Accidental animal crueltyI once invented a brilliant game - I'd sit at the top of the stairs and throw cat biscuits to the bottom. My cat would eat them, then I'd shake the box, and he would run up the stairs for more biscuits. Then - of course - I'd throw a biscuit back down to the bottom. I kept this going for about half an hour, amused at my little game, and all was fine until the cat vomited. I felt absolutely dreadful.
Have you accidentally been cruel to an animal?
This question has been revived from way, way, way back on the b3ta messageboard when it was all fields round here.
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rob, Thu 6 Dec 2007, 11:13)
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InkyI have an adorable, long-suffering cat. Jet black, at the tender age of 4 I decided that Inky was an appropriate name for her.
Her first near death experience was when my older brother decided that kittens needed baths. Having finished in the tub himself, he threw her in. The rest of the household was made aware of his plans only by a screeching, warbled meow as a small ball of bubbles threw itself down the stairs. After a few hours of cuddling she seemed okay again.
About 2 years later I was holding her in the kitchen, spinning myself around and around as fast as possible when, giddy with dizziness, I spinned her head face first into the kitchen door frame. I'd never seen anything, let alone my beloved kitty cat, bleed out of its eyes, nose, mouth and ears before. This took about a good weeks worth of cuddling to cure.
The kitchen door decided to strike back at Inky, about another 10 years later. As everyone knows, it's not just Indiana Jones who takes pleasure from diving through fast-closing doorways. Sadly, on this occasion my dad didn't see poor little Inky running through as he slammed the door; the tip of her tail was pinned between door and its frame. What I remember about this was that she was silent. It was only a stretch of skin and fur, about 3 inches long wedged in the door way that suggested anything was wrong; compounded by the fact that the tip of my cats tail was now only very bloody bone. Cue another trip to the vets, and the bloody stump being sawn off.
This isn't even the worst injury she's had, though. About 2 years ago my parents decided to have an extension built. Inky was at this time about 13 or 14; quite old for a kitty. All the noise and confusion seemed to somehow tip her over the edge. She started shunning spending time with us. Then we noticed that her under-belly was going bald. Eventually she would sit around the house, not eating or drinking. Again, we took her to the vets.
The vet had to file down her teeth, and prescribe a certain dietary food. Furthermore, he explained her baldness was due to over-grooming. They couldn't be certain of the reasons for this, but suggested it was almost definitely psychosomatic. We'd finally turned our beloved cat insane.
It's okay, though, she's still going strong and now my dead is essentially medically retired they keep each other company all day long. In many ways, they've never gotten on so well as they do now, and she's never seemed so happy. She still over-grooms, though.
(, Sun 9 Dec 2007, 17:22, Reply)
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