A 74-year-old Loveland, Colo., man must spend 30 days at home, under electronic monitoring, after pleading guilty in an animal cruelty case where two cats were poisoned.

Neil Smith pleaded guilty to two counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty as part of a plea bargain. He also paid the veterinary bills of the cat owners -- bills that exceeded $900. In addition, Smith will be on probation for two years and must perform 100 hours of community service.

As part of his plea bargain, Smith admitted he put a dish of gelatin laced with antifreeze next to a dish of tuna outside his mobile home last August.

Smith said he was hoping to make a problem cat sick, not kill it, and not harm the two cats that died.

He could have been sentenced to 24 months in jail and fined $5,000 for the guilty plea. The judge took his frail health and the health of his wife into account when sentencing him to home detention.

Under that agreement, he pleaded guilty to two counts of animal cruelty, each a misdemeanor that could have carried a sentence of 24 months jail and a $5,000 fine.