Lincoln, NE - People from all over the country--and as far away as Australia--are outraged that a Lincoln man stuffed his kitten into a homemade bong to mellow her out. 

The kitten's 20-year-old owner Acea Schomaker is facing criminal charges and catcalls from animal lovers.

"This really is one of those, you-have-got-to-be-kidding-me stories," says Chief Deputy William Jarrett of the Lancaster County Sheriff's Office.

Lincoln-area authorities cited Schomaker on suspicion of animal cruelty after catching him smoking marijuana from a contraption that had a cat stuffed inside its 12-inch by 6-inch base.  The man told Lancaster County sheriff's deputies the 6-month-old female named Shadow was hyper and he was trying to calm her down.

"She might be a little timid for a period of time from people just until she learns to trust who her new owner will be," says Robert Downey, Executive Director of the Capital Humane Society. Shadow's being kept there while legal proceedings go on.

Downey tells Action 3 News he's had calls from all over the country offering to help or adopt Shadow. One person from Australia even sent a donation to the Capital Humane Society.

Downey says a vet checked Shadow yesterday and she had ash residue in her lungs, that could end up causing health problems as she gets older.

Deputies discovered the cat trapped in the device after responding to a domestic disturbance call.

"In this line of work you never really see it all, but then you think, can there really be anything else?" asks Chief Deputy Jarrett.

Updated by Kathy Sarantos Niver, kathy@action3news.com

Reported by Dave Roberts, dgroberts@action3news.com