Not all cat cruelty is committed by cruel people. Not all cat abuse is committed by criminal-minded, nasty people. A lot of animal cruelty is committed by sickos but sometimes John Doe or in England the lawyers say, “the man on top of the Clapham omnibus” (the typical person), commits cat cruelty.
This is because a lot of people are on the borderline of acting in a moral way. In fact you could say that all of us have the ability to act immorally. It depends on the circumstances and our state of mind. We have it in us at all times to bend the rules and more than that.
Cat cruelty is “way too common” says Claudia Allen, the director of Winnipeg Lost Cat Alert. That’s true and the reason is partly because cats are more vulnerable than dogs and because John Doe is capable of being cruel to his own cat even when he has cared for his cat for a long time.
Although it is not completely clear, a well fed tabby in or near Winnipeg was placed in a cat carrier and the carrier placed in a ditch. The ditch flooded. The person who placed the cat there must have realised that the ditch would flood and it did.
A passerby spotted what he believed was a fishing tackle box in the flooded ditch. He approached it and realised that he was looking at a cat in a cage submerged up to her neck in muddy water.
The passerby was a decent fellow at that time – perhaps all the time; the opposite of the person who left his cat in a ditch. He literally fished the cage out of the ditch with his fishing line. He took the cat to Winnipeg Lost Cat Alert. Claudia said that the cat was in shock and subdued. She was named Glinda.
The man who rescued Glinda then took her to Winnipeg Humane Society where she was cared for. She was found to be in good health. She was lucky that this anonymous man saved her.
Claudia believes Glinda was someone’s pet. She was well fed and even overweight. If Glinda was someone’s pet it is not unreasonable to presume that the cat’s owner decided he or she had had enough of cat ownership and disposed of her in the most convenient place. I’d guess that the ditch is not that far from the owner’s home (perhaps a few miles away).
The owner is probably seen as a reasonable citizen in the community as his cat was in decent health and well fed. This person suffered from a bout of moral turpitude and acted cruelly towards his cat companion.
Note: “moral turpitude” is essentially a legal term meaning exhibiting a lack of morals. It might apply to some who permanently acts without morals or someone who lets himself down temporarily. The word “bout” means: for a period, in this instance.
Source: winnipeg.ctvnews.ca
OUTRAGEOUS! Are you out of your GD mind?????????? You are a fucking idiot!!!!!!!!!!! This article clearly is complicit in cruelty to cats in your perverted rationale that it is sometimes acceptable for “allegedly” sane people to lose it and take their frustrations out on a cat! There is NEVER, EVER, ANY JUSTIFICATION for animal nor human abuse, PERIOD! I don’t give damn what your circumstances are!
Firstly, you are being rude which I do not accept on this website. Secondly, you clearly do not understand what I have written. It is obviously beyond your comprehension and judging by the way you write you have a limited ability to comprehend things. The article is not complicit in cruelty to animals. I’m certainly not saying that is acceptable to be cruel. How the hell can you take that from this article? Really, your level of comprehension is appalling. What I’m saying is that all of us have the ability to act immorally at some time and under certain circumstances. Perhaps we never will because we have a strong mentality but if we were brought up differently if we lived under different circumstances than it is quite possible that we could act immorally. I’m just saying that. No more, no less. Of course there is never any justification for animal abuse. I’ve never justified animal abuse. I hate it as much as you hate it but I’m just making a point about the nature of the human being which you clearly have misunderstood.
I thoroughly disagree! Your presentation was suggestive in that is was ‘understandable’ that the human species would behave in such a heinous manner. My moral conviction is such that; no matter what your circumstances, it is never acceptable, nor tolerated for any “human” being to abuse any living being, period! I deplore any and all rationalizations or excuses for vile sub-human behavior, period! It is this revolting “lolly coddling” that is egregiously responsible for so many of the unspeakable atrocities that are now so shamefully pervasive in today’s society!
You still misunderstand me. Yes, the human is capable of behaving badly but that does not mean it is acceptable. It is just a fact of life. A lot of human behavior is bad and unacceptable but it will go on. It is part of the human condition.
I have the same moral convictions as you but I accept that flaws in the human. I am not excusing it. I am just writing about it.
After reading about Glinda’s case, my first thought was that the culprit was some kindly-looking neighbor who suffered from a pent up anger about his beloved birds getting harmed…..
A couple of close relatives of mine, who are a married couple in their late seventies that retired to a few acres in the Rocky Mountain West, had absolutely nothing in their manner that suggested they were capable of cruelty to cats. This couple had well-cared-for pet cats when they were younger and were frequent guests of mine and my cherished pet cats. It is even my understanding they frequently cat-sit when their neighbors are on vacation.
A few years ago another relative of mine told his couple was boasting about dealing with a “problem” neighborhood cat who was leaving waste on their property and terrorizing the birds. The couple put the cat in a cage, thoroughly doused it with water so much that the poor thing was yowling and hissing and most likely in agony. Finally, they drove the cat dozens of miles away deep within the remote woods and released it. Chances are this domesticated cat did not survive his ordeal in the wilderness. Why they chose to deal with the cat in such a hideously cruel manner instead of talking to their neighbors is beyond baffling and has irreversibly harmed my relationship with them. I have to wonder, could this type of cruelty be age-related? I understand that as people get older they tend to lose their inhibitions and may say or do things they never would have imagined decades before.
Regardless, you just never know who you can trust….
Wow. Rena, your comment is very interesting and it is almost is a copy of what happened in the story. Yes, the person who put the cat in the cage and the cage in the ditch might not have been the cat’s owner. You are correct there. It could have been somebody who simply wanted to get rid of a cat. I suppose I just had to make a presumption based on what I read. A lot of people are poor cat owners and they like to abandon their cats in various ways. I remember one story years ago of a couple who went to a hotel in a quiet part of the country. When they left the hotel they left their cat behind. I feel that there are quite a lot of abandoned cats because people who are not committed to cat ownership decide that they no longer wish to look after a cat which is a responsibility after all. It can be expensive and the domestic cat does restrict one’s movements and so on. Sometimes people become tired of that.
Pet ownership is touted as the way to get that unconditional love thingy. It also has to be walked and scooped after , taken to the vet, played with and proper arrangements made when you have to leave them at home for a period of time. The cost of a pet sitter is built into our vacation budget.
There is the glossy picture side of owning a pet but the predominating factor is the amount of time and money they require.
If you really consider human nature and the cat in a ditch trapped in a carrier that was the act of a coward who wanted to get rid of a cat but didn’t want to have to see it happen. That suggests a spiteful significant other or neighbor who wanted to dispose of the cat and make sure it couldn’t be found or find it’s way back home. Too bad she wasn’t chipped.
M.E.King, good point about the cat not being chipped, which would have had some insights or consequences for the cat’s guardian.
Yes, having a pet mammal requires much more care than a fish, although they need to have their aquariums cleaned, which is a chore. I’d much rather clean a litter box!
So many people get pets, based on emotional response, rather than intelligent thought. This leads to unexpected challenges and problems that they weren’t prepared for.
People have different ways of trying to get rid of this overwhelming responsibility, some humane, and many not. Shelters are full of these animals that were dumped, left behind, and seriously abused.
If my cat became too much for me to care for, I would have her euthanized, only because she was previously a feral and is very scared of most people. She’s also high maintenance because of her desire to go out on her leash, 7 toes on front paws 6 on back which need trimming about once a month, long fur which needs to be combed/brushed daily to prevent mats, and her raw food diet. She also has started howling early in the morning. Most people wouldn’t deal with this very well. I’m an early riser, so I just get up.
I think she would be subject to abuse in many households, so I’d rather make sure she has a peaceful ending to her life, even though it would break my heart to do it. She is my reason for living, even though she’s high maintenance. She’s worth it!
Feral cats are a lot like feral horses. They appear tame but have in reality simply formed an extraordinary bond with one person. I am talking about older wild horses. Young animals adapt well.
I completely understand where you’re coming from.
True good people can sometimes do awful things. I’d hazard a guess in this case that someone in the household wanted rid of the cat but perhaps not the cats true guardian.
I agree with M E King. Possibly unforeseen circumstances, even someone passing away or no longer able to care for their pet, led to another person committing this act of insane cruelty. Whoever did this had no compassion or connection to this poor cat. I very much doubt a caring owner would ever do this, unless they became emotionally or mentally ill.
You could well be right Frances. I just made a presumption in order to complete the article that the owner perpetrated this act. That said, I have read quite a few stories of owners abandoning their cats in not dissimilar circumstances and in an equally cruel way. For example, it is not that uncommon for cat owners to move home and then leave their cat behind in their home. On one occasion the person left their cat in a closed room. Fortunately the animal was found but in a bad way. I believe that quite a lot of people abandon their cats that they are suppposed to have loved in either careless or simply cruel ways.