I’m convinced that a lot of cat cruelty occurs when the miscreant is under the influence of drugs or alcohol and this subject needs to be raised. Substance abuse is a factor and perhaps it is a more important factor than we realise when discussing the causes of the abuse of domestic, stray and feral cats.

“Fulton” formerly Nancy is looking for a nice home after being senselessly beaten by a deranged man.

Often animal abuse within the family accompanies domestic violence and domestic violence is often underpinned by alcohol and/or drug abuse.

What got me thinking about this, though, is a story about a cat who was attacked, in March, by a 28-year-old man, Zaid Salah. The story is bizarre and the man’s behaviour is so bizarre that it would appear that he was under the influence of drugs although this has not been reported online.

The man has been described as “deranged”. He senselessly attacked a cat whose caretaker at the time was Ahmad Hussein, the proprietor of a store (Seven and One Deli & Grocery). The event took place in Brooklyn, New York on Fulton Street near Kingston Avenue.

Salah stole the cat from Ahmad Hussein’s Brooklyn bodega (hispanic/spanish/latin mini-mart) and when the cat tried to escape into a nearby Chinese takeaway he followed and attacked her there. I won’t show you the video and I have not watched the video. The attack was brutal. He slammed the cat, whose name at the time was Nancy, into the store’s tilled walls several times and then tossed Nancy into the kitchen. There was a person standing at the counter presumably buying a takeaway who did nothing but I can understand that because Salah must’ve been pretty terrifying. Nancy escaped for a while but then the man grabbed her and slammed her into the counter and then throws her through the opening in the plexiglass partition which separated the dining area and the kitchen.

Zaid Salah smiling in court with his defense lawyer. Photo: JEFF BACHNER/FOR NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

When he’d finished he walked outside and lay down on the sidewalk. Obviously he had no concern about being seen there was no reason on earth why he did it. Perhaps he was hearing voices at the time – that’s the usual excuse that we hear when they defend themselves in court. He will no doubt say he was attacked by the cat as another form of defence but it won’t work.

Nancy has been renamed Fulton. She was severely injured. Although her recovery was touch and go – she could have died – you can see in the photograph supplied by the ASPCA that she looks quite well at the moment. They are looking for a person to adopt her. Anyone interested in adopting Fulton should go to the ASPCA adoption centre on 92nd Street, New York or call 646-291-4500.

This sad excuse of a man, Zaid Salah, was arrested for felony animal cruelty. The court is trying to determine whether he is fit to stand trial. This indicates that he has mental issues or it is believed that he might have mental issues. The question I have is whether those mental issues, if they exist, were brought on by drug abuse. I don’t know and I’m guessing. However, the purpose of this article is to raise the question as to whether there are numerous occasions when cat abuse is underpinned by drug and alcohol abuse.

As a side issue, and incidentally, this act of cat cruelty took place not too far away from the area where Andre Robinson, 22, was caught on video laughing as he kicked stray cat a good distance in 2014. Another senseless act of animal cruelty.