UPDATE: We have learned this morning that Cuddles the cat died of its injuries. Which only makes me that much angrier about this whole thing.

It’s always the photo that grabs you.

And one glance at the photo in question reveals the terrible truth: It has happened again.

The damage to a 6-week-old kitten found on a Chester street is unmistakable. You can see it in the singed whiskers.

It was no accident. Police and rescue officials believe someone deliberately poured some kind of accelerant on the kitty and then set it on fire.

If that was not enough for their sick amusement, they then proceeded to throw stones at the helpless kitty.

Police responded to the 700 block of East Fifth Street in Chester, where they rescued the cat and rushed it to Marple Animal Hospital. It was treated for second-degree burns to one ear, a 1-inch wide burn patch of singed fur that went the length of its body, and smoke inhalation.

The cat, nicknamed “Cuddles,” is expected to recover.

In the meantime, the hunt is on for the person responsible for such a barbaric act.

It makes you wonder exactly what people are capable of doing, and where we went wrong as a society that this kind of animal abuse keeps happening.

I just don’t get it.