As is the case for children, the domestic cat is sometimes used as a way of emotionally hurting a person and it often occurs when there is a dispute between a man and a woman. Both children and cats are vulnerable to unscrupulous individuals in divorces or relationship split-ups of any kind. In fact the abuse of children and cats can occur in a wide range of circumstances involving disputes between men and women. There is a similarity between the level of vulnerability and the availability of kids and cats to be exploited in this way.
The abuse of cats in the war of the sexes is a kind of ammunition. As women tend to favour cats and as men are inherently more aggressive it is usual for a man to hurt or kill a cat to get at the woman who owns the cat.
Here are two examples:
This example concerns the person in the photo above. A man wants sex from a woman. She refuses despite forcing himself onto her (a sexual assault). He becomes pissed-off. He wants to hurt her. As he leaves he strangles the woman’s cat. The cat dies 20 minutes later due to a seizure [story].
A divorcing couple fight over the father’s access to the children because the mother is almost invariably the primary carer. She wants to get at him and the best way to do it is to stop him seeing his children. He has to go to court to get an order to get contact with his kids. It takes ages and even then he is refused contact because the woman ignores the court order. The court can’t punish her by sending her to prison because that would hurt the children even more. The children are being hurt by the mother and the father too.
The are many variations on these examples. A divorcing couple can use a pet in the same way they can use a child to emotionally hurt one another. It is not uncommon to read news stories of cats being killed or hurt by an aggrieved man in a split-up. As mentioned, it is usually the man who is the aggressor towards the cat.
There is probably a feeling of male impotence when a woman shuns a man’s advances because the man believes that the woman prefers her cat to him so he hurts the cat to get back at her.
It is the manner in which the cat is used as a pawn or weapon to hurt someone which shocks me and makes me mad. The cat is totally innocent and this form of behaviour is a reflection on one of the unpleasant aspects of human nature. I am not saying that cats don’t have some unpleasant characteristics too (e.g. infanticide by the male lion) but everything the cat does is practical and logical in the furtherance of survival while only the human has this nasty perverted side to their personalities whereby they can abuse the vulnerable for emotional reasons.
Yea it seems to be that way. Especially when Emotions get in the way.
I just dont understand why humans cant be fair, when it comes to their Pets esp when it comes to time to splitting them up. Like When I go out on my Own, I will Take Ozzie,jasmine, Rebel. Rob will take Smokey, Tiger and if Jasmine is ok on her own with me he might take ozzie. As hes a favourite. Depending how it goes at the time. Hopefully still be able to visit each of them as we in same town. Its just sad that People think of the Animal First instead of their own agenda. The same with the Kids. Often Pets in a Family Violence situition get used as a way to hurt each other. Here in New Zealand have a huge Family Violence problem esp amongst the kids. They only doing something about it now. When back when I was a kid it continued on. just my view
Unfortunately it is the nature of the human to behave like this sometimes. This sort of abuse and use doesn’t exist in the animal world as far as I am aware. We are the masters of this sort of behaviour.
Cats, dogs, even children are treated as property when it comes to separation, divorce, and domestic disputes.
They are the most vulnerable, yet the least cared about.
To use any animal as a tool to manipulate or hurt a person is cowardly.
Gratefully, I’ve never been in such a situation. God knows, I hope I never am, as I believe burly men value their crotches as much as I value my cats.
LOL. I have seen a lot of crappy human behaviour working as a divorce lawyer (now retired). It is utterly stupid and immoral to use vulnerable family members to try and further one’s short-sighted and distorted aims.
This type of insanity has been going on for years now, and is one reason i do not understand why many or all the States within the United States has not yet dealt with the subject of domestic abuse and animal abuse more ferociously!!! Not sure how laws are in other parts of the world, but its still moving at a snails pace to get anything done! Politicians do not entertain the battles that ensue in relationships where people and animals get hurt and killed. It’s not important an agenda to them! Restraining Orders are about as worthless as the paper they are printed on!!! So much for domestic violence laws. They too are a joke! Meanwhile the body count continues both with humans and with animals. One case that stands out recently was here in the States, a former police officer chased down his girlfriends dog in the home. When it got lodged between the wall and stove out of fear, he got it out with the help of a broom and beat the dog to death and then chopped it up and took pictures of it on his phone and sent it to his girlfriend. He was arrested! These atrocities go on all the time and this is the time we all should join voices and see laws get changed to challenge the courts and our whole judicial system to get tough on crime on both humans and our fur friends!!! This is another reason some stay put in violent relationships because of the pet cat or dog. Shelters for the better part do not allow pets. We need to start at that level as well to make change to end needless suffering and violence!! Too many times it is not just the emotional hurt that is the problem. It is the deep rooted physical and mental hurt and fear that can kill.. Imagine our fur friends in fear..Cowering out of fear..They endure the abuse as well. Its time to take back control! Confront the bullies and help our dog and cat victims!
Great comment but upsetting. I totally agree that there is a pressing need to deal more vigorously with domestic violence and the consequences of it. The police tend to see it as a civil rather than a civil matter but it isn’t. This is pure criminality. The police in Britain more or less ignore a whole bunch of crimes including this sort of crime. I have given up on the police.
In Switzerland a person was prosecuted for separating a cat from another cat or a dog (I forget) on the divorce of the owners. That is amazingly good.