The short answer? Alcohol. The narrator describes how his "general temperament and character -- through the instrumentality of the Fiend Intemperance -- had (I blush to confess it) experienced a radical alteration for the worse." Basically, he went from a loving husband and parent to many beloved pets to an angry drunk who would lash out at both his wife and his animals. He describes verbal as well as physical abuse on both.
Still, he kept from harming his favorite, Pluto, for a time, showing that Pluto's well-being was more important to the narrator than that of his own wife. Eventually, though, even Pluto is the victim of the narrator's violence, leading up to a terrible moment.
The narrator begins suspecting that Pluto is avoiding him (only natural, considering his behavior). The thought of his beloved favorite avoiding his presence enrages the narrator and he grabs the cat forcefully. Pluto bites his hand, and the narrator responds by carving out Pluto's eye with a penknife and then hanging him, dead, from a tree.
Clearly, the narrator's actions are totally outside the realm of reasonable reactions. Blowing Pluto's behavior out of proportion – or even inventing it entirely – causes him to murder his favorite creature. I think the blame lies squarely with the narrator and his terrible alcohol addiction.
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