My 4yr son killed our cat

I woke up this morning to find our cat missing. I walked around calling for him and my son said "dont look in the cooler". I immediatley walked outside on the backporch and opened the cooler to find our cat dead. I have no clue what to do now. I sat him down with me and the wife and talked to him about his behavior and what he had done. He was not upset about the death of the cat as much as when i told him we were not going to Adventure Island, a local water park, and i was not taking him out on the boat fishing for a long time. Im very scared that he has some complex emotional problems and that he may need to speak to a proffesional. Any advice would be greatly apreciated.

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

The incident definitely invites arranging an evaluation. While children this age can do things that, on the surface, look alarming, that might not be the case. But it's not wise to assume that this episode is an example of naive four-year-old behavior. It's best to have him evaluated so you know if his mental state and psychological status are within the normal spectrum or not.