There was fear that the cat's actions were motivated by rabies.
The cat was tested for the disease.
A rabies test can only be performed after killing the animal suspected of carrying the disease.
The test came back negative.
Essentially, the cat was killed for getting irritated after being continually kicked with snow and retaliated.
I'm a cat lover and not particularly fond of this story's epilogue. When I initially saw the video, I was shouting, "GO CAT GO!" Now I wished the cat had done the wrong thing and walked away.