COTATI -- Two 15-year-old girls will appear in Juvenile Court Tuesday in connection with the burning of a live kitten in a cage, the Sonoma County District Attorney's Office said Monday afternoon.

The girls were arrested Friday and charged with killing, maiming or abusing an animal. The maximum penalty is three years confinement, District Attorney Stephan Passalacqua said.

Both suspects are being detained in the county's juvenile hall and the court proceedings are closed to the public, Passalacqua said.

The kitten was found burned in a cage in the Apple Valley neighborhood of Santa Rosa on June 20. Witnesses said they saw two girls standing near the cage.

Five other kittens and an adult cat were collected by an Apple Valley resident for spay or neutering by the Forgotten Felines organization but the cats were left outdoors in their cages overnight, authorities said. The five kittens are still missing.

The male, short hair kitten named Adam received second- and third- degree burns over most of its body and was being treated at an animal hospital in Cotati.

"We will fully prosecute this case of animal cruelty to ensure that those responsible are held accountable," Passalacqua said.