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A bit-part actor and former Mets minor leaguer went on trial Tuesday on charges of killing his girlfriend's beloved cat in a jealous rage.
"You love that cat more than me!" Joseph Petcka, 37, screamed at his girlfriend, Lisa Altobelli, just before he pummeled 7-pound pussy Norman to death, court papers say.
The ruggedly handsome Petcka, who has appeared in Brawny paper towel ads and "Sex and the City," claims he acted in self-defense after the cat tried to bite him inside Altobelli's SoHo apartment.
Altobelli, a Sports Illustrated writer, is expected to take the witness stand Wednesday.
It took 17 months to bring Petcka to trial because prosecutors insisted he face a felony count of aggravated cruelty to animals. That could land him in prison for two years.
The 6-foot-3 Petcka, who was the Mets' fifth-round draft pick in 1992, pounded the tiny tabby after Altobelli stormed out of her pad in a rage on March 27, 2007, prosecutors said.
Norman, an orange-and-white long hair, died from injuries that included three broken ribs and torn lungs, officials said.
Assistant Manhattan District Attorney Leila Kermani and defense lawyer Charles Hochbaum spent all day picking jurors for the case.
Some of the prospective jurors wondered aloud why Petcka was facing hard time for a crime against a pet.
"This kind of case is a waste of taxpayers' money," said Kelly Scott, who was bounced from the jury pool.
Although some jurors might have been puzzled by the case, pet lovers have bombarded prosecutors with angry letters and e-mails.
Petcka Tuesday seemed impervious to the attention, taking time at lunch to trim his dark brown locks.
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