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.
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.
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.
it does seem to be a stretch to assume that this man in this case was under the influence of an intoxicant, to be honest. instead, i would question whether he was even raised to respect and care for animals at all. certainly intoxication can factor into cases of animal cruelty, but to assume that being under the influence makes a person who loves and respects animal life when sober into a violent hateful animal abuser is not an accurate statement in my opinion. a person who would harm a defenseless cat is someone who doesn’t care about cats even at their best, and the intoxication serves only to loosen inhibitions that prevent that person from harming cats in a sober state. for many recovering addicts and alcoholics, the love and companionship of a pet can be instrumental in recovery-this headline makes it sound as though their disease ought to preclude them from ever being in close contanct with animals at all :\ i know my beloved kitties (Sasha and Mishka) have, time and again, given me reason to continue my journey to a drug-free life. again, the primary issue seems to be upbringing. raise a person to respect life and they will do that, whether or not they are under the influence. raise them to not care, and they’re more likely to lash out at a weaker being when not bound by the expectations of societ, a state of mind commonly encountered in an intoxicated state.
I take your point. The point I was trying to make was that if a person does not like cats, when under the influence, that dislike can be translated to irrational hatred and violence.
There is no excuse. It was well thought out. He did it to hurt the owner. I’d like him to suffer the same way as the cat.
Yep, me too. I just think that we have a drug/drink problem which underpins domestic animal abuse. It is not discussed much.
I wish there was some way that I could justify such abuse; but, I can’t. In the past, I have tried to cushion some aberrant behaviors for people because of addictions. But, cruelty to this degree isn’t the same as a drunk exposing himself in public by peeing on the sidewalk.
There’s a line with me where addictive nuisance behavior is more tolerant than abuse.
I would fry him.
Me too, Dee. The drugs are no excuse. We can’t excuse him. He should be severely punished. If he is a drug addict he should be helped too but as jails are great sources of illegal drugs (they are in the UK) I can’t see him being rehabilitated.