A woman has been arrested over allegations of animal cruelty after allegedly throwing her ex boyfriend’s cat into a river during an argument with him.

Christa Anne Thistle, 53, was accused of grabbing the cat, which was enclosed in a crate, and dropping it into the Riverwood Park Campground river in Oak Hill, Florida, before 7pm last Thursday, August, 19.

In response to the perceived harm, her ex-boyfriend jumped into the water to rescue the pet called Stanley and managed to scoop him out after around 20 seconds.

According to the Volusia Sheriff’s Office, Thistle and her long-term boyfriend had recently broken up and they got into an argument over him not moving out of the house fast enough.

She began moving his belongings out of the camper van, knocked over some food that was being cooked, then picked up Stanley’s cat crate and threw him into the river.

‘The boyfriend jumped into the water to rescue Stanley, but it has been estimated the cat was submerged for about 20 seconds,’ a police statement on Facebook said.

Stanley was still wet and shivering when deputies arrived, and the boyfriend was wet from the waist down, consistent with jumping in the river to save him.

Thistle insists she did not throw the cat in the river.

She was also charged with simple assault after she allegedly demanded to be taken to jail so she could make a phone call, be bailed and kill her ex-boyfriend.

She remains in police custody pending her first appearance in court.

The cat has now fully recovered.