This is a surprising story because it concerns nuns who are trapping and relocating cats without permission. They have made the presumption that the cats are strays by which they seem to mean that they think that the cats do not have an owner. They make this judgement because the cats do not wear collars.
In the meantime the neighbours are missing their cats. It is an extraordinary situation. You cannot, you absolutely cannot make a presumption that a cat does not have an owner just because he/she does not have a collar. That’s obvious, in point of fact. Their defence is simply unworkable and if they are found to have trapped and relocated domestic cats belonging to neighbours then they have engaged in a criminal act. That act is probably theft.
A number of cats of gone missing. This whole sorry saga is taking place in Citrus Heights in the area of Sacramento, Stockton and Modesto. The report comes from Fox 40. Citrus Heights is an area which is described as being feline friendly.
A neighbor of the nuns first noticed something was amiss when:
“And I looked through the fence to my neighbour’s yard and I see a black cat in a trap”.
The person who said this wishes is to remain anonymous. Her cat has been missing since the beginning of the month. She confronted the two nuns who were setting traps at the time.
She gathered from the nuns that the cats that were being trapped were then dumped some distance away near Interstate 80. The reason for this, the nuns said, is because they wanted to prevent the owners bringing their cats back. That in itself is enough to prosecute them for theft at the very least because it is an admission that they do not believe that the cats are ownerless strays but owned domestic cats (provided the reporting is accurate).
One neighbour said that as many as six or more cats from the area (Gallant Circle) have gone missing recently. At the moment the police cannot be sure that the missing cats are those that have been trapped so the matter is still being investigated.
My comment on this is that the underlying motivation behind this behaviour by the nuns is very typical, namely, that many people dislike neighbour’s cats coming onto their property. The nuns wanted to do something about it but as Christian people they should know better than to take the law into their own hands and commit a criminal act if it can be proved that the cats that they have trapped and dumped are owned by neighbours. The police are being nice about it and not being too hard on the nuns saying that they were “at their wits end”. Understandable but…you can’t steel someone’s property.
Nobody can of their own volition, without permission, trap and dump any cat unless the cat has no owner and is therefore feral and provided that what they’re doing cannot be classified as animal abuse under any relevant animal welfare act. It is extremely risky to do what the nuns did and is highly likely to be a criminal act although they may get away with it because they are nuns because the police are probably not that interested.
Please search using the search box at the top of the site. You are bound to find what you are looking for.
Bottom line is that the nuns should face prosecution. It is unlawful in any state to abandon any animal.
Jailed and, then, dumped in a NYC alley seems about equivalent to the act committed.
Another reason I cant stand Nuns,have hated them since catholic school and my hatred for them has not waned one bit.
Yes, I have read some terrible stories about nuns when they run schools dishing out beatings to the kids. Same goes for priests.
They are living an unnatural lifestyle that was only instituted so that there would be no heirs for priest originally and the church could get all of their monies.
Many AC ordinances do not include cats with dog in leash laws. It is at the heart of the feral cat population explosion and I think a small percent of the angst and hatred when you hear someone complain about a loose cat using their garden as a toilet.
If the cats there are not included in leash laws , even if they are really, the nuns should be charged with animal cruelty and possibly some form of theft since they were aware some of the cats had owners.
As to the diamond ring analogy please read the part about the ring found at Cracker Barrel.
http://blogs.findlaw.com/law_and_life/2015/05/if-i-find-a-diamond-can-i-keep-it.html
Thank you ME for your useful input.
At the heart of religion is the desire to impose order on society, like man-made laws only ‘better’. Where people are so inclined they will circumvent in favor of morality, tailoring it to suit the situation. Rationalizing, etc. I wouldn’t put it past the nuns to ignore community rights, but the morality of kidnapping a loved and dependent family member and dumping them where they would mourn the loss of their family and have to fend for themselves is F’d up and especially immoral if you ask me.
Ed, I completely agree with you that cats are like children, who don’t know the dangers of being outdoors unsupervised.
My semi feral cat cried to go out after I adopted her, so I got a cotton Velcro halter, so she could go outside. She adapted well to the halter. I also got a RED leash, so when I let her roam freely in a fenced yard, I can always spot the leash, even if she’s behind a bush.
She always rolls around and stretches as soon as she’s outdoors. I’m so glad to be in a place with a fenced yard,
although she could climb it if she wanted to. She’s actually looked up and did some calculating, but I saw it, and said “NO”. She actually responds to that. I keep an eye on her.
People who let their pets roam freely are taking risks, but don’t think it will happen to them. Just like people who leave their cars unlocked, even with reports of theft in the neighborhood. Risky business…
If someone throws their property out on public property, as if they threw a diamond ring into the road, they clearly didn’t want it and don’t care at all what happens to it. Claiming you cared later doesn’t negate this fact. It only makes you look like a blathering fool. Then you wonder why you are laughed-at when you whinge about your missing or dead cats.
As you are being rude as usual I am justified in being rude to you. I am afraid to say that you are the idiot. You are equating a diamond ring with a domestic cat. Yes, under strict legal principles they are possessions and they are owned but in every other sense they are completely different quite obviously. One is a living creature and the other is an inanimate object.
Living creatures have certain motivations, desires, likes and dislikes. They have natural behaviours. With respect to the domestic cat these natural behaviours can be expressed when they go outside for more easily than when they are confined to the inside.
Secondly, I don’t whinge about anything. I accept that cat owners need to take responsibility. I accept that if they let their cats go outside and their neighbours don’t like their cats going onto the property then they should do something about it. I also accept the possibility that a cat wandering outside might get killed by a predator or by traffic. I don’t whinge about that.
As I said, you are the blathering idiot. You cannot equate an inanimate object with a domestic cat. Wake up.
Only cements my opinion of all religions. I suggest the neighbors trap the nuns somewhere and drop them where they can’t find a way back. This is not excusing negligent cat owners only someone’s idea that they can take the law and other peoples property into their own hands.
Agree. A rosary in hand doesn’t make anyone above the law.
A definite heads up to folks who are of the belief that people “of the cloth” are anything more than human. They, too, loathe, lie, and deceive as others sometimes do.
They should be held accountable.
yeah, i live n Sac & there ARE a lot of loose cats around. i DONT call that “cat friendly”. i call it being irresponsible cuz TOO MANY pets have been poisoned, caught, & harmed cuz they were let loose n their neighborhoods eventho there r a TON of strays(dogs AND cats)n the area. i feel like people need to treat their pets like they were their children. MOST people wouldnt let their kids run around all over the place cuz it isnt safe & ANYTHING could(n usually does)happen. all it takes is ONE TIME for u to lose ur cat FOREVER due to some jerk that hates them or somebody else that doesnt realize its ur cat. im sure im n the minority here with the mindset of CATS SHOULD STAY INDOORS, but since they have been so targeted i cant imagine y others havent come to the same conclusion. and for those that have the, “cats should roam” mindset i say put up a chain-link fence or some other kind of enclosure n ur yard. otherwise u too could very well find ur loveable furry family member poisoned, taken, abused, or something like that n the not-too-distant-future. NOT that i wish THAT on ANYONE, but the statistics speak for themselves. im sorry, but i see NO reason for lettiing ANY animal roam free. thats like hands off parenting cuz they WILL poop, etc n someone elses yard, or park, etc, & ur leaving it to THEM to clean up & THAT AINT COOL. period. i LOVE mine & thats y i keep him INSIDE where he will b SAFE from cars, kids, jerks, haters, poisons, & all the rest. of course THATS just ME n im sure MY view aint that popular. especially not n my neighborhood where there r a TON of strays, both cat & dog. which is y we have 4 kittens now. they were born under our porch cuz someone thought itd b a great idea to let their cat roam & she got pregnant by the local tom(who we r trying to TNR as we speak). UNFORTUNATELY our mostly hispanic neighbors think roaming is ok & even got mad at me for calling animal control when their dog came into my back yard 5 times! im sorry, but this aint Lady & the Tramp & with all that could happen(including getting a disease from ticks, etc, i.e. things that r NOT USUALLY found inside ur house)we SHOULD take NO CHANCES. i feel bad for those pets left to roam, cuz to me it indicates a lack of concern & genuine caring for ur friend to let them out where they can, & typically do, get hit, etc, but again, thats just me.
My cats are 100% indoors and I often clash gently with people of the other persuasion. Often perspective is gained in these arguments as to what would a dog owner do if fido got out and someone trapped him and then dumped him far away near an interstate.
Owners of cats and dogs need to be responsible for keeping their animals properly enclosed regardless if the law allows your cat to roam. Disgruntled neighbors are not allowed to take the law into their own hands. Just because someone else can’t behave doesn’t give someone else free rein to have at it.