Woman Shot Her Own Sick Cat

Why did this woman shoot her sick cat rather than take him to a veterinarian?

We are told that a 73-year-old woman, Nancy Just, allowed her cat to become ill for months and then asked a neighbour to shoot him (and offered to pay). When he refused she shot her cat the next day with two bullets. She buried her cat in the backyard. Eight days later her neighbour reported the matter to Animal Control. They found the decomposed body buried in the backyard after questioning her.

“The next day, in the morning… I heard, pop pop and I went over there and talk to her later on and I said ‘you did it didn’t you Nancy? She said yeah.'” (testimony of the neighbour who was asked to shoot her cat)

It is extraordinary that this long time (20 years) cat owner ended up doing what she did. It seems inexplicable. Perhaps she was short of money and had decided that her cat was terminally ill and wanted to euthanise him. Or she foresaw huge vet bills and wanted to avoid them. The only way she could achieve these objecives was to shoot him. At the time she felt that she was unable to do it herself so she asked her neighbour. He who refused and therefore in desperation she shot her cat herself.

This is my explanation but it is guesswork. In my view it is a version of animal cruelty and a violation of animal welfare laws but apparently allowed in certain places in America. Whether she is successfully prosecuted or not will be a different matter.

Animal Control rightly say that under no circumstances is a person allowed to shoot their cat. What they’re saying is that it would be a violation of the criminal law. Some cat haters would disagree with that and they would be wrong.

The story is reported on wavy.com and they say that a judge has released her from jail on condition that she returns at the next court hearing in July. That means that she has been arrested and charged but I have no details.

Some people, cat haters normally, would argue that she euthanised her cat with a bullet to the head and therefore the cat did not suffer. I am sure that that will be her defence if there is a trial.

It does, however, highlight the necessity to have sufficient funds to look after your cat properly. It can be expensive. People shy away from veterinarians because of the expense. This leads to all kinds of additional problems such as the one described.

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20 thoughts on “Woman Shot Her Own Sick Cat”

  1. It is not uncommon here nor is it illegal to dispatch your own pet, or livestock.
    AVMA lists euthanasia as an acceptable medical treatment. There are however strict gun laws on where and how close to other dwellings you can discharge your weapon.
    My FIL has dispatched all of his dogs and cats with a gun rather than provide any type of veterinary treatment. I believe they were too embarrassed and afraid to take them to a clinic where they might find themselves charged with cruelty.
    One of the problems here is the long standing idea that having a pet is a right not a responsibility and taking into account the cost of each pet. In most states she would face animal cruelty charges for not taking a pet for medical treatment including euthanasia and for discharging a weapon too close to someone else’s dwelling but not the actual shooting of her own cat. Most ASPCAs will help if you cannot afford to help your pet.
    I do not in any way associate with my in laws on any level anymore over their treatment of pets and livestock. They are deplorable.

    Reply
    • KILL is the word NOT dispatch.Your FIL KILLED all of his PETS with a gun.We use guns to shoot & kill not to “dispatch”.I guess using the word dispatch helps you not to think of how those poor animals lives must have been.Glad to read that you know better & cannot tolerate such acts towards animals.Must be very difficult for you having such barbarians for inlaws.

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      • FYI I called Animal Control numerous times and rehomed many cats that spilled from their refusal to S/N. Ok I called what passed for AC at the time. Their days of fun filled animal abuse are over and have now been fined for neglect and several other animal related charges.
        The point is there are still places in the US where animal abuse is not taken seriously or even addressed when reported.

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  2. Sorry Michael, but in parts of the USA it really is legal to humanely destroy your own animal. Shooting (a head shot) is a common method, especially for those unable to afford or obtain drugs.

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      • You are right Michael.We should take all animals that are ill to a vet to be looked after or euthanized humanely if that is the case.Unfortunately many people where I live view an animal like a thing.They view a cat like a vase that can be disposed of whenever they feel is necessary.I’ve known people who have euthanized their cat because she/he became ill & they didn’t want to spend money or time to have the poor animal treated. The fact that they are allowed to do so in the first place bothers me.I watch British shows about veterinary care & I notice that the veterinarians will tell their clients when euthanization is NOT an option in their cases.Sometimes the bill is £6000 & the pet owners of England will do what is necessary to care for their pet!And not all are rich, most are modest working people who love their pets & recognize their pet as a member of their family – which they are!Here if my cat gets out & steps in someone’s yard they will threaten to make him disappear….As Dr.Scott says, England is a nation of pet lovers.I wish I could say the same for Canada or for my neighbours to the south. Poor cat having his life end in such a way.Then again is whole long life probably was filled with mistreatment – poor little creature. Thanks for continuing on trying to get people to evolve Michael.

        Windy.B

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        • Thank you very much for your kind comment. I fully agree with you of course. And I do know quite a lot about America and Canada these days because I have written about these countries and their cats for a very long time now. Through research and reading on the Internet and reading in books one gets to know the cats and their relationship with people in these countries. And there is certainly a difference in attitude in general between Americans and British. Although there are also a great many similarities. As it happens, on my calculation, Americans love cats the most of all the countries in the world. That is not to say that their relationship with cats is always of the highest quality. But the same can be said about the British. Not all British behave decently towards animals and cats a particular. I guess that is common sense.

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    • Reading the article on wavy it seems part of the charges will stem from neglect. In Virginia Beach it appears it is indeed illegal to dispatch your own pet as they provide this service if the pet owner cannot afford the care. The house also appears to be residential and more charges will probably come from discharging a fire arm as well as neglect/animal cruelty.

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  3. Let’s see if this makes you grow-up at least one more year than you project to the world …

    There’s a wonderful Native American tale that describes this “remorse” one feels for having to kill things to survive that explains it so well. I’ll try to tell it best as I can from memory, when it was told to me so-many-ages ago by a Native American elder.

    A young boy and his elderly father were living alone in the woods, and one day the son befriended a yearling deer that had been lost or abandoned by its mother. The father was quite happy with this as it entertained the boy and his son was learning the responsibility of taking-care of something that he loved.

    One harsh season he sadly called his young son to him and told him, “Son, we are out of food, I am too ill to hunt and fish and provide for us right now. You must go out into the woods and kill your friend so that we may survive.”

    The son, shocked and saddened over this, but always respectful of what his father told him to do, went out to find where his friend the deer was playing. With much strength in his heart, and knowing his father was right, he killed his deer friend. Slinging the animal’s body over his shoulders and went back home.

    He was wracked with grief over having to do what he did. And when he got home he just threw his dead friend down at the feet of his father and yelled through his tears, “Why Father! Why!”

    His father called him closer, took both his hands, and said to him, “Son, when you feel the same way about all living things that must die so that you may live, as you feel about that friend of yours right now, then you will understand.”

    Reply
    • As I have stated previously, you are an alien to me. We live in different worlds. I live in the modern world. I live in a world where we don’t have to personally kill animals to eat by shooting them.

      You live in the days of the native Indian, the wild West. You admit that yourself in your comment. You should be living in America about 150-200 years ago. You would fit into that society very well. But in modern society you do not fit in. You are a throwback. Jump on a time machine as soon as possible and get back to the middle of the 19th century and earlier as soon as possible and leave us alone.

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  4. your cat gave you 20 years of love an loyalty an because you say you couldnt afford the vet bill you shoot your beloved companion , your a heartless piece of shit an i hope you suffer, when your time is near.

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    • So, you would rather that a cat, or any animal, suffer to death instead of instantly dying to put it out of its misery and torment. It takes real strength of heart to end the suffering of your own beloved animal. Not that you would understand that.

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      • I am sorry but you are talking absolute rubbish. Sorry if that sounds rude. I say it because this individual, this person let her cat becoming ill and we are told the cat was ill for some time before she shot him. The answer is not to let your cat become ill and remain ill but to take him to the veterinarian as soon as possible and let the vet deal with it. If the illness is terminal and chronic then perhaps euthanasia is the right course and in which case the veterinarian delivers the drugs. That is the way you deal with it. What you are saying is absolute rubbish I’m afraid to say.

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        • I agree with you 100% Michael!You are right & anyone who says that shooting their sick old pet in the head, is sick in their own head & needs some sort of counseling to help them evolve.

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          • Many many thanks, Windy, for supporting me in this article. It is nice to receive support sometimes because I do stick my neck out a little bit and occasionally I get shot down by people who don’t see anything wrong in shooting cats.

            Reply
  5. You must have never opened your front-door to step out into the real world or ever met anyone who actually lives in the real world.

    http://www.theprepperjournal.com/2013/06/20/small-animal-livestock-euthanasia-on-the-homestead-what-you-need-to-know/

    It is common practice to ask a neighbor to kill one of your own animals for you when needed, if you cannot bring yourself to do it. It’s a rural courtesy, everyone knows exactly why when it comes time to put-down one of your own animals that has a name. No different than asking a vet to do it for you because you can’t do it yourself. You have the legal right to humanely kill any of your own animals on your own property. If this were not true then every farmer and rancher in the world would have starved to death and wouldn’t have been able to feed you either.

    It’s called being an adult and acting like one. Often phrased in, “It’s time to put on your grown-up pants now.”

    Reply
    • You cannot kill an animal unless you are doing it under control conditions and your actions are legal which means proper euthanasia with the correct drugs. You cannot just shoot an animal and call it euthanasia. That is illegal. Clearly in your world it is not illegal but in the real world lived in by people who are grown-up and who are sensible and who are intelligent it is illegal.

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    • Woody, I know that you are trying to be very polite and I appreciate that. It is definitely an improvement. But gradually you’re impoliteness will leak out of you as will your anger and irrationality.

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      • Still watching and believing in bambi cartoons? Unable to eat a hamburger unless someone else butchers the steer for you and where you can’t see it happen?

        I think it should be a law where people like you can’t even feed your own cats unless you butcher the chicken, steer, hog, fish, or other animal that you pay others to kill for you, unless you do it for yourself first for a year. (Every child enlisted in a 4H-Club learns how to humanely kill animals with a gun to feed their own families and other animals.) Then maybe you’ll learn the sanctity of life and respect for all living things and how to destroy animals quickly and humanely.

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        • We live on different planets, you and I. You like killing animals and I like conserving and protecting animals. I like defending animals. I like to respect animals. You like to kill them and eat them and pretend you are somebody living in the wild West in the last century. You have been raised completely differently to me. Your mentality is utterly different to mine. We will never agree on anything. So please desist from commenting and piss off.

          Reply

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