Woman secretly filmed pulling her cat down the street on a lead

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.

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Comments

Woman secretly filmed pulling her cat down the street on a lead — 11 Comments

ed on March 29, 2015 at 10:54 pm said:
it really IS hard 2 say. it LOOKS like shes thinking more about keeping up with her child, & expecting the cat 2 follow suit,but with all the sights smells, etc.it DOES SEEM like the collar situation is new despite the lack of struggling. i guess i agree with Michelle S. the animal ISNT showing the CLASSIC signs of FEELING scared. id like 2 take MY cat outside(only in the backyard…lessening dangers & distractions), but my ex refuses 2 go the leash & harness route. its a quandary, no doubt,but if u take time & have patience… maybe she had the right idea, but a very flawed execution of that idea. without talking 2 her WE will never truly know. this doesnt SEEM as cut-&-dry as the tangled cat scenario. also, lets be honest here. if any parent is out with their child & a complete stranger comes up 2 u SEEMING 2 talk about trying 2 HELP u with your animal, BUT your child is RIGHT THERE. are u RLY gonna stop & listen 2 them in an age where kids r taken right in front of their parents? when animals r used as a means 2 seduce kids into cars/vans with strangers? there jus seems 2 b more going on than most r taking in. if u dont have your own children, or a child in your life that is EXTREMELY important 2 u, u might not factor that in. jus something 2 think about.
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Irish on March 29, 2015 at 9:01 pm said:
Out of my 9 cats 3 do walk on a lead but it took patience,time and training and the ones who refused to learn I take them for walks in their pet stroller which is wot this woman should invest in!
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- Michael Broad on March 30, 2015 at 6:57 am said:
  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.
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Sandra Murphey, No. CA, USA on March 29, 2015 at 6:06 pm said:
I think it’s much easier to leash train a dog, but mostly I see dogs pulling people. It does take time and patience, something people have little of.
This woman pulling her cat may not have been intending to abuse, but it looks that way to viewers.
I never used a leash on my toddlers, but I can see how they may be a protective device, to keep a child from running away or into the street. They are much faster than adults, and can be hard to catch before it’s too late.
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- Michael Broad on March 29, 2015 at 7:07 pm said:
  I am not sure she intended to abuse her cat. It is more carelessness combined with a poor attitude.
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  - Michele S. on March 29, 2015 at 9:28 pm said:
    I know the cat doesn’t appear very willing to go walkies, but their tail is upright and they aren’t slunk low to the ground or refusing to move, as one might expect to see in a scared cat. Perhaps it was their first time out in public or the heavy traffic was making it more nervous? Although of course that doesn’t explain why the lady ignored Miss Dance when she tried to speak to her.
    I’m not opposed to people walking their cats if it’s the only way for them to have safe access to the outdoors, but a body harness should always be used instead of a neck collar.
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    - Michael Broad on March 30, 2015 at 6:48 am said:
      I agree that it is not all that bad but there are some bad aspects to it which for me is the woman’s attitude. However, I don’t think cat lovers should necessarily be so vociferously critical of this person. I sometimes wonder if people who love cats and who are cat advocates can sometimes be a little bit dogmatic in their thoughts. I think we have to look at things in the round, taking into account all the circumstances. Can advocates who can be too critical can, ironically, work against cat welfare, I believe.
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      - Michele S. on March 30, 2015 at 7:28 pm said:
        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.
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        Michael Broad on March 30, 2015 at 7:38 pm said:
        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.
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        Everycat on July 9, 2015 at 4:04 pm said:
        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.
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        Dee (Florida) on July 9, 2015 at 6:25 pm said:
        Typical of here, too, with the ASPCA and HSUS.
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