Thanks in part to a submission by Alley Cat Allies as an interested third party but not directly involved in the case in question (State v. Kyles), the Ohio Supreme Court very recently clarified the law on cruelty to cats and indeed other companion animals by widening the definition of ‘companion animal’ as stated under R.C. 959.131 to include all cats and dogs including strays (i.e. unowned animals) which must be interpreted to mean feral cats. In short the definition of companion animal under this legislation includes all ‘community cats’ and dogs. The phrase community cat refers to cats cared for in the community such as under TNR programs. However under this law and as per the Supreme Court of Ohio it means all cats in the community cared for or not.
We must not omit species of companion animal other than cats and dogs such as rabbits. The law protects these animals as well and this clarification must apply to them likewise.
The crime under this law is a felony.
R.C. 959.131 is an Ohio Revised Code section that protects companion animals and prohibits cruelty against them:
- Prohibited acts
- No person shall knowingly or negligently:
- Torture, torment, mutilate, maim, beat, poison, or kill a companion animal
- Cause unnecessary pain or suffering to a companion animal when there is a reasonable remedy
- Confine or impound an animal without providing it with food, water, and shelter
- Carry or convey an animal in a cruel or inhuman manner
- Definition of companion animal: A companion animal is any animal kept in a residential dwelling, or any dog or cat regardless of where it is kept. Livestock and wild animals are not considered companion animals.
The clarification of arguably a poorly written piece of Ohio legislation began with the conviction of Alonzo Kyles who is afraid of cats. He poured bleach onto the basement stairwell of his Cleveland apartment building to make an 8-month-old kitten leave.
The kitten was injured (red and swollen paws). Kyles was convicted of a fifth-degree felony for abusing a companion animal and sentenced to nine months in prison. He appealed arguing that he should face a misdemeanour instead because the cat wasn’t a pet. The Eighth District Court of Appeals agreed and ruled that the kitten didn’t qualify under this law because the cat wasn’t “kept” or cared for.
This led to a further appeal to the Ohio Supreme Court which disagreed, ruling that Ohio’s law (R.C. 959.131) prohibiting serious physical harm to companion animals extends to ALL dogs and cats (and other companion animals).
Comment: great and common sense I would argue. You can’t logically say that causing harm to a stray cat is less of a crime that causing harm to a kept domestic cat. After all a stray cat might be a domestic cat that was lost. The law applies to ‘all cats’ according to the Supreme Court which must include feral cats. Fair enough as the pain caused by cat cruelty does not vary depending on whether the cat harmed is feral or domestic. And in any case all feral cats should be domestic cats. They are not because of human carelessness.