Police in Mount Vernon say they searching for leads in an act of animal cruelty.

Police officials say someone set a litter of kittens on fire and left them to die on Easter Sunday, but each one of the cats survived.

"What becomes difficult is the manner in which it was done," says Ken Ross, chief of the Westchester SPCA. "Paper was set on fire, it was put in the drawer, and the drawer was closed."

Mount Vernon Police Commissioner David Chong says his department will aggressively pursue those responsible for the crime.