Kurt Zouma has cats taken, receives fine after disturbing video

The fallout regarding the disturbing recent video of West Ham United defender Kurt Zouma kicking and striking a cat continued into Wednesday and seemingly has no imminent end in sight. 

Per ESPN and Sky Sports, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals confirmed Zouma's pet cats have been taken into care. Additionally, West Ham fined the 27-year-old an amount believed to be £250,000, or two weeks' wages. That money will go to animal welfare charities.

"The two cats are now in RSPCA care," a spokesperson for that organization said in a prepared statement. "Our priority is and has always been the wellbeing of these cats. They've been taken for a check-up at a vets and then will remain in our care while the investigation continues."

In a new statement released Wednesday, West Ham said they are "supporting an RSPCA investigation into the actions of Kurt Zouma" following the video first shared on Snapchat and later published by "The Sun" newspaper. 

"Kurt and the Club are co-operating fully with the investigation and the player has willingly complied with the steps taken in the initial stage of the process, including delivering his family’s two cats to the RSPCA for assessment," West Ham explained. "Kurt is extremely remorseful and, like everyone at the Club, fully understands the depth of feeling surrounding the incident and the need for action to be taken." 

The statement continues: 

"West Ham United would like to reiterate our condemnation of Kurt’s actions and make it clear that the matter continues to be handled with the utmost seriousness. However, we believe it is now important to allow the RSPCA to conduct their investigation in a fair and thorough manner, and will be making no further comment at this stage."

Also on Wednesday, Adidas confirmed it has dropped its association with Zouma. 

"We have concluded our investigation and can confirm Kurt Zouma is no longer an Adidas contracted athlete," the company said.