Facing up to 15 years in jail if convicted, a 56-year-old Siberian woman is accused of murdering her husband over a pet cat. The woman will undergo a psychiatric evaluation and is under investigation by local officials.

Russian investigators in East Siberia's Buryatia republic say that the woman and her husband got into an argument over a cat. The couple took the cat in on their cattle farm when the cat's owner from a neighboring farm died.

The husband disagreed with the idea of taking care of the cat and was abusive towards the animal. He would beat the cat and scare it away whenever he got the opportunity. Things really got out of hand when the woman's husband grabbed a rake and tried to kill the animal. The woman grabbed the weapon from her husband, grabbed a knife and stabbed him to death to protect the cat.

As Baikal Daily reports, the woman and her husband were both intoxicated when the incident occurred. The two consumed large amounts of alcohol in their home during dinner on the evening of Feb. 10th.

"In a move to protect the animal, the woman seized the rake from his hands and then snatched a knife from the table in a fit of rage, and stabbed the man three times in the chest," said a spokesman for the Investigative Committee to Ria Novosti news.

The investigation will determine if the woman's actions are considered a crime of passion. A forensic psychologist and psychiatric examination will help to determine the woman's fate.