Hammers manager David Moyes had declared the centre-back was available to play despite a disturbing video of him kicking his cat across his kitchen floor.

The France international was initially selected in West Ham's starting line-up for the 2-2 draw with Leicester, but the club confirmed he was withdrawn after feeling unwell and was replaced by Issa Diop.

Zouma's cats have been taken away by the RSPCA after a video emerged of him hitting, dropping, and kicking his pet across his kitchen floor on Monday.

The 27-year-old West Ham defender issued an apology and has been fined two weeks' wages - understood to be £250,000 - which will be donated to animal welfare charities, while Adidas have dropped the player as a client.

Moyes caused controversy by picking Zouma to face Watford on Tuesday, barely 24 hours after the footage was released and amid a huge public outcry.

National League club Dagenham have suspended Zouma's brother Yoan, who is understood to have filmed the video, while the RSPCA investigates the incident.

Should Zouma have been selected in the first place?

Reacting to the news of Zouma's withdrawal, Sky Sports Jamie Carragher said: "It's makes folly of the decision to actually play him in the game and all the furore around it and then he's not able to play in this game now anyway.

"Diop comes back in and in some way it kind of prolongs the story. Everyone in the stadium will be talking about Kurt Zouma again. It's happened with other players, but you don't really know quite what he's been through in terms of the scrutiny.

"We know that West Ham are going to continue to pick him. I feel that was a mistake and I know Moyes has said that he hopes that the club are perceived better off the back of this instance but I don't feel it will be the case.

"I think it was a big mistake but as soon as he played against Watford, he was likely to then play against Leicester if fit.

"I feel this was a time when the owners of West Ham could've stepped in and taken the decision out of David Moyes' hands."

Sky Sports' Graeme Souness responded: "Not as much as the cat went through. I have zero sympathy for him. If he turned up today, he could've got abuse from his own supporters. West Ham's roots are in the East End of London, they're salt of the earth people. The vast majority of them wouldn't be accepting of what they saw on TikTok or whatever it was.

"I've got zero sympathy for him. I've got major problems with this. For me, looking at that video the cat hadn't done anything wrong. It was picked up and it was abused for entertainment.

"It wasn't out of anger... they were laughing. The example he sets there, and he smashes the cat out of the child's arms. And then, and this is the biggest problem I have with it, they decide to put it on social media.

"The fact they then put it out on social media then suggests that they don't see anything wrong with it and their behaviour. They thought that people would find this funny and amusing. It's just wrong on every level what they did.

"You can be too close to it and be blinded by what's in front of you. For West Ham, this has been a masterclass in how not to handle a crisis."

Should we be concerned about Zouma's welfare?

Moyes said during his press conference ahead of the trip to the Midlands: "We all make mistakes in life. The boy is incredibly remorseful. He's incredibly upset at what he did - he did a terrible thing.

"But if it's the case that there's no forgiveness, then... We've all made mistakes and we'll all continue to make mistakes in life.

"We have to give people opportunities. He said he got it wrong, made a big mistake, so I'm hoping people will see it in a different way and see it with forgiveness."

Sky Sports presenter David Jones posed the question of whether we should be concerned about Zouma's welfare after the latest development in the saga, but Carragher said: "Everything Graeme said there is right. He made a massive mistake.

"The question back for Graeme is that he's been a manager, he's been in David Moyes' position... maybe not something like this. But you've had players who have done things that are completely out of order. How do you deal with it?"

Souness responded: "You said they've prolonged it... I think they've mismanaged it from day one. For me, I wouldn't have played him again this year. I think, if I was still a player, I wouldn't want to be in the dressing room with him.

"I wouldn't want him around the place until he showed real remorse in whatever way that shows itself. The statements mean nothing, fines mean nothing in this instance."

Sky Sports' Micah Richards added: "There's got to be room for forgiveness. Banning him for the season is excessive. We all know that what he did was disgusting. People have to learn and you have to forgive people for what they have done.

"Otherwise, what is life? We've all got the same opinion on it. We've all got the same opinion that it was wrong."

Moyes explains Zouma withdrawal

West Ham boss Moyes said after the game: "Kurt was ill before the game but he wanted to play and we wanted him to play as well. We were aware that he'd been up sick during the night but we hoped he'd be OK.

"He didn't eat much and he stayed away from the players in the meetings and at the pre-match meal.

"Once he got out onto the pitch, he just didn't feel like it was possible and we'd already told Issa to be ready as there was a chance he'd not be able to play."

When pressed on what may have caused the illness, Moyes added: "We think it's a stomach bug.

"I hope that we've changed how West Ham are perceived. A player has made a mistake and there's been lots of managers with players who have made mistakes.

"Somewhere along the line, you always hope that there's a little bit of forgiveness and people are willing to accept that they've made a mistake and accept the apology. We hope that's the case."

RSCPA: No courses or donations

The RSPCA has refuted claims it will conduct an animal welfare course for Zouma, and denied reports the charity have been given a donation as a result of a player fine.

An RSPCA statement read: "Our focus remains entirely on our experienced officers carrying out a full and thorough investigation. There have been no plans made for animal welfare courses to be undertaken. The RSPCA has not been offered or accepted a donation."

In France, animal rights group the 30 Million Friends Foundation condemned the "heinous act" and called for Zouma to be suspended from the national team. West Ham are continuing to support an RSPCA investigation.