# I pit Lorretta (the cunt from today's Dear Abby) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 12, 2009, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-lorretta-the-cunt-from-todays-dear-abby/509770 "2009-09-12T01:04:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2009, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-lorretta-the-cunt-from-todays-dear-abby/509770/41 "2009-09-12T13:24:40Z")
> [@calm\_kiwi](#): > > I knew I shouldn’t have said anything because the life of the cat is obviously very different in my country to yours. > > In New Zealand a dumped cat is probably a very happy cat. Many of our native birds are endangered because of wild cats, so clearly starvation is not an issue. Cats are also VERY good scavengers and extremely good at looking after themselves. > > But we don’t have any wildlife who want to have pussy cat for dinner, so (at least) at this end of the world a dumped pussy cat would feel better than a dead cat. Yes, I think that this is a case of my environment being very different from yours. Around here, we have wolves and coyotes (think of a canid that’s smaller than a wolf, but still more than big enough to catch and eat a cat), and even some large wild cats, which sometimes make themselves known in even quite large cities. Our native birds are more endangered from imported birds rather than cats. We also have _Homo(phobic) Goodolboyus_, who regards cats as yet another threat to his masculinity, who will catch and torture cats. And, of course, we have the people who supply medical labs with experimental animals…including “random source” cats (in other words, cats who might very well be someone’s pet, but who are outside at the moment) who will pick up any cat that they can quickly catch. A cat that’s been a pet is obviously easier to catch and confine than a true feral cat. Dumping a cat in the US is not a kind alternative to putting it to sleep. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2009, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-lorretta-the-cunt-from-todays-dear-abby/509770/42 "2009-09-12T13:35:00Z")
I didn’t even realize “Dear Abby” was still chugging along! Back when it was a big deal, and even now, I suspected a lot of the letters were self generated fakes to gin up reader interest. In looking at a few of the current letters that suspicion has not diminished. This cat abusing woman (IMO) may well not even exist. ---
**Author:** ![calm\_kiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@calm\_kiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/calm_kiwi)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2009, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-lorretta-the-cunt-from-todays-dear-abby/509770/43 "2009-09-12T13:53:29Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > We also have _Homo(phobic) Goodolboyus_, who regards cats as yet another threat to his masculinity, who will catch and torture cats. . That particular breed is not endemic to your neck of the woods but fortunately they are few and far between. I’m very glad I live somewhere that moggies can be free range. It is a crying shame that it is at the expense of native birds though. ---
**Author:** ![ReuvenB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9fc348/32.png) [@ReuvenB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ReuvenB)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2009, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-lorretta-the-cunt-from-todays-dear-abby/509770/44 "2009-09-12T14:36:38Z")
> [@Jettboy](#): > > NEWS FLASH! It’s a fucking _cat_. NEWS FLASH! Everybody already figured this out. You’re late to the party. They have even formed opinions based on this fact, just different from yours. ---
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2009, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-lorretta-the-cunt-from-todays-dear-abby/509770/45 "2009-09-12T15:53:44Z")
> [@Indygrrl](#): > > You missed my point. All I was saying is that without all of the information, it’s crazy to condemn the woman. We’re hearing the story from ONE point-of-view. Who knows? All of this might have happened completely differently than it was explained in the letter. Nah, _you_ missed _my_ point, and you made stuff up in order to do it. It’s highly unlikely that Loretta is so poor/sick/crazy/whatever that she couldn’t have found a better way to deal with the cat situation. Even poor or disabled people can and do possess compassion and common sense. There were so many better ways to handle the situation, including getting rid of the cat if that’s what she really wanted to do, that it’s really a stretch to find a way to excuse her for it. She behaved abominably. I’m not one of the people advocating putting her out on an ice floe for it, you’ll note. I’m just saying, she behaved in a selfish, heartless way, and I doubt there are enough mitigating circumstances in her favor to change my mind about that. > [@](#): > > “Dear Abby” isn’t exactly a pinnacle of good journalism. It’s not like they fact-check the letters before publishing them. That is why I’m inclined to give the woman the benefit of the doubt. I’m not, and I stated why, and gave you an example of a way Loretta could have handled it that would have taken minimal effort that would have been more humane. The fact is, Loretta very likely didn’t give a shit, and that’s cruel. > [@](#): > > I didn’t say she WAS mentally ill or disabled, I said she COULD BE. Alphaboi was telling like he knows the family personally. And I also said that she could be an evil cunt who lives to make children cry. But without all of the information, we don’t know anything substantial about the woman. Alphaboi was creating scenarios where Loretta was worse; you were creating scenarios where she was better. All we know is she said she’d take care of a cat and instead she dumped it on the side of the road. I’m willing to believe that’s what happened, and to say, based on that, she’s a jerk. Where’s the overreaction there? It seems like a reasonable conclusion to me. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2009, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-lorretta-the-cunt-from-todays-dear-abby/509770/46 "2009-09-12T16:06:13Z")
I didn’t see the dreadful tale of Loretta in the OP’s link at first (it got moved to the previous day’s column page), but got distracted by the current day’s crop of problems, including that poor girl in Tucson who is dating Mr. Wrong but doesn’t have the guts to tell him bye-bye. Abby’s advice to ditch him: _“If he asks why, tell him you’re not interested in having anything to do with anyone who belittles you and calls your religious beliefs “b.s.,” and regardless of how “patient” he is, you will never sleep with him.”_ I am now envisioning the boyfriend’s rapid religious conversion. Yes, Loretta is a swine. ---
**Author:** ![Jettboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/85e7bf/32.png) [@Jettboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jettboy)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2009, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-lorretta-the-cunt-from-todays-dear-abby/509770/47 "2009-09-12T16:06:41Z")
> [@XWalrus2](#): > > They have even formed opinions based on this fact, just different from yours. No shit?! Aren’t you the perceptive one, though. The opinion that a human being should be tortured in any number of cruel ways and left to die, or just brutally murdered outright as a response to their treatment of a pussycat is much, much, _much_ fucking different than mine; mine is intelligent, rational and seems to somehow place humanity higher on the value scale than housepets. Good call, smart guy! ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2009, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-lorretta-the-cunt-from-todays-dear-abby/509770/48 "2009-09-12T18:19:11Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > Um, I care about spiders. A few black ones with red hourglasses would be just the thing to spice up Lorretta in Nevada’s loo… ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2009, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-lorretta-the-cunt-from-todays-dear-abby/509770/49 "2009-09-12T18:23:47Z")
> [@Indygrrl](#): > > There could be many extenuating circumstances that led the woman to dump the cat. Did she break her word? YES Did she make a reasonable attempt to mitigate the consequences of breaking her word to the best of her ability? NO End of discussion. The answers “YES” and “NO” to those questions describe a sack of matter that superficially resembles a human and contributes nothing to the world but greenhouse gases and 310K blackbody radiation. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2009, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-lorretta-the-cunt-from-todays-dear-abby/509770/50 "2009-09-12T18:38:56Z")
> [@Jettboy](#): > > NEWS FLASH! It’s a fucking _cat_. It turns out that a hard line against animal abuse is useful for protecting humans. There are two, and only two, barriers between civilization and barbarism: internal (conscience) and external (fear of punishment). Animal abuse is a highly reliable diagnostic indicator that the former has profoundly failed. To compensate, society needs to crank the latter up to 11 as a last-ditch attempt to insure that today’s cat abuser doesn’t become tomorrow’s child abuser. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2009, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-lorretta-the-cunt-from-todays-dear-abby/509770/51 "2009-09-12T18:59:10Z")
It’s just a damn cat. There is nothing worth discussing here. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2009, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-lorretta-the-cunt-from-todays-dear-abby/509770/52 "2009-09-12T19:12:09Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > It’s just a damn cat. There is nothing worth discussing here. What she did to the cat was lazy and immoral. But what she did to her own GRANDCHILDREN was downright cruel. She let them scour the neighborhood for 10 days AND return the cat to her care!!! Obviously their pain means less to her than her own momentary discomfort of telling them she cannot care for the cat any more. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2009, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-lorretta-the-cunt-from-todays-dear-abby/509770/53 "2009-09-12T19:19:26Z")
> [@Rubystreak](#): > > I’m not, and I stated why, and gave you an example of a way Loretta could have handled it that would have taken minimal effort that would have been more humane. The fact is, Loretta very likely didn’t give a shit, and that’s cruel. What I find telling is that she tried to get other people to do her dirty work first. Which suggests to me that she knew it was a shitty thing to do in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2009, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-lorretta-the-cunt-from-todays-dear-abby/509770/54 "2009-09-12T19:19:39Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > It’s just a damn cat. There is nothing worth discussing here. So why did you take the trouble to post here? If you don’t think a topic is worth discussing, then don’t discuss it. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2009, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-lorretta-the-cunt-from-todays-dear-abby/509770/55 "2009-09-12T19:21:56Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > It’s just a damn cat. There is nothing worth discussing here. A cat experiences pain and suffering and has emotions. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2009, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-lorretta-the-cunt-from-todays-dear-abby/509770/56 "2009-09-12T19:35:00Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > What I find telling is that she tried to get other people to do her dirty work first. > > Which suggests to me that she knew it was a shitty thing to do in the first place. Agreed. Also, if Loretta’s husband said no, where was he in all this? I’m wondering why he didn’t say anything to the kids for ten days. After all, they’re his grandkids, too. ---
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2009, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-lorretta-the-cunt-from-todays-dear-abby/509770/57 "2009-09-12T19:52:55Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > A cat experiences pain and suffering and has emotions. :mad: Don’t bother, **runner pat**. If I remember my SDMB freakshow history correctly, CM has in the past promoted shooting cats if they tread on his property. As far as the charmer in the OP, well, my sentiment is with those insulting her so vividly. Admittedly, I can’t condone internet rageaholics who gleefully describe torturing humans as punishment for their actions. If they were serious, the orgasmic descriptions of torture would be horrifying at worst and hypocritical at best when used by people decrying a lack of compassion. Fortunately these posts are simply people letting out their disgust at what is a despicable, inhumane act. Plus, we’re in the pit and there’s often competition to post with the most righteous anger. Anyway, I will say that domestic animal abandoners deserve public disapproval and significant fines and/or community service at animal shelters. Loretta is a shitheel for lying to her kids and especially for behaving so callously toward a living, breathing creature, much less one that was loved by her own loved ones. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2009, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-lorretta-the-cunt-from-todays-dear-abby/509770/58 "2009-09-12T19:55:29Z")
I get that not everyone likes cats, but let’s face it–she did make a promise. No, it’s not the same as abandoning a child, but why abandon it at all? There are other options. Tell the family and let them decide what to do with it. If they say, “Sorry, you HAVE to watch it, we won’t take it,” then take it to a shelter. But this is so passive aggressive. Why wouldn’t you just say, “No, I can’t watch the cat now that you’ve moved out–I don’t want this responsibilitY”? ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2009, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-lorretta-the-cunt-from-todays-dear-abby/509770/59 "2009-09-12T21:37:57Z")
I hate cats. But I hate liars more. And spineless liars are even worse. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2009, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-lorretta-the-cunt-from-todays-dear-abby/509770/60 "2009-09-12T22:07:10Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > It’s just a damn cat. There is nothing worth discussing here. Yes, we know, you drown cats you find running around. But, yet AGAIN, said cat was the possesion of her GRANDCHILDREN. Would you deliberately destroy the possesion of your child’s, or your grandchild’s, after promising to look after it? If your daughter came to you and said, “Dad, could you watch my Barbie for me?” and you promised, would you then dump said Barbie in the trash? Or you – you’re a gun owner. You ask someone to look after your gun, but they don’t like guns, so they turn it into one of those programs where you get, oh, a computer or a stereo or something. You’d be pissed, right? > [@Larry\_Borgia](#): > > If I give you a piece of lint and say “This is my precious lint, can you please take care of it?” you have two options. You can take care of the lint or not. But if you promise you will take care of the lint, then you’re obliged to do that, no matter how silly it may seem to you. What he said. (- **Guin** , who is posting with a [kitten](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v220/Guinastasia/Kitties/annie10.jpg) climbing on her shoulder.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-lorretta-the-cunt-from-todays-dear-abby/509770.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-lorretta-the-cunt-from-todays-dear-abby/509770.md?page=4)