Burning cat scene

"It is against the law to kill an actual animal for a film so no, they didn't really kill the cat."

Its against the law, IN THE UNITED STATES. And while I don't think this was filmed outside the United States, you will see American productions that have indeed involved killing animals. A classic example is Francis Ford Copolla's "Apocalypse Now" where a water buffalo is actually killed on screen - but the film was shot in the Philippines

Other American made films do not *KILL* animals for their productions but they do in fact use already DEAD animals, often from veterinarian offices. Its a sickening thought but it isn't as if the fimmaker's intention is cruelty to animals. "Last House on the Left" and "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" both used real animal carcasses at some point in the film.

So its entirely possible that this is indeed a real dead/mutilated cat on screen that we're seeing. (Though its highly unlikely that they harmed a live cat for the purposes of the film)