Barbarism Begins At Home

[shanmonster]

So today Dad killed one of the cats. T-Bone was an elderly tortoiseshell kitty with a friendly but shy disposition. Tommy-Dude, my beloved and practically antedeluvian tomcat, is, despite his advanced years and decrepitude, an evil tyrant. He would not let her use the litterbox, and would beat her up whenever she tried to do so.

In cross-legged desperation, T-Bone tried to make do by pissing on my Mom's easy chair.

Dad was not amused, so today T-Bone received her death sentence. I'm not certain how he did it, but in the past, he's executed cats either by snapping their necks or by using an axe.

My sister is understandably upset. T-Bone was her cat, and lived with her for a couple of years. She wanted to take the cat home to her house, but T-Bone would have had to live in a kennel in a garage. Mom and Dad said they'd rather T-Bone be dead than live in a cage, so that's that.

In the meantime, Tommy-Dude grows fat and sassy, and mourns T-Bone not at all.

Comments

[starsorstreet.livejournal.com]

And yet people like that are allowed to keep animals...

[mr-stubbly.livejournal.com]

Execution is ultimately more appropriate than caging. Nonetheless I wonder and am saddened by the conciousless souls of Felis domesticus.
Your father either has great passion or great cruelty. I know him not. I haven't the evidence to judge.
there are too many homeless kitties. Neutering is the only responsible pet maintenance. It keeps us from the use of gas, decompression, and other disposal methods.

[shanmonster.livejournal.com]

I don't believe cats belong in cages, either. However, they always could have seperated the two cats during the day, allowing T-Bone access to the litter box.

T-Bone was a spayed female. She had a good home, while it lasted.

I don't particularly believe any creature has souls.... At least T-Bone's death would have been quick. Dad might be a cat-killer, but he is a conscientious one, if that makes any kind of sense.

[shanmonster.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure my Dad has some serious issues.

I was hoping he was over this sort of behaviour, but apparently not.

Conscientious cat-killer?

[(Anonymous)]

Isn't it your Dad who would drown unwanted kittens rather than spay the cats that kept cranking them out? I can't agree with you on this one. T-Bone had a problem, and let your parents know about it in an unpleasant way. It seems they could've found a less barbaric solution to the problem. Just because poor T-Bone peed on a chair shouldn't be cause for a brutal execution. Tommy-Boy is being the troublemaker. Sad.

Re: Conscientious cat-killer?

[shanmonster.livejournal.com]

When I say conscientious cat-killer, I say it with tongue firmly planted in cheek. Please don't assume that I'm gung-ho to off inconvenient pets. I've never been that way, and never shall.

My father drowned kittens only once, and when he discovered they had taken a long time to die, was plagued by guilt. Subsequent kitten executions were done quickly.

Yes, he chose to kill kittens rather than spay females. His rationale came down to economics, essentially. We lived in a forest heavily populated by coyotes, and our cats were working cats (read, barn cats). Rather than pay $150 to get a cat spayed and then have it eaten by a coyote some time later, he chose to off the kittens. He did get one cat spayed. The reason was because each litter had larger and larger kittens, and by the end, she actually needed assistance to give birth. He was afraid she'd eventually die in labour, and he hated seeing her in pain, so he got her spayed.

A month later, she was eaten by a coyote.

Re: Conscientious cat-killer?

[(Anonymous)]

Poor Kitty! It only costs about $35 to spay a cat in the U.S. There are also plenty of no-kill shelters. Even so, there are way too many unwanted animals killed or dumped somewhere to fend for themselves to die. It seems ridiculous to kill a cat just because she pissed on a chair, unless she's just been a constant problem up to that point, and the chair incident was just the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. For T-Bone's sake, I hope her tragic fate was quick and painless.

Re: Conscientious cat-killer?

[shanmonster.livejournal.com]

I don't think there is such a thing as a no-kill shelter around here.

Mostly, people just abandon their unwanted pets. In my opinion, killing an unwanted kitten is more humane than leaving it on the side of the highway in the winter.

Cats

[(Anonymous)]

We had cats at home that bred outside and never had any trouble giving away the kittens even in a small town. Spaying is best but most animals can be found homes if a person tries.

I have two cats, one was homeless and the other was given to us. They don't get along too well but they are sure fun. Who made us Gods anyway? "What so ever you do to the least of these my brethern" Oops quoted their book again...

JLW