# A member of my family hits our cat, advice?



## ctlvr88 (Feb 11, 2007)

A member of my family frequently hits out 2 year old cat on her back/backside very hard multiple times, while she meows loudly, and always insists that she likes it, and when confronted, they start yelling at me and use diminuative language towards me. I'm just looking out for the well being of our pet. Is it possible at all that a cat could enjoy being hit like this. Let me say that the force of the hitting is strong enough that it would knock the breath out of an adult human. What do you think?


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## gunterkat (Aug 19, 2006)

I suggest that you ban this person from your home.
How old is this *****?
No animal enjoys being hit. This lowlife is just making a _very_ lame excuse for his sadistic behavior.
If i saw this going on in front of me, my reaction would be as instinctive as a cat's.
:blackcat


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## morea (Feb 8, 2005)

that sounds like she is hitting way too hard... 

My Melina loves to be patted hard on her back, but it could hardly be considered "hitting". She purrs and purrs (and sometimes drools) while you're patting her, and if you stop she chases after you and cries until you do it some more. 

Hitting is very different. I would make it clear to this person in no uncertain terms that you are your cat's caretaker and that you simply will not tolerate the behavior. 

It's not terribly fair to the cat, but is there a way you can shut her into a room where she will be left alone when this person comes over?


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## coaster (Dec 1, 2004)

A hit strong enough to "knock the breath out of an adult human" is strong enough to knock the cat off its feet and/or displace its body. If that's how hard it is, that's way too hard to hit a cat. It must be painful.

The fact that this person behaves this way toward you when you object tells you this person has some kind of problems of their own relating to other people and animals.

If you're a minor, perhaps Social Services needs to be made aware of what's going on. Also, this person doing the hitting needs to be made aware that's possible animal abuse. The authorities should be made aware of that also, if it continues. But don't place your own safety in jeopardy to do that. Is there another, more responsible, adult you can bring in to intervene and/or contact the authorities if you think that needs to be done?

Good luck and be careful.


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## ctlvr88 (Feb 11, 2007)

this person is 52, and I myself am 22. I'm hesitant to call or report anything because it is MY cat we are talking about, and I wouldn't want to have her taken away. I don't know if some sort of counseling would work or something similar, and just so you know, this person would never admit fault, and is extremely hard headed, thinking that they are always right. I feel horrible when seeing it, and can't figure out what to do.


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## pookie769 (Feb 5, 2005)

ctlvr88 said:


> this person is 52, and I myself am 22. I'm hesitant to call or report anything because it is MY cat we are talking about, and I wouldn't want to have her taken away. I don't know if some sort of counseling would work or something similar, and just so you know, this person would never admit fault, and is extremely hard headed, thinking that they are always right. I feel horrible when seeing it, and can't figure out what to do.


Is this person related to you? Does this person live with you?


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## coaster (Dec 1, 2004)

They would never take YOUR cat away from YOU because YOU are trying to protect YOUR cat.

I use uppercase to emphasize that you're not in the wrong here.


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## Megan1216 (Nov 28, 2004)

:evil: :evil: 

Can you ban this person from your home? Tell them that they are not allowed in your home at all if they are going to mistreat your cat. I especially would NOT take it if they started yelling at me because I'm asking them WHY IN THE WORLD they are hitting MY cat! :evil: (Just so you know, I'm not blaming/yelling at you. :wink!


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## ctlvr88 (Feb 11, 2007)

this person does live in my home.


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## gunterkat (Aug 19, 2006)

Do you have a camera or camcorder? Either one could be useful tool in this situation. Document this person's aberrant behavior, but be discreet about it. Submit your photos or video to local animal protection and/or social services authorities.
:twisted: :blackcat


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## Sky Eyes Woman (Feb 26, 2006)

Is this a person you REALLY need to be living with? I'm just wondering, because if they are abusive to a cat, how do they treat YOU?


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## horseplaypen (Apr 1, 2004)

I definitely would not let anyone do that to my cats under any circumstances. I understand that since it's a family member, it's probably a situation that has to be handled with tact. If they are living in your house, I would probably have a talk with them, stating very clearly with no room for misinterpretation that I believe that constitutes animal abuse and that kind of behaviour is not allowed in my house. If they insist on hurting animals, they would no longer be welcome in my house, no second chances. If I were living in this person's house, I would also say the same thing, but if anything further happened to my cat, I would leave and find somewhere else to stay. The thought of anyone hurting cats like that makes me very angry and sad.

Additionally, I find it troubling that they "start yelling" at you, etc. That is not a respectful, adult relationship.


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## gunterkat (Aug 19, 2006)

Ctlvr88, you should bear in mind that it is only a tiny step between cruelty to an animal and cruelty to a human being. Statistically, someone who abuses animals almost certainly abuses people.

At the very least you should make sure your kitty is in another part of the house when this creature is around. 

Take care, and keep us posted.
:cat


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## Lisa 216 (Oct 25, 2004)

Sky Eyes Woman said:


> Is this a person you REALLY need to be living with? I'm just wondering, because if they are abusive to a cat, how do they treat YOU?


I was thinking the same thing :? 

You say you're being yelled at and this person hits your cat. This family member needs to show both you and your cat alot more respect. It's your home, too. I'd find a new place to live if you can. You and your cat deserve better.


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## kitburger (Dec 27, 2006)

Is there anyone else in the house that can give you some back up?
Or anyone in your family that this person would listen to?
I appreciate your in a very akward situation and I relly hope you can find a solution.
Good Luck.


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## zippy96444 (Mar 7, 2006)

This person sounds to me like they really don't like cats to hit them that hard! They can cause internal damage. How do you know that it is not worse abuse when you are not around? I would keep my cat in my room then or get out of there!


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## OctoberinMaine (Sep 12, 2006)

As hard as it might be, you're the person who has to stand up for this cat. I think we have to be parents here . . . you wouldn't let someone hit your child, would you? It's even more important when you consider that the kitty can't speak for him/herself, so we have to be that much more vigilant.


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## ctlvr88 (Feb 11, 2007)

thank you for your support, I got it on video, through my digital cam.


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## Immortal (Mar 28, 2006)

the first place i lived in with suki had a similar situation. The man in question would lash out at her, or leave the door open for her to wander off, when i asked him to not shout at her, or to try not to leave the door out i got alot of abuse back. I started to lock suki in my room with me at night with her litter tray and food. One night she ran out and downstairs, i heard a gruff voice and a shrill YOW. She ran back upstairs and i noted she had been clearly kicked in the face. The next saturday (three days later) i packed up Suki and moved back to my parents. I feared for suki when i wasnt there and i feared for myself, after all if he could do that to an innocent animal what could he have done to me? 

If this is your house i would be asking this person in no uncertain tems to never touch your cat. If they dont listen i would be asking them to leave my property within the month, regardless if they are family or not. Your cat is like a small child. If this was a human child they were hitting they would be on there way to jail by now. 

If its not your house then go seek your parents or someone who is cat friendly.


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## gunterkat (Aug 19, 2006)

ctlvr88 said:


> thank you for your support, I got it on video, through my digital cam.


That's great!: D Now burn it onto a cd in one of the universal formats, like maybe quicktime, and make a second copy. That way you'll always have at least one copy. A little research on Google, Dogpile, or Ask.com will point you to the person on whose desk you need to place a copy. You can also call and ask the authority if they can accept a copy of the movie as an email attachment.
Be careful, Ctlvr88, and heed Shengmei's post. You are dealing with a potentially violent individual, and possibly a volatile situation.  

Are you able to keep your kitty in your room, away from this person? 
And if this "person" should end up being arrested, it would be a good idea for you and your cat not to be in the house when that happens. You would be all too obvious targets for his/her/its misplaced aggression.

My thoughts and payers are with you.
:cat


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## DesnBaby (Apr 18, 2004)

I hope your kitty will be alright and please don't let this happen again  .


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## -Ann- (Jun 30, 2006)

Poor thing. I hope you can get this situation under control. If they still don't listen and if you can't move out just yet, I would suggest you find someone to take in your kitty until you can get out of that environment. A friend or something. Somewhere you can still visit regularly. It would be hard, but it would be best for your cat. Good luck!


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## Shadue (Oct 31, 2006)

I tend to take the same approach to these type of people that I do my cats.

The thing most non cat people don't grasp is, cats don't understand you when your talking to them like a human, and you won't understand a cat unless you know how to speak Cateeze (cat body and vocal language).

Likewise in these type of people, speaking to them like a human being tends to be like talking to a cat in human... it just doesn't work.

So... I will communicate with them on a basic level. When they hurt your cat... go up to them a few minutes later, grab that little tuff of hair right at the nape of their neck and pull REALLY hard. When they yell in pain and turn to you and ask you why you did that... say "Oh that hurt you. I thought you liked it? I figured that yell was one of pleasure not pain."

After a few occurrences of this, if they simply can't read between the lines and explain why your doing it... and that you will continue the behavior till they stop their behavior with your cat.

:wink:


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## morea (Feb 8, 2005)

I don't know if I would try that with an already aggressive person, it might just make the situation worse.


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## Calla_Dragon (Feb 11, 2007)

> So... I will communicate with them on a basic level. When they hurt your cat... go up to them a few minutes later, grab that little tuff of hair right at the nape of their neck and pull REALLY hard. When they yell in pain and turn to you and ask you why you did that... say "Oh that hurt you. I thought you liked it? I figured that yell was one of pleasure not pain."
> 
> After a few occurrences of this, if they simply can't read between the lines and explain why your doing it... and that you will continue the behavior till they stop their behavior with your cat.


I wouldn't recommend that with any person, much less someone who has shown violent tendencies toward an animal. That sort of behavior is likely to get you into a lot of trouble - physically and/or legally.


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## Shadue (Oct 31, 2006)

Calla_Dragon said:


> I wouldn't recommend that with any person, much less someone who has shown violent tendencies toward an animal. That sort of behavior is likely to get you into a lot of trouble - physically and/or legally.


Well... in reality its like giving someone a Charlie horse in my suggestion... don't think there is any "legal" worrys about that. What are they gonna do... stand in front of a judge and say

"my roommate (family member) gave me a Charlie horse, which is physical abuse"

Sorry but I think most judges would probably fine the person for wasting their time.

Secondly... if your living with a person that is so unstable that you have to worry about their violent tendencies... and is a threat to physical cause major harm to you because of what I would consider horseplay... you got an issue bigger than someone hurting your pet on your hands.


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## Calla_Dragon (Feb 11, 2007)

> Well... in reality its like giving someone a Charlie horse in my suggestion... don't think there is any "legal" worrys about that. What are they gonna do... stand in front of a judge and say
> 
> "my roommate (family member) gave me a Charlie horse, which is physical abuse"
> 
> Sorry but I think most judges would probably fine the person for wasting their time.


I'm not sure how things are in Canada but that's exactly how it is here. It doesn't take much to get someone charged with assault (usually defined as the unwanted threat of injury without or without actually touching the person) and/or battery (usually defined as the intentional injuring of someone regardless of level of injury) here and judges don't usually throw those cases out. There have been a lot of people here who have been nailed for playful punches on the arm to the wrong person or people who barely touched the other person who decided to get stinky about the whole thing. Most *reasonable* people can see the difference between what constitutes a crime and when charges should be pressed, but with this guy, I don't know. He clearly can't see the difference between what a cat likes and what hurts a cat so I wouldn't be so confident of his judgements and that makes it risky to intentionally make physical contact with him at all - both of legal fronts and for her physical safety. Just my take on it, of course having _way_ too much experience with this type of thing. I think the best thing would to be just to pack the stuff, grab the kitty and leave.

(Of course I'm not a lawyer so that shouldn't be taken as legal advice - merely personal opinion :wink: )


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## ctlvr88 (Feb 11, 2007)

This person always says things like it's just a cat, get over it, it doesn't have feelings..and stuff like that. NOTHING makes me more angry and upset.


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

Well some people (not the ones here of course) would debate whether cats have emotional feelings. But there is no doubt that they feel physical pain. 

ctlvr88....you've received lots of advice, do you know what your plan is at this point? You really need to make some sort of decision, this situation should not continue...


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## gunterkat (Aug 19, 2006)

morea said:


> I don't know if I would try that with an already aggressive person, it might just make the situation worse.


That's why you have your 60KV stunner, and/or military-grade mace, ready to hand. :wink:


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## Sky Eyes Woman (Feb 26, 2006)

gunterkat said:


> That's why you have your 60KV stunner


Why not use a captive bolt stunner instead? Much more effective!

_*Legal disclaimer: Sky Eyes Woman cannot be held responsible for injuries or fatalities arising from the use of the captive bolt stunner. Please bear in mind recommendations are being given by a person with very little patience for 99% of the human race._


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## gunterkat (Aug 19, 2006)

:lol: :lol: :lol: 
:devil 
:catrun


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## Calla_Dragon (Feb 11, 2007)

ctlvr88 said:


> This person always says things like it's just a cat, get over it, it doesn't have feelings..and stuff like that. NOTHING makes me more angry and upset.


Even IF that were true (and it's not), the cat is important to YOU and that alone is enough reason to respect it - not to mention that you've asked him to stop and talked to him about the situation. Sounds like this person is stuck in "me"-land and doesn't have much regard for others' feelings.


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## BrianH (Mar 28, 2004)

Great point, must make someone feel really tough to assert their dominance over an animal which is 1/10'th their size. 

I say take them to the zoo and let em play with the kitties there 




gunterkat said:


> Ctlvr88, you should bear in mind that it is only a tiny step between cruelty to an animal and cruelty to a human being. Statistically, someone who abuses animals almost certainly abuses people.
> 
> At the very least you should make sure your kitty is in another part of the house when this creature is around.
> 
> ...


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