NATCHEZ &8212; It was a long process, but cats are now legally protected in the state of Mississippi.

Gov. Haley Barbour signed a Senate bill into law Friday, outlining punishments for any person who maliciously kills, maims or wounds a cat.

The law includes the same penalties for injuring a dog, but dogs were covered in previous laws.

It&8217;s the &8220;or cat&8221; &8212; underlined all throughout the bill &8212; Natchez resident Annette Byrne and local Sen. Bob Dearing have been waiting on.

Three years ago Byrne learned of a Natchez case in which a man allegedly threw his neighbor&8217;s cat into boiling oil. The man was arrested, went through the legal process and was released without punishment by a judge who said there was no state law against harming cats.

Byrne contacted Dearing, D-Natchez, and asked him what could be done.

Since then Dearing has raised the issue only to see it escape the Senate but fail in the House.

Dearing and Byrne were both on hand Friday morning to see the bill signing.

&8220;It&8217;s a relief to me,&8221; Byrne said. &8220;I can&8217;t understand why anyone would like to see an animal tortured.

&8220;With a lot of people&8217;s help we finally got (the law).&8221;

Now, any person harming cats or dogs can be fined not more than $1,000 or be imprisoned no more than six months on a first offense.

The suspect can also be forced to pay veterinary bills.

&8220;There are people out there that are really harmful to cats, and the judge couldn&8217;t do anything about it,&8221; Dearing said. &8220;I&8217;m an animal lover.&8221;

In the same new law, the state made hog-dog fighting illegal. The activity that has grown in popularity in the last few years across Southern states puts a dog and a hog in a pen. Spectators place bets and charge admission to the events.

Mississippi is the second state &8212; behind Louisiana &8212; to ban the sport. Alabama also banned it this week.

&8220;This was a big priority for us,&8221; said Andi Bernat of the Humane Society of the United States. &8220;It&8217;s a huge win for the animals in Mississippi. This is the tip of the iceberg to ban the sport.&8221;

Bernat was in Jackson Friday to watch the ceremonial signing of the bill.

Any person convicted of hog-dog fighting faces the same penalties as those convicted of harming cats or dogs. Both are misdemeanor crimes.

The hog-dog law will be reviewed in two years.