How bad is this form of cat abuse? It’s been uploaded to Facebook where it has received hundreds of derogatory comments from outraged viewers. It appears to me that she is treating her cat as a dog expecting her cat to walk along behind, obediently. This indicates to me that she does not have a good knowledge of the domestic cat.
It is interesting that the RSPCA said that they had “concerns” about the handling of the cat. The cat is obviously in distress but as I said in the opening paragraph how bad is it? Did she deserve to be so heavily criticised by hundreds of people?
The woman being videoed was unaware that she was being filmed but when she noticed the video maker she continued to do what she was doing. That, of course, is not a good sign and shows a bad attitude.
The person who made the video, Miss Dance, says she intervened after she had filmed her and suggested that she might want to pick her cat up instead. The woman ignored her. Perhaps the woman was stressed? Or was she just rude. These days people don’t like being told what to do by strangers even if the advice is good.
Quite a lot of people, would comment that a cat should not be on a lead in any case. But perhaps the woman had no alternative because, as can be seen, she lives in a built-up area.
Any cat guardian of any quality would never do this. What she is doing indicates that her attitude is poor towards cat caretaking. That I think is perhaps the most important thing to come out of this.
Is an interesting comment:
“But it seems to be okay if that was a toddler on reins. Human hypocrisy.”
Is that a good point? We see mothers pushing and pulling their children around to get them to do something. Perhaps that is not a fair comparison because humans understand (arguably even a child) that he doing wrong or something against his mother’s wishes while the cat companion does not have that awareness.
Here is another interesting comment:
“We do the same to dogs but that’s okay. Hypocrites.”
I don’t think it is okay to do the same thing to dogs but it is done without criticism. Some people I feel have overreacted by demanding that she be prosecuted for animal cruelty and banned from having animals.
The place is Welwyn Garden City in Herfordshire, UK, which is about 40 miles north of London.
Typical of here, too, with the ASPCA and HSUS.
The RSPCA are ALWAYS courteous and diplomatic when the TV crews and local jounalists are present. It makes them look good and if garners many donations.
I agree completely. A lot of the time it is ignorance and not maliciousness.
If the person is decent then ignorance can be fixed with education.
That said I have just criticised a woman who drove around with her cat tied to the bonnet of her car 😉 . I think I am justified.
Michael I believe that a little tact and diplomacy can often achieve a much better result than berating someone. The main goal is to help the animal, but that won’t happen if we alienate the owner. Sometimes a little gentle guidance can help them develop a better relationship with their pet.
Whenever I’ve watched TV documentaries on the work of the RSPCA etc., I’ve noticed they tend to adopt a courteous approach if they think the owner just needs some help and education to take better care of their animals. Obviously if the owner doesn’t improve the standard of care, then they will take formal action to remove the pets from the home.
I think you have hit the nail on the head. This woman does not have the patience to train her cat to walk on a leash and has assumed he or she will take to walking on a lead just like a dog, which as we know is far from the truth.