wednesday morning.
Officers took the animal to vet, who examined the body and found it had been stabbed 20 times.
The 19-year-old woman was arrested and taken to Northern Beaches Hospital for assessment, before being released into police custody.
She has now been charged with torture, beating and causing the death of animal, and committing an act of aggravated cruelty upon an animal.
She has been refused bail to appear in Manly Local Court on Thursday.
A second cat has been retrieved by police from the home unit and placed in the care of the RSPCA.
