Before I begin, let me tell you that Katie is a really nice person. She is sweet and loyal, kind and generous. But someone, somewhere did not tell her how to treat animals.
This is really funny, because she says she loves animals. And she really means it. She has two cats, a dog, two fishtanks full of fish, and tons of little lizards in glass tanks. All of the time she has outside of work she fills with volunteering with WildCare, who rehabilitate animals. This summer alone she has taken care of birds, bats, and tons of little baby raccoons. She takes them into her home, feeds them and medicates them, and then sends them out into the wild again.
(I have a few issues with what WildCare does, but I don’t want to digress…)
This is the same girl who, when she hit a flying bird, ** stopped ** the car, backed up, got out, and picked the thing up and cried over it. It had a broken neck and she thought she was a monster.
This woman beats her animals. Really.
She doesn’t get mad at them and beat them; she beats them when she’s petting them. She thinks they like it.
Imagine you’ve been locked out of your house, and the only other person who is at home is in the shower. How hard would you hit the door before they would be able to hear it? This is exactly the same way she “pets” her cats and dog. You can hear it when she “pets” them, she strikes them so hard.
I know you can pat a dog as opposed to stroking them, and I know the difference between patting and beating, and this is far on the other side. I wasn’t even aware that you can pat a cat – they are so small and fragile that I didn’t think it was healthy for them to be patted, much less being struck the way she does it.
Katie has always been rough with her older cat. I was with her when she first got the cat, and I saw how she treated it. She roughed it up, beat it, held it down and rubbed it with stuff, and generally treated it like shit even though she kept telling me how much she loved it. And I generally think she does love the cat. Not surprisingly, this cat has some mental issues.
The dog is a gorgeous yellow lab. He belonged to Katie’s husband before they got married, and I think he tolerates Katie because of his owner. Katie will strike this dog so hard on the butt and stomach that the dog winces and whines. Labs are so sweet but I don’t think this dog really even likes her. Katie will pet the dog nicely and then, without warning, strike him. I can even see the dog’s thoughts when Katie starts petting him – will she hit me? Now? Now?
The youngest cat is only half-grown. I was there when she first got him and he was the most loving little kitten in the world. He would follow me around from room to room, writhe on the floor while I petted him, lick my hand, fall asleep on my shoulder, and sleep with me when I stayed the night. I loved that little thing.
I spent the night there last night. It’s been a while since I’ve been over, since I live rather far away. The change in the kitten is dramatic. He will let Katie pet him for a few seconds, then he will get up and walk away before she had a chance to strike him. He hides from her. It made me want to cry.
I petted him, and at first he was really wary of me, then he warmed up and started following me from room to room again, playing with me and letting me pick him up. Katie was a bit upset, I think. She kept saying, “Look at him! He won’t let me near him but he lets you!” I wanted to say – well of course, Katie, you beat him, cat’s don’t like that – but I didn’t.
Don’t get me wrong, I have mentioned it to her before. She came over to my house once, and one of my cute cats snuggled up in her lap (they are very social). She petted it nicely for a minute or two, and then SMACK SMACK SMACK! My cat hissed, which she never does! Katie then hit her again!
I said, “Stop it! Stop doing that to her!”
Katie said, “Stop what?”
I said, “You’re hitting her! Stop it! She thinks you are punishing her!” Then I pushed my cat off Katie’s lap, and my poor cat ran into the other room.
Katie spent the next ten minutes apologizing for hitting my cat. She kept saying that her cats and dog like to be “petted” in that manner. She said she didn’t mean to hurt the cat, that she wasn’t aware that she was hurting the cat, that she would never hurt an animal, and so on.
I know that incident really bugged her, because every time I visit anymore she makes it a point to show me that abusing her cats and dog doesn’t really hurt them. Last night she was thwacking her cat and saying at the same time, “Look, she loves it! (SMACK) I’m not hurting her! (SMACK) If I was hurting her she’d bite me! (SMACK)…”
However, I was watching the cat’s face, and that cat was miserable.
So, this long intro was to get to my question: What can I do about this mess? I would call the animal protection people but she’s friends with most of them. Plus, that would end our friendship, because she thinks it’s a major insult to even mention she might be doing something her animals don’t like. I can’t even tell her that maybe her habit of feeding her cats treats all day is what is making them fat – she gets very upset.
I would try to at least take the youngest cat away, but my cats would be very perturbed, to say the least. I’m actually afraid they might fight. I also think I have enough cats.
My poor brain is fried. I can’t think of any other options. Can anyone else?