# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-lorretta-the-cunt-from-todays-dear-abby/509770/81 "2009-09-14T15:01:28Z")
> [@ivn1188](#): > > The depth of your retardation is simply amazing. And the depths of YOURS regarding barn cats, feral cats, and domesticated cats was reached only once, for 20 minutes, a long time ago. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-lorretta-the-cunt-from-todays-dear-abby/509770/82 "2009-09-14T15:11:56Z")
> [@Ichini\_Sanshigo](#): > > Yeah, what Loretta did was shitty, but you know what? I don’t know this person, and neither does anyone else here. I’m not going to make a bunch of assumptions about her motives, No, but let’s do. Let’s just go by what we have in front of us, taking the word of the letter writer. Loretta is a complete and total asshole. And a horrible mother and grandma. And a cat killer. She still doesn’t deserve to be abandoned in her old age. In my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Indygrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@Indygrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indygrrl)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-lorretta-the-cunt-from-todays-dear-abby/509770/83 "2009-09-14T15:16:00Z")
> [@Ichini\_Sanshigo](#): > > Yeah, what Loretta did was shitty, but you know what? I don’t know this person, and neither does anyone else here. I’m not going to make a bunch of assumptions about her motives, and then, from the shit I just made up, extrapolate that she’s a horrible person who deserves horrible things to happen to her. The reactions in this thread are grossly out of proportion to what we [del]know[/del] have read about what this woman did. But please, don’t let a lack of knowledge get in the way of the RO. Thank you. I could not agree more. In fact, I said almost the exact same thing earlier in the thread. I guess people are having way too much fun imagining how they’d torture a total stranger to worry about silly things like the truth. ---
**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 14, 2009, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-lorretta-the-cunt-from-todays-dear-abby/509770/84 "2009-09-14T15:17:55Z")
But what knowledge about this woman could possibly justify dumping a cat by the side of the road, lying every day to her grandkids when they come to look for it, and then, not only not taking responsibility for her actions, but deciding to do it again? ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-lorretta-the-cunt-from-todays-dear-abby/509770/85 "2009-09-14T15:34:52Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > No, but let’s do. Let’s just go by what we have in front of us, taking the word of the letter writer. Loretta is a complete and total asshole. And a horrible mother and grandma. And a cat killer. She still doesn’t deserve to be \*\*abandoned \*\*in her old age. In my opinion. How about just a couple days along side a desserted road to get her thinking she’s been abandoned to scare the shit out of her? That seems pretty tit for tat to me. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-lorretta-the-cunt-from-todays-dear-abby/509770/86 "2009-09-14T16:15:12Z")
Just out of curiosity, does anybody here know the turnaround time on _Dear Abby_? By the time the letter was even written, kitty was already back in Grandma Loretta’s care. The writer seems to believe that Loretta is likely to try to get rid of Precious again, yet she figures the best way to handle things is to fire off a note to Abby and wait – what? Weeks? Months? – for a reply? At the very least, Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt and Uncle all knew what was going on, and presumably they _all_ kept their mouths shut. Nice family. ---
**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 14, 2009, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-lorretta-the-cunt-from-todays-dear-abby/509770/87 "2009-09-14T16:18:25Z")
Yeah, I wonder sometimes if the people who write letters to Abby really wait. And I can’t believe no one said anything. And that Loretta’s husband (and I suppose the letter writer and her husband) knew what was happening and didn’t do anything. Like you think LW’s husband might say to the family, “Hey, mom asked me to 86 the cat last night but I couldn’t do it–I think she’s planning on getting rid of it. You might want to stop over and retrieve your cat before she does something really insane.” ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-lorretta-the-cunt-from-todays-dear-abby/509770/88 "2009-09-14T18:04:43Z")
> [@calm\_kiwi](#): > > Cats are very hardy creatures and perfectly capable of looking after themselves. I’ve had five cats. All of them were indoor/outdoor cats. They were well fed every day, and came and went as they pleased, but always came home at night. Not one of them died of old age. ---
**Author:** ![ivn1188](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e480ec/32.png) [@ivn1188](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivn1188)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-lorretta-the-cunt-from-todays-dear-abby/509770/89 "2009-09-14T18:27:41Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Neither of you have provided any proof to your assertions. I know you don’t have to, but, as it is, you just come off as threadshitting at best. You know this thread is full of cat-lovers, so you say the meanest things you can think of to them? Oh, I’m sorry. I thought the was the pit, not “Big fat jackasses who wuv all the widdle kitties SOOOOOO much”. Shut the fuck up, you ignorant yokel. ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-lorretta-the-cunt-from-todays-dear-abby/509770/90 "2009-09-14T18:46:10Z")
Wow. My stepmonster did a nearly identical thing back in the day. She got a couple of cats. Please note, I did _not_ ask for a cat. Getting cats was my stepmonster’s idea. She refused to take 'em to the vet and would not allow them to be given the proper shots, despite the fact that my uncle is a veterinarian and would have given my cats shots for free (family discount). She would not even have them spayed or neutered. She’d even let them have a litter or two and give all the kittens away, rather than saving us all the hassle and just letting me take the damn cats to my uncle for some vet work. Flash foward a few years and we’re down to one cat, who has bonded to me and is my buddy. I go off to college for the fall semester (quarter, actually) and when I returned, 12 weeks later, no cat. Usually, the cat ran down the sidewalk to meet me. So I searched all over the house and then all over the block, still no cat. Finally, I confronted my stepmonster and asked her where the cat was. “Oh I got tired of her always purring around my legs wanting attention – she kept tripping me! So I took her over to [insert name of random farm 15 miles away] and dropped her off.” I refused to speak to my stepmonster for the rest of the six-week break, and when Spring Break rolled around, I used that week to pack up every last possession and move to my mother’s house. My stepmom did exactly what Loretta did, drove off with the cat and dumped it off at a farm ten miles away to fend for itself. She’s a cruel, heartless cunt and deserves no better than how she has treated her pets over the years. Sadly, the decision about her care in her old age will not be up to me. It’s one issue to abuse, neglect, or abandon an animal. It’s a whole other kettle of fish to go back on your word. Did “Abby” ever tell the woman to inform the cat’s owners what happened? 'Cause I think it’s meaner to keep that information to yourself. Loretta might try to poison or shoot the cat next time, because she is obviously too spineless to own up to the fact that she simply doesn’t want to care for the cat. Just say fucking no, but you don’t abandon a domesticated and tamed animal to fend for itself in the wild. ---
**Author:** ![Library\_Boy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cab0a1/32.png) [@Library\_Boy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Library_Boy)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-lorretta-the-cunt-from-todays-dear-abby/509770/91 "2009-09-14T18:51:35Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Well, if her kids/grandkids knew, they’d probably think a lot less of her. Actually, I was talking about **Ichini Sanshigo’s** reaction to some of us being mad at the woman. ---
**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 14, 2009, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-lorretta-the-cunt-from-todays-dear-abby/509770/92 "2009-09-14T18:53:44Z")
> [@Library\_Boy](#): > > Actually, I was talking about **Ichini Sanshigo’s** reaction to some of us being mad at the woman. Oh okay, sorry, didn’t realize. ---
**Author:** ![Library\_Boy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cab0a1/32.png) [@Library\_Boy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Library_Boy)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-lorretta-the-cunt-from-todays-dear-abby/509770/93 "2009-09-14T18:55:21Z")
> [@Indygrrl](#): > > Thank you. I could not agree more. In fact, I said almost the exact same thing earlier in the thread. I guess people are having way too much fun imagining how they’d torture a total stranger to worry about silly things like the truth. Would it help if we get to know her better first? ---
**Author:** ![Vihaga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Vihaga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vihaga)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-lorretta-the-cunt-from-todays-dear-abby/509770/94 "2009-09-14T18:55:37Z")
Even if you hate cats, it’s an appalling thing to do to one’s grandchildren. If you don’t want the cat, don’t agree to take it, but don’t just drop off your grandchildren’s beloved pet, knowing that they’ll end up searching for it. Of course, I’m not overburdened with sympathy for the family members that kept quiet about it and allowed the family to return the cat to the old jerk’s care, either. Why is it even up for discussion whether to tell them? I mean, maybe you don’t want the kids to realize how vile their grandmother is, but their parents are adults and should be informed so they can figure out what to do next. ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-lorretta-the-cunt-from-todays-dear-abby/509770/95 "2009-09-14T19:25:02Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > 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. Really? I take it you’re against abortion then? ---
**Author:** ![curlcoat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea5d25/32.png) [@curlcoat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curlcoat)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-lorretta-the-cunt-from-todays-dear-abby/509770/96 "2009-09-14T22:13:22Z")
> [@Uncommon\_Sense](#): > > Really? I take it you’re against abortion then? What the hell? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-lorretta-the-cunt-from-todays-dear-abby/509770/97 "2009-09-15T00:23:05Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > Loretta fucked up, that is for sure. It’s not necessarily a “fuck-up,” as if it were a one-time thing. When you decide to lie to your family, co-opt your husband into doing something despicable, and when that doesn’t work, co-opt someone else’s husband into doing something despicable, and when THAT doesn’t work, do the deed yourself, AND you don’t use a shelter or rescue – perhaps from fear of discovery?, it strongly resembles a pattern you will employ in the rest of your relationships with family and loved ones. Remember, the cat is a family member to the kids. Loretta has made it crystal-clear to the letter writer that she will abandon a family member to die rather than be inconvenienced, but prefers not to be thought of as a person who would do that, so she will lie and do it in secret. That heartless act took a lot of planning. If it’s a “fuck-up,” a terrorist bombing is a “fuck-up,” at least in regards to being a considerable operation designed to achieve a selfish purpose at cost to others. At least terrorists (usually) own up to their deeds (claim credit). It’s also funny to see the “you guys only protest cruelty to cute animals” meme crop up, as it always does. Are you sure that’s true? Look back over some of our posting histories, perhaps. Lastly, regarding “it’s only a cat,” is an act of evil less evil if the victim is lesser? ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-lorretta-the-cunt-from-todays-dear-abby/509770/98 "2009-09-15T00:35:24Z")
Sailboat, I don’t care if she is a _total and constant fuck up_. I am not going to agree that she deserves to be abandoned in old age, because she abandoned a cat into the wild. No. That is fucking bananas. ETA: As for " is an act of evil less evil if the victim is lesser? "… Abandoning a baby into the wild would be worse than abandoning a cat into the wild. But I don’t want to come off as if I think it is ok to abandon cats. I don’t think that is ok at all. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-lorretta-the-cunt-from-todays-dear-abby/509770/99 "2009-09-15T00:37:12Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > But let’s not pretend that’s the reason for the OP. This thread exists not because of a lying grandmother, but because a po’ widdle kitty. Well, I don’t know about Stright Dope threads, but overall, I’ve seen plenty of family-breaking-up arguments over someone selling off grandmother’s china and lying about it, or somebody lying about spending money, or an affair. So I don’t see how you can categorically rule out the possibility that a lot of the outrage is over the lying and the associated self-centered behavior. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-lorretta-the-cunt-from-todays-dear-abby/509770/100 "2009-09-15T01:12:04Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > I don’t see how you can categorically rule out the possibility that a lot of the outrage is over the lying and the associated self-centered behavior. Because the OP says basically “I hope that someday, someone abandons YOU”, not “I hope that someday, someone gets rid of something YOU love!” The OP hopes that Loretta ends up like the cat, not like the grandkids. It’s all about the cat. If the fate of the cat is not where your outrage stems from, then my comments don’t apply to you. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-lorretta-the-cunt-from-todays-dear-abby/509770.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-lorretta-the-cunt-from-todays-dear-abby/509770.md?page=6)