Executing a cat for peeing.

[HeDied4Me]

Of course that's what it was, so the owners had no right whatsoever getting the cat in the first place. They have no excuse. They tried to perfect the animal, not accept the animal. If you can't accept imperfection, realize that before you end up with a death on your hands.

They couldn't have known the cat's problems when they got him. And as they said, the cat was miserable and they were miserable. I don't see how it could be kind to an animal to keep it if it's so unhappy.

 

[awashinlove]

They couldn't have known the cat's problems when they got him.

That is exactly why you must expect the worst before you adopt a pet. Why do you think there are more pets being abandoned and killed each year than there are safe and happy in homes? People play the pet game until one is just right, rather than accept the imperfections that are much more prominent over flawless dispositions in the animal world (and in the human world!).

If you're thinking of getting a cat, decide if you want urine and hairballs in interesting areas, and consider whether or not you can accept noise at night. Then you won't be surprised if this is exactly what you get, and you'll just consider yourself lucky if it isn't!

And as they said, the cat was miserable and they were miserable. I don't see how it could be kind to an animal to keep it if it's so unhappy.

There's no indication the cat was unhappy until they confined Goldie to a bathroom or alone outside - I think he had a right to protest these circumstances. Caterwauling doesn't mean he's unhappy (though it could mean he was either not neutered or had an unnsuccessful operation), and neither does marking (despite what a ten-year-old believed). I don't see anything about fighting the cat to stay indoors or dealing with constant violent outbursts. In fact, when not singing or answering his natural call to mark, she said he was pleasant! That's not an unhappy cat! 50% of my fosters are unhappy, and this cat, by all evidence given, was nothing like them, not even remotely. Any other foster homes here to attest?

There's a very simple lesson here: sometimes the solution to a problem is not fixing it. What she put him through before taking his life just makes me feel ill.

At any rate, if she really didn't want to accept the pet she adopted, there are thousands of no-kill shelters, rehabs, and foster facilities across the country. While he may not have enjoyed close companionship of other animals I don't buy that he couldn't be with them since she mentions no problems with her other two.

Blessings,
awashinlove

 

[Charon]

is that Goldie has been freed from a life with idiots.

Hundreds of dollars spent and no diagnosis...the words "second opinion" are apparently not in the vocabulary of Ms Yoffe or her veterinarian.

She isn't going to find a no-kill shelter because, according to her, Goldie will be miserable. Reminds me of Terri Schiavo...

She says her obligation was to give him a quick, painless death, yet fails to meet it by dumping Goldie at a shelter...oh excuse me, hubby does this noble deed. Why did she not bring Goldie to her own veterinarian to be euthanized?

She regrets she couldn't make Goldie happy, and she'll be gosh darned if someone else might! How come someone so sure of herself has to "cling" to some study that, oddly enough, there are no links to? Nice to hear how well her surviving animals are behaving..maybe those of us with multiple children whose behavior is not "acceptable" can learn from her sterling example.

You hopefully in a better place now, Goldie..

 

[Charon]

And as they said, the cat was miserable and they were miserable. I don't see how it could be kind to an animal to keep it if it's so unhappy."

Yes, the person responsible for the cat's execution is telling us how unhappy it was.....shame her psychic abilities didn't prove helpful with her own pet.

 

[Marklet12]

is that Goldie has been freed from a life with idiots.

Hundreds of dollars spent and no diagnosis...the words "second opinion" are apparently not in the vocabulary of Ms Yoffe or her veterinarian.

She isn't going to find a no-kill shelter because, according to her, Goldie will be miserable. Reminds me of Terri Schiavo...

She says her obligation was to give him a quick, painless death, yet fails to meet it by dumping Goldie at a shelter...oh excuse me, hubby does this noble deed. Why did she not bring Goldie to her own veterinarian to be euthanized?

She regrets she couldn't make Goldie happy, and she'll be gosh darned if someone else might! How come someone so sure of herself has to "cling" to some study that, oddly enough, there are no links to? Nice to hear how well her surviving animals are behaving..maybe those of us with multiple children whose behavior is not "acceptable" can learn from her sterling example.

You hopefully in a better place now, Goldie..

Why don't you actually read the article before opening your big mouth and letting lather fly out?

She consulted her vet, cat behavior experts, and the Internet for advice and tips.

What's the difference between getting euthanized at a humane shelter and vet? Oh wait, you didn't actually READ the article and thought she just dumped the cat at a shelter to whittle its days away, which is the exact opposite fate she wanted for her cat.

You all need to get a grip. This cat cost the couple thousands of dollars in damage, and the couple kept it for four years despite its problems. And most of all, it's a CAT. Those of you trying to compare it to abortion or Terri Schiavo are sick; I hope none of you ever have children, if you think a cat is akin to a child. Animals deserve our respect and our humane treatment, but they aren't equals to us, and nor should they be made to suffer in a shelter's cage for the rest of their lives just so we can exalt the same kind of high-and-might self-righteousness you all are displaying.

 

[HeDied4Me]

She isn't going to find a no-kill shelter because, according to her, Goldie will be miserable. Reminds me of Terri Schiavo...

I can't believe you're comparing a cat to Terri Schiavo.

I also can't believe how angry some of you people are getting about this article. This is not a murder. This is an animal, not a human. And the cat was humanely euthanized, not tortured to death.

Don't get me wrong-- I love animals. I'm sorry to hear about anytime someone has a pet euthanized. But I'm far more concerned about all the cats that are abandoned or neglected or abused, than about the cats who are humanely put down because they're basically unadoptable and their owners feel unable to keep them.

 

[Charon]

Why don't you actually read the article before opening your big mouth and letting lather fly out?

She consulted her vet, cat behavior experts, and the Internet for advice and tips.

What's the difference between getting euthanized at a humane shelter and vet? Oh wait, you didn't actually READ the article and thought she just dumped the cat at a shelter to whittle its days away, which is the exact opposite fate she wanted for her cat.

You all need to get a grip. This cat cost the couple thousands of dollars in damage, and the couple kept it for four years despite its problems. And most of all, it's a CAT. Those of you trying to compare it to abortion or Terri Schiavo are sick; I hope none of you ever have children, if you think a cat is akin to a child. Animals deserve our respect and our humane treatment, but they aren't equals to us, and nor should they be made to suffer in a shelter's cage for the rest of their lives just so we can exalt the same kind of high-and-might self-righteousness you all are displaying.

Did you actually read the article? She didn't dump the cat at a shelter to whittle its days away...no indeed, her husband did it for her. You may not like the comparisons to abortion or Terri Schiavo, but the mentality displayed by the author is very similar...to better rationalize killing something, let's declare it's life miserable, or declare it's life surely will be miserable...I see you've jumped on that bandwagon yourself.

 

[HeDied4Me]

Did you actually read the article? She didn't dump the cat at a shelter to whittle its days away...no indeed, her husband did it for her.

Not exactly. Let me quote the article: "My husband said Goldie's time had come. He was going to take our cat to the Humane Society shelter to be euthanized... We never considered just dropping him off at a shelter. ...And we weren't going to find some no-kill shelter and dump him there to spend forever locked in a cage in torment." The cat was euthanized, not 'dumped at a shelter to whittle its days away'.

You may not like the comparisons to abortion or Terri Schiavo, but the mentality displayed by the author is very similar...to better rationalize killing something, let's declare it's life miserable, or declare it's life surely will be miserable...I see you've jumped on that bandwagon yourself.

Just because a person believes it's okay to euthanize animals does not by any means even come close to meaning that they believe it's okay to euthanize people.

 

[Marklet12]

Did you actually read the article? She didn't dump the cat at a shelter to whittle its days away...no indeed, her husband did it for her. You may not like the comparisons to abortion or Terri Schiavo, but the mentality displayed by the author is very similar...to better rationalize killing something, let's declare it's life miserable, or declare it's life surely will be miserable...I see you've jumped on that bandwagon yourself.

Well let's see...in America, we keep animals in horrible conditions not unlike the Nazis did with the Jews, except the Nazis had the decency, for the most part, to not eat the Jews after they were executed...so that must means we're Nazis, right? OOHHHHH NOOOOO SLLLIPPEPERY SLOPE TIME1!!@11!

 

[Charon]

I can't believe you're comparing a cat to Terri Schiavo.

I also can't believe how angry some of you people are getting about this article. This is not a murder. This is an animal, not a human. And the cat was humanely euthanized, not tortured to death.

Don't get me wrong-- I love animals. I'm sorry to hear about anytime someone has a pet euthanized. But I'm far more concerned about all the cats that are abandoned or neglected or abused, than about the cats who are humanely put down because they're basically unadoptable and their owners feel unable to keep them.

The mentality displayed by Goldie's owner and those who were so eager to see Terri Schiavo die are quite similar...she's miserable, I'd rather she be dead than with someone else (Mikey Schiavo's excuse for not allowing her parents to take over). I see you've added another rationalization given by those who couldn't wait to see Terri go, it's really very humane the way we killed Terri.

 

[soblessed53]

I agree with Yojimbo and HeDied4Me ,if humans showed some sense in the animal/human relations,I do not believe that God even intended for us to have these creatures in our homes. They should probably be outside,and it most certainly would be more natural. How cruel is declawing for human's convenience of keeping cats prisoners in their homes? And all this transferring/imagining of human charecteristics to animals,must really distress our Lord! There is not one single case of any animal being a PET in the Bible! Think about that. Yet some DARE TO Tell others what God would expect in their treatment? We place far too much importance on animals. I do not believe that is pleasing to God and actually borders on idol worship! Totally irrational as well.

If folks read AwashInLove's posts about expecting the worst in any adopted pet, then no one with a speck of sense would EVER adopt one! Who wants to be out all that money on vet bills to correct a problem? Or all that unsanitary filth in their bed and around their house! That is disgusting! I think a potentional owner has a right to expect a healthy pet,not some animal that has serious physical or mental problems that actually deem it unfit to be a pet. But no,some people think if you adopt a pet it is like a human instead of an animal and you are stuck with the responsibility for life! I say that is pure nonsense! Some animals will never make a suitable pet due to any number of factors and that most certainly is not the fault nor the responsibility of some adoptive family who comes along later hoping to give it a home!

BTW have any of you ever heard of "zoonoses"? Do a search on it. It means diseases or parasites you get from living in close contact with animals. My mother used to get Walking Pnuemonia and her doctor asked if we had a bird,which we did, a parakeet. I do not believe God intended us to keep animals prisoners indoors,in such close and UNNATURAL contact, and to transfer our affection to them instead of Him,or think of them more highly than most people!! Plus it is unhealthy for them, and for us.

Yes, I have had pets,a collie for 17 years for one,some were outside,some inside,but I tell you right now,there is no way I would have mortgaged our home to treat any animal's cancer! That sounds as ignorant as people in India watching their children starve to death because they believe their relatives are re-incarnated in the animals God created as FOOD for us! Meaning cattle,goats ect.

My daughter has a female cat that upon maturity became extremely territorial and started spraying in the house like an unfixed male,and she was spayed! She also started yowling and became very mean/untrustworthy with non-family members. The only way to keep her and not take her to a shelter to become someone elses problem until they returned her was to make her an outside cat, They live in the country down a very long driveway, and the cat is not declawed, and cat and family are all happy now. They have a small well-insulated doghouse against the house, for her shelter in bad weather.There was no way my daughter's family would have put up with this nastiness in their home! She had already spent a good deal on those hormones,phereomomes whatever they do not work,and the vet gets lots of money!Another thing,it seems every year there is a new disease dogs & cats need vaccinated for,and brand-name good food is very costly. It is beginning to cost as much for a pet as to raise a child! That is pretty ridiculous to spend that kind of money on an animal when that money could be given to the poor/needy.I am not totally against having animals as pets. I just think many people are completely irrational when it comes to them and the importance they place on them in their lives,and the way they attack others who refuse to worship animals as they do.

 

[HeDied4Me]

The mentality displayed by Goldie's owner and those who were so eager to see Terri Schiavo die are quite similar...she's miserable, I'd rather she be dead than with someone else (Mikey Schiavo's excuse for not allowing her parents to take over). I see you've added another rationalization given by those who couldn't wait to see Terri go, it's really very humane the way we killed Terri.

I was shocked by the murder of Terri Shiavo and I could never support such injustice.

Since you insist on comparing people and animals-- here's a question: have you ever killed an animal? (Accidentally or otherwise.) If so, do you consider yourself guilty of murder or manslaughter? And do you think you deserve to be punished?

 

[Teshi]

If they'd put the cat to sleep for just urinating, that'd be one thing, but according to the article, toward the end there the cat was behaving extremely neurotically as well.

To the people who are so angry at this author: what would you have done with a cat that was behaving like that, vacillating between howling, hiding, and peeing in inappropriate places - how would you have rehabilitated this cat?

 

[Dagna]

The thing people need to remember about the people who are just flabbergasted by this person and their actions, are that many of us view pets as our children or family members. I for instance, have no children and neither my husband or I want children any time in the forseeable future. Our pets are our children. And for many others, it's the same way. None of us worship our pets, we love them.

And for many of us, when we take in a pet, we accept full responsibility for them for the rest of their life, not just until the pet inconveniences us in some way. I have 3 cats, a dog, 2 sugar gliders and a guinea pig. They are a pain. The dog gets into the trash if he's left alone, one cat has massive allergies to just about everything and previously used to pee in the house, another cat is FeLV+, the other cat is afraid of everything and hides from everyone but me, and all three cats LOVE to dig their claws into anything and everything. They are all my kids, they get the best food I can afford so that they're healthy. I'm certainly not going to feed my cats friskies, to me that would be like giving a child twinkies and ding-dongs every day. They get the vaccines they need to stay healthy and they stay inside so they don't get killed by a stray dog, a car or possibly worse.

For me, I'm simply fulfilling my responsibilities to my pets as I see them and euthanizing a pet simply because they have become an inconvenience is disgusting to me. All of my pets were someone elses, they were all adopted and they all inconvenienced their previous owners in some way. They came to my house to be loved and cared for until it's their time to go and I will not shirk that resopnsibility. I know that other people have a different way of taking care of their pets and that's fine as long as they still live up to their responsibilities to the animals they CHOSE to bring into their home.
Call me crazy, idol worshipper, whatever you want. It doesn't bother me any. But I'm going to continue taking care of my pets the way that I do, I'm going to continue feeling the way I do about pets and I will continue to be vocal when I feel that people are not taking care of the responsibilities that they accepted when they chose to adopt a pet.

Obviously though, this particular subject is a touchy one and we all seem to have strong feelings about it, so for me, I'm just going to agree to disagree and leave my .02 cents and walk away before I get myself in trouble.

 

[Marklet12]

drudgere

The thing people need to remember about the people who are just flabbergasted by this person and their actions, are that many of us view pets as our children or family members. I for instance, have no children and neither my husband or I want children any time in the forseeable future. Our pets are our children. And for many others, it's the same way. None of us worship our pets, we love them.

I imagine...and I hope...that if you do have children, as this author does, that their welfare comes before your pets' welfare...it's easy to devote yourself fulltime to your pets if you don't have children to worry about.

They are a pain. The dog gets into the trash if he's left alone, one cat has massive allergies to just about everything and previously used to pee in the house, another cat is FeLV+, the other cat is afraid of everything and hides from everyone but me, and all three cats LOVE to dig their claws into anything and everything.

Sorry those problems aren't as bad as the author's problems.

 

[Dagna]

I had the SAME problem with one of my cats that the author was having. My cat peed everywhere. I had to buy a new couch, throw away half of my clothes before I realized that I needed to go hunting for a clothes hamper with a lid, I had to pay over $800 to have the carpet in my apartment replaced because of this cat. It only stopped after we moved.

In the article it doesn't appear that they gave their cat a chance after they moved. I didn't read that the cat was peeing in the new house. Just that the cat was yowling (perfectly normal for a cat that's just been moved as moving is very stressful for a cat) and so they decided to stuff him in a bathroom where he continued to yowl (I don't blame him) and then they decided they didn't want to deal with him anymore. Though it seems like they had already made the decision well before they moved.

 

[Charon]

There is not one single case of any animal being a PET in the Bible!

In 2 Sam 12 , the prophet Nathan tells King David a story about a poor man's pet lamb to convict David of his sin with Bathsheba.

The poor man nourished the lamb up with his real children, and it ate of his food, drank of his cup, laid in his bosom, and became like a daughter to him. When a rich man killed the lamb, King David decreed that the rich man must not only pay compensation, the Mosaic law penalty, but should also be put to death.

Dogs
Dogs were not kept as pets in Israel, where they were considered unclean, though they were looked on fondly in Egypt..

Unlike Jews, Greeks had pet dogs which were allowed to eat crumbs off the table - cf Mt 15.26, Mk 7.27.

Jesus understood this, and accepted it. Now will you?

 

[Charon]

I was shocked by the murder of Terri Shiavo and I could never support such injustice.

Since you insist on comparing people and animals-- here's a question: have you ever killed an animal? (Accidentally or otherwise.) If so, do you consider yourself guilty of murder or manslaughter? And do you think you deserve to be punished?

What I insist on is comparing behaviors and attitudes...and there are similarities.

 

[PassthePeace1]

I rescue and foster cats(and dogs) and have seen alot of cats with this problem. Many times it can be corrected, but you do come across a cat that just won't use the box. The best option for these cats is to slowly be introduced to living outside, or as inside/outside cats. If the cat has been declawed, and kennel like you buy for dogs can be used, you just have to put a top on it...you can attach it to the house with a window or a doggy dog as an entrance.

There is also a product invented by a vet...that has herbs in the litter that attracks the cats, I have used it...it works! I bought it at Petsmart, it cost about $10...but after awhile, I was able to use regular litter and sprinkle the expensive stuff on top.

Also I have found that de-clawed cats don't like clumpable litter...I would have that the opposite was true, but they prefer the gravel. I switched for the de-clawed cats after reading this in CatFancy.

I read in the article that someone had a problem with a cat peeing in the toaster! I had a foster cat that did that too...I had never heard of anyone else experincing that as well. That cat became an outside cat, she also peed into those vent slots on the TV!!!

I personally wouldn't have put the cat down, I would have tried the enclosure I mentioned above...even cats that appeared to be mental, in time improve in attitude with the ability to go inside and out. However having said that I don't hold any harsh judgement against the owner, it does sound like they tried to the best of their ability, and putting the cat down is more humane that just dumping it on the side of the road(which sadly I see all to often).

Peace be with you....Pam

 

[HeDied4Me]

What I insist on is comparing behaviors and attitudes...and there are similarities.

And differences. Unless you truly believe animals should be placed on the same level as humans (in which case you're guilty of murder every time you swat a mosquito), please do not accuse me of using the same rationalization as the people who murdered Terri Shiavo.

I was talking about a cat, not a human, and I do not place animals on the same level as people, nor do I apply all the same principles regarding what is ethical for them.