David Moyes has asked for “a little bit of forgiveness” for Kurt Zouma and said he will continue picking the centre-back for West Ham despite footage of the player brutalising a cat.

The manager said Zouma was “incredibly remorseful” and had agreed to go on a course to raise his awareness of animal welfare.

“We’re so disappointed, it’s completely out of character from Kurt, we’ve never seen this in him,” said Moyes. “He is a really good lad and we’re going to get him some help.

“Just like people with drink-drive offences have to go to classes to learn the reasons and the damage that can be done, the RSPCA are going to provide some courses for Kurt to understand exactly about animals and how to treat them. We’ll do everything we possibly can to make sure Kurt is getting better at understanding it.

“He is incredibly remorseful. Like everybody else, sometimes in life you need a bit of forgiveness. He hopes he is forgiven for a bad action. We all make mistakes in life. We have to give people opportunities [to make amends].”

West Ham have also imposed the maximum permissible fine of two weeks’ wages on Zouma and have said the money – about £250,000 – will be donated to animal welfare charities. “Kurt has apologised and, out of a really bad situation, we’re trying to get something positive,” Moyes said. “We’re making sure the animal charities will benefit from it.”

The RSPCA said on Saturday it had not arranged for Kurt Zouma to attend an animal welfare course and had not been offered a donation by West Ham. “Our focus remains entirely on our experienced officers carrying out a full and thorough investigation,” the charity said. “There have been no plans made for animal welfare courses to be undertaken. The RSPCA has not been offered or accepted a donation.”

An RSPCA spokesperson added: “Two cats are in our care, have been seen by a vet and are being well looked after. They will remain in our care while the investigation continues and are not available for rehoming although we have lots of beautiful cats who are looking for new homes. We understand the high level of interest in this incident and can reassure you that our experienced officers are carrying out a full and thorough investigation. Due to the fact that this is a live investigation, we are limited in what we can say, however we will provide updates when we are able.”

Critics have suggested that the fine is not sufficient, arguing that a more effective punishment would have been to ban the defender from playing. Zouma started Tuesday’s win at Watford – one day after the release of the video – and Moyes defended that decision, adding that he considered the player to be available for selection for Sunday’s match against Leicester, too.

“I don’t think a club could have taken more action, any quicker than what West ham have done,” Moyes said. “West Ham have done a really good job. They’ve fined him maximum wages. I’m not condoning his actions, they were terrible. We all accept that they were diabolical. But we’ve chosen to play him and we stand by that.”

Moyes suggested that decisions on any punishment, beyond what West Ham have administered, should be made after the outcome of the RSPCA investigation into the video. “If you think that missing games is the answer, would you know how many games he should miss?” said Moyes. “Any idea of the right number?

“I know exactly where my moral compass is. I understand what people feel. I’ve made my position clear, the club have made their position clear. The club has done everything we possibly can in the situation that was not of the club’s doing or my doing. There are people who want to be the judge and the jury but really it’s the law of the land that will be the judge and jury.

“The law will make the decision on it. If there is to be a prosecution or anything else happening, that’s for us to see where that goes. The RSPCA investigation is ongoing and we’ll see what the outcome of that is.”

Moyes said the club would make sure that Zouma gets whatever support he needs to cope with the criticism and pressure he will to come under. “I have concerns,” said Moyes. “He’s really disappointed in his action and that can affect people. And there’ll be a reaction at football grounds, which he’ll have to expect. Kurt knows he’s made a mistake and will have to take his punishment.”