West Ham footballer Kurt Zouma has been fined £250,000 and has had his cats taken away from him by the RSPCA.
It comes after footage emerged on social media of him kicking and slapping the pets.
On Wednesday, the RSPCA said that two cats were now in its care and that the charity's priority had always been the welfare of the animals, reports the Mirror.
The statement said: "(They have) Been taken for a check-up at the vets and will remain in our care while the investigation continues.
"We're grateful to everyone who expressed their concern for these cats.
"We were dealing with this issue before the video went viral online and are leading the investigation. We continue to investigate so we cannot comment further at this time."
The Sun is also now reporting that Zouma has been fined £250,000 by West Ham.
The figure works out at two weeks' wages for the defender.
Zouma apologised after the video, obtained by The Sun, was shared by his brother Yoan on Snapchat and went viral.
"I want to apologise for my actions. There are no excuses for my behaviour, which I sincerely regret," said Zouma.
"I also want to say how deeply sorry I am to anyone who was upset by the video. I would like to assure everyone that our two cats are perfectly fine and healthy."
Essex Police has confirmed that it is looking into the video.
West Ham carried out their own internal investigation and strongly condemned Zouma's actions in a statement on Monday evening.
West Ham boss David Moyes was criticised after he named Zouma in his side's 1-0 win over Watford on Tuesday night.
He told BT Sport: "No, because he is one of our better players. But it is certainly ongoing and the club are dealing with it, so that is a separate matter."
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