The title is from a newspaper headline (except the last word) and it irritates the hell out of me. It unnecessarily demonises the domestic cat for the sake of selling a cat story and it severely jeopardises the life of this cat.
This is the story of a black outdoor cat who appears to be domesticated but they are saying he is feral. The cat is said to be ‘wreaking havoc on its residents’. The residents referred to live at Pearl River, New York.
One of these residents said:
“A cat, a black cat, is goin’ around hurtin’ kids.”
“It’s been like lockdown. I feel bad for the kids, they’re afraid to go out,” (another resident said).
“It was wobbly and it was very thin” (said another resident). Perhaps he was starving!
CBS has labelled the cat ‘very aggressive’ and ‘rabid’. That is the death knell for this cat. Of course residents need to be careful about rabies. No question about that. However, just because a cat is aggressive does not mean he has rabies. There are a multitude of reasons why a cat might be aggressive.
CBS states the cat attacked a dog. Perhaps the cat was defending himself against an impending attack from a dog. That’s the most likely reason. People have been scratched. If they have been scratched and have not had anti-rabies treatments then the cat does not have rabies or they believe the cat does not have rabies. In which case the newspaper are hyping this.
One reason for the aggression is clearly indicated in this story. One resident kicked the cat. That’s not going to make him less aggressive is it?
Another resident said the cat had blood on its mouth. “It was quite surreal”. What is surreal about a cat who is outdoors having blood on its mouth. Perhaps he just caught a mouse and ate a bit of it. That is normal, not surreal.
The website ‘Jezebel’ says “this is very serious”. I don’t believe it is. What is serious is the behavior of humans. They make matters worse with their stupid behavior. Yes, be cautious about rabies in the USA but rabies is extremely rare in cats in the USA.
What do you think? Do you think people tend to overreact and build a story about nothing when a black cat (the color is important here because people are still superstitious about black cats) happens to have been defensively aggressive towards someone or other.
Leave him alone and watch and wait. But don’t make matters worse, please.
Some comic wag likened this cat’s behavior to that of the now famous cat who terrorised his family causing them to lock themselves inside their bathroom.
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Is there not one single person in that area who thought to offer the poor creature some food or call a rescue to see if they could help with re-homing?
Probably not, Michele. It’s easier and more fun for them to demonize that poor cat. That way they can calm they were totally innocent when this ends badly.
People definitely over react when it comes to black cats. Something about the color black just brings out the stupid in some people. Sounds like a group of hysterical idiots bound and determined to make this poor animal into some kind of monster. I’m not holding out much hope for a happy ending.
Cat is probably in pain as the cat was abused by a human,probably hungry and scared,too.It is not rabies. This is the result of abuse. They need to humanely trap the cat and get the cat medical help.
So right, Geri.
Thank you.
My opinion is that this is a very hungry/starving stray. Not likely feral as he would never sit at a doorstep or approach humans if he were. His aggression is from starvation. He’s desperate. If someone would just show some kindness and offer food, he would probably be a different cat.
I wish that everyone would learn what the real signs of rabies are. This cat is not rabid. The blood from his mouth could be from being harmed or trying to feed on something like tree bark or anything he could find.
I hope that he is helped and not killed.