I am being flippant because this man, Mykhaylo Narolskyy, 52, does not have an IQ of 10 but he is damn stupid or just plain cruel. He looks more stupid than cruel.
He put duct tape over a ‘stray’ cat (his cat?). Someone living in his home defended him by saying that he did it to stop the cat scratching an injury.
A neighbour called animal control when they saw the cat covered in duct tape. He was subsequently arrested and charged with one count of animal abandonment and cruelty. I am not sure where the ‘abandonment’ comes from as he claimed the cat was a stray. Perhaps he was being dishonest. The cat probably belonged to him.
A veterinarian stated that the tape would harm the cat. It is a shame that we don’t have a photo. But there have been other cases of cats being duct taped. It is obviously cruel.
The vet added that if the tape was an attempt to help the cat it was an act of negligence.
Narolskyy was released on bail and then at his trail was convicted of animal cruelty. The crime was classified as a misdemeanour (lesser crime). He admitted his guilt in court. Perhaps it was that which kept him out of jail. He was sentenced to two years probation.
Comment: who in their right mind would try and stop a cat scratching an injury by using copious amounts of duct tape? You need an Elizabethan collar. See your veterinarian. I suspect that the cat belonged to Narolskyy and he decided to avoid veterinary fees and did some crude DIY treatment on his cat. Stupid + Cruel? Yes.
Many cat owners do their best to avoid taking their cat to the vet. This can often aggravate an obvious health problem. I think this is a bigger problem than we are aware of. To neglect a feline health issue is a form of cruelty.
Sources: usnews.com, Facebook and record-eagle.com.
It is very nice that I can contact him (Dr. Karl Yurko, K.E.Y.Animal Hospital — they are on facebook). We grew up in the same town, so we are also good friends. And, no, I don’t think you were at all rude about this jerk. . .
I used to ride along with some veterinarian’s when they needed someone to handle livestock /horses. I can only say that lots of people avoid call the vet until the animal is gasping it’s last breath from disease of infection.
I don’t enjoy going to the veterinarian it’s stressful to the cats and expensive.
This is just ignorant behavior as there are plenty of ways to apply dressing to an animals wound with correct OTC medications if you are that hard up. Duct tape is beyond stupid I give him an IQ of -10
I like the way that you text your veterinarian. I have not heard of that before. It tells us that you have a very open channel of communication with your vet. This tells us that you have a good relationship with your vet and use him/her when needed. Excellent.
After I wrote the article I thought that I might have been a bit rude about the man but I don’t think I have in retrospect. It is completely idiotic to put duct tape over a cat and there’s no hiding from that simple fact.
Michael. . .oh for the love of God. . . this *person* (i use the term loosely!!) obviously owns said cat, and, yes, I agree with you that this was done to avoid the vet. What a jerk — and stupid?? In my books that is off the scale and he needs to be duct taped!!!!!That is the one thing I NEVER neglect — my *kids* get a yearly check-up and if something pops up in between, I text my vet to see if it warrants bringing in or I can treat it at home. I love my vet. In ANY emergency, he is a text away with help. Of course, if it is something that needs treated immediately, and it is after hours, we do have an emergency vet clinic available five minutes away from me. My *kids* never go without and are very loved and cared for. (Of course, I’m sure you know this by now about me — LOL). . . ♥♥♥