Introduction
This is a story from about 10+ years ago. It is not news but it is good to look back and reflect sometimes. Also, I wanted to revisit some old posts and republish them as at today’s date. The world has changed since then. Perhaps it was one of the first of the genre of what almost became a meme: young men abusing cats for the hell of it and worse of all filming the whole thing. I has happened a lot over the last decade. There was a spate of them about a couple of years ago. The problem for these young men is in their ignorance they provided law enforcement with hard evidence which is often sufficient to successful prosecute them. This sort of ‘selfie cat abuse on video’ crime is a form of self-indulgent madness.
I believe that this kind of animal abuse happens in countries with good access to the internet and social media because it is on social media that these miscreants seek fame by uploading videos of their crimes. This is why they occur mainly in developed countries. Without wishing to malign America it is one of the hotspots. Only ignorant people could do it so education is the cure.
The only way a person can throw a kitten in a microwave out of a 3-story window is if you have zero sensitivity to the sentience of the animal. You have to treat the animal as a innanimate object. The kitten is no different to the microwave. It is as if there is a blank spot on their brain which does not register the fact that the animal has feelings and can experience pain. It is a failure, too, to understand the consequences of their actions. There is a psychopathic element to these animal abuse crimes. But then kids are often inherently psychopathic. They’ve failed to learn cause and effect.
On a technical note, if the kitten had fallen from the 3rd story (not inside the microwave) they’d have suffered far less injuries because of the cats righting reflex and their ability to parachute down from great heights by fanning out their legs.
Tostino is expected to recover
The story written by Elisa
Good day readers. I have another story of cat abuse, and thankfully survival, to report to you today.
I’d like to tell you about a kitten, named Tostino by the SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) staff, who survived a 3-story fall inside a microwave while the abusers filmed it on a cell phone.
This occurred on November 3, 2010 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and two teen boys have been charged with animal cruelty.
On this date a 15 year old and a 16 year old male were both charged with one count misdemeanor animal cruelty after placing Tostino into a microwave, wrapping the electrical cord around the microwave, and tossing it out of a third story window in the 4500 block of G Street in the Juanita area of Philadelphia (see map below). While this was taking place, one of the boys filmed the whole thing using his cell phone camera. Right down to the microwave hitting the ground-smashed flat from impact.
Tostino was still trapped inside when police arrived.
Thankfully, a neighbor heard the microwave hit the pavement in the back alley and called the police. When the police arrived and went to confront the teens, the two boys jumped out of the same window they threw the cat out of.
This situation is heartbreaking. The 15 year old boy, who was the owner of the 2 to 6 month old kitten, decided he didn’t want it anymore.
Tostino was examined by the Pennsylvania SPCA Veterinary staff and diagnosed as suffering from multiple cuts and bruises from the fall and also a concussion. He’s in bad shape, but the SPCA is hopeful he’ll recover from the injuries and find a furever home. He won’t be placed up for adoption until his injuries have healed enough for him to leave the shelter, where he was reported up and walking around.
There are a few good video’s on this page showing the progress Tostino is making as he recovers. Look at that sweet little face! He did nothing to deserve this.
A chihuahua was also removed from the home by the PSPCA at the time they investigated the abuse. PSPCA spokesman George Bengal said the condition of the dog is good, although it’s living conditions in the home were less than desirable.
The 15 year old spoke with NBC Philadelphia on Thursday and admitted he didn’t know what he was thinking to make him commit such a cruel act. He is now under house arrest and has been place on a GPS monitoring system.
If convicted, both teens face a fine of no less than $1000 and up to two years probation or jail time.
For privacy purposes because the teen is under age, I haven’t mentioned him by name, but would like to inform the readers here his name can be found at here. http://www.pet-abuse.com/cases/16776/PA/US/.
This type of abuse is becoming all too common. The readers at pictures-of-cats who live outside of the U.S. may not realize how common these cases are becoming. One major problem here with teens is the fame they hope to achieve by placing videos on YouTube and other video sites. Just type in “microwave kitten” and you’ll see what I mean by this.
I believe their video would have been uploaded had they not been “caught” by a neighbor. Thank you for reporting this, dear neighbor. The world needs more animal lovers like you!
I’ve done several articles connecting animal abuse by teens and CDV and the possibility of teen abusers later moving on to crimes against people. Here are some of my best articles and I’m proud to have written them. They pull the blinders off of people who deny this is going on in their own neighborhood. If I can teach one person to call police about suspected abuse, I’ve completed my mission for writing.
- Kids Killing Cats
- Know Your Neighbours
- Conduct Disorder Leads To Animal Cruelty
- Animal Abuse and Criminal Domestic Violence
So what do the readers here think should happen to these teens? Personally, I think the punishment should be the maximum the law allows. It’s the only way to stop this growing problem. Education may help, but cold hard cash and jail time are the only thing some of these teen abusers are going to listen to.
We, as a society, need to make animal abusers very afraid of the legal system. Which hasn’t even begun to happen yet.
Tostino, you’re a VERY lucky kitten to have survived a microwave horror story. Most aren’t as fortunate and I hope you find a furever home with people who will love and protect you.
Elisa
Source:
- http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local-beat/Cat-Microwave-Juniata-106641118.html
- http://www.pet-abuse.com/cases/16776/PA/US/
- http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/local&id=7764202
Comments for | ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
|
