I'm pretty pissed off. My wife has this red kitten, and she was missing for a couple of days. My wife asked me if I had seen her, and I hadn't. My lab/hound mix puppy had been spending a lot of time digging under my back deck, and I started to think maybe he got too rough playing with the cat(they are wrestling buddies), and had it burried under the deck or something. I didn't mention that to my wife though. Well, two days ago the kitten shows up, but is dirty, disheveled, dehydrated and skinny. And barely able to walk on her back legs. I still thought she may have gotten dog bit, or maybe tangled with a car bumper, but I checked her out and found a perfect round hole on her hip, with a nice infection working in it. I only have one neighbor anywhere close to my house, and she has a shithead kid. If I see that kid with a BB gun, there will be a confrontation. I'm about certain it was this kid or one of his dirtbag friends. I don't take shots at their dog when it comes onto my place, nor would I ever even consider it. I can't imagine shooting at someones pet unless it was endangering me or my family or my house. What I can imagine is beating seven shades of shit out of whatever dick-knuckle shot my wife's kitten though.

I'm in no way a cat person, but there is no reason for that kind of crap. That cat spends 99% of it's time indoors, and the rare occasion it goes outside, it stays very near our house.

The cat is getting better, and is eating and drinking now, which is a big improvement from when she first showed back up, but still walking poorly. All her joints seem to work, and she pees and craps with no sign of blood. I didn't detect any broken bones. I probed and flushed the wound out, and never found any BB or pellet nor did I feel one buried under her skin, and I've got the infection controlled now, so I think she'll be OK, but that in no way excuses some assclown for BB gunning my wife's cat. My wife is tore up, and afraid the kitten will stay lame forever. I wish I knew exactly what happened, and I wish that delivering a well deserved ass whoopin to who did it would not land me in jail.

Anyhow, I never thought I would get so pissed off over a cat, but that shit is just weak. If that had happened to one of my dogs, which I really care about, I would really be looking to get some kind of retribution.

A snake bite could also cause the same type of condition you describe.

Without an X-ray showing a BB or pellet I would not be so hasty to conclude that someone "shot" your wife's cat.  

I feel you and I hope kitty gets better...

In before the "keep it inside and I won't shoot it" crowd.

WOuldnt hurt to get it x rayed just incase a bb or something is floating around in there.

What did the vet say?

Keep the cat inside from now on. It's not worth risking that happening again.

True, if there is one, it could be near somethinf vital, or move over time.

Also other cat bites can cause very serious infections.  Could be another cat bite (only one fang penetrated).   Of course, I would just be glad it was a bb gun (if it was) and not a 22.

Warble fly, perhaps?

My hatred for cats is stronger than the burning fury of Hades.  They're all nasty, vile creatures that, given the option, I would never want to share the planet with.  I think people who own cats are all out of their metaphorical gourds and are overdue for a little anti-psychosis therapy.  Why anybody would willingly share their home with the very spawn of Satan himself I have absolutely no idea.


And yet, I would never shoot at somebody else's property.

As much as I hate cats, vandals are worse.

THIS

Same goes for dogs too.  I had a friend that always let his dogs run wild on his street. I told him it might be a good idea not to do that, but he said they were fine.  A couple of months ago one got hit my a car and died.  He was saying "I don't know how this could happen."  I was thinking "REALLY!?"

Yeah, take it to the vet. IF you an afford it. they are pretty expensive. even for a house cat the world is out to destroy and eat him. It could've been the kid. Fucking scumbags. Strangely no brave soul has ever abused an animal in my presence. funny that. Guess they know what cowards they really are. BUT it could also have been another animal or a car grazed him or he got lost and dehydrated and disorientated whcih is causing the weakness. The MORE of an indoor cat he is the tougher it will be for him on the outside, but converesly the more he stays outside the more chances he'll get hurt.

If that was the case then that means the kids were on your property shooting your animals or you are incorrect.


Sorry but stray animals get hurt by a multitude of things.. I love my dogs and would not like them getting hurt however thats why i dont EVER let them go outside my fence with out a leash.

This...  One of my cats got a bite on the neck.  Got MASSIVELY infected.  Vet had to cut a huge chunk of skin out, so much that it couldn't be stitched closed.  We had to let it heal though second intention and close on its own.  

It was nasty, an open hole down to the muscles about 2"X3".  Had to spray it with Granulex and give oral antibiotics for about 2 months...  But it closed...

In before the internet toughguys and their false bravado.

too late.

I get the point both of you are making and I agree with it. BUT shooting a cat is a choice made by a person to do wrong.

Could be just an abcess from a cat fight, when I was a kid a stray cat that we would feed table scraps to has a similar injury that looked like a bb gun wound and turns out was from a cat fight.

Well isn't that just common sense .  How the hell can you let an animal roam all over and expect the world to roll out the red carpet for a stray animal.  Keep your damned animals inside or leashed and you won't have these problems.

As is the choice to allow a pet to remain "at large."  If that wasn't the case, this event, and conversation would never have taken place.  Think about who is at fault.

A cat raped you as a baby, didn't it?

I think you guys have a difficult time understanding cats.



Some of them like to be inside, some like to be outside.



Our cat happens to enjoy being outside. This poor critter was a stray when he was just a little older than a kitten. Put up signs, no one ever claimed him. He's been with us... 10 years. He will meow at the foot of your bed until you open that door. They're very persistent.



Once outside... They're not like a dog. You cannot contain them. They're like ninjas. A cat can scale a fence like you have never seen. Our cat has gone missing for a few days, only to be found in our attic later... How does he get there? No one knows.



Fortunately, he looks both ways before crossing the street, and mostly stays in our yard, or under our neighbor's car. So, he's pretty safe.
Just because a cat is roaming around, doesn't mean the owners don't care about it, or it is a stray. I think that's hard for dog people to comprehend. They're not dogs... They're ninjas.

Wow, that was probably one of the best posts about fucking cats I've ever read.

After picking up three piles of cat shit this morning (in the planter I just recently fixed with vapor barrier and new bark, of course), I have little sympathy for the little bastards wandering the earth without supervision, rhyme, or reason-other than the owner hoping the cat will shit somewhere else.

OP, I hope your cat recovers, and I also hope you keep it inside so it doesn't shit all over the earth with wanton abandon.

Yep, sounds like there are a few people at fault.

Yup...and they generally don't do anything to hurt neighbors property either. Some will dig in flower beads or jump on a warm hood...a solid blast of hose water generally puts an end to that. These things never really struck me as a reason to kill someone elses pet.

I had outdoor cats, until one never came back. She was crazy too, one time she brought back a rabbit heart and left it on the doorstep, then meowed until I came to see. Out in the country, neighbors too far away to care. I'm fairly certain that coyotes got her. She never went after birds - she actually was "friends" with a roadrunner and they would play/chase each other for hours. She went after rabbits and gophers, after she disappeared, it was a full time job for my 22, killing all the damn gophers that dug holes in the driveway.

Now I have indoor cats. And dogs. Which gets a little crazy sometimes - 2 cats and 4 dogs.




Yeah, and there's only one thief in the military, everyone else is just trying to get their stuff back.

Again - allowing an animal to roam at large is also a choice without regard for anything or anyone else.

Understandable, but a fixed healthy cat with a collar isn't a stray. Then again, I make sure I know my neighbors and they know my animals. That's one way to keep em safe. Feed them inside and they won't go to far.

My grandma (RIP) loved bird watching, and had several bird houses and feeders in her large backyard. She got sick of cats always killing birds and leaving a mess on her back yard, so she got herself a .22, and would spend hours outside shooting stray cats. Neighbors got pissy and called the cops. Cops said "keep your animal in your yard and this there won't be a problem."

That said, shooting a pet for kicks is a pretty crappy thing to do. Hope kitty makes a good recovery, and there aren't any more issues.

I know the cat doesn't stray away from he house, because within seconds of the back door sliding open, she comes in like a rocket, without fail. She is an indoor animal, and only gets brave enough to test the back porch and the immediate area surrounding it. The neighbor's house is about 30 yards from mine, so it's certainly close enough for a BB gun shot to come over to my house without someone walking onto my place. I've dealt with snakebites on dogs before, and the wound looks a bit different from what I've experienced there. I guess it could be possible that a snake got her. Rattlesnakes do exist here, though I haven't seen one in 7 years of living in this house.

As far as going to the vet, our vets here suck balls. Both of them. I usually doctor my own animals, and if things stay on the improving course they are on now, I won't be taking the cat to the vet. I avoid our vets unless something bad happens to the wife's horse, or one of the dogs.

My wife has had cats that have been hit by cars, or eaten by coyotes, and that has never bothered me, since I understand how nature works, but this cat does not run off and put itself into places where nature can cause her to become dinner for something else, or her possibly becoming a speed-bump. When that cat is outside, her goal is to be back inside as soon as the door opens. When I had thoughts that maybe my own dog killed her, I wasn't bothered too much, because crap like that happens, and can be somewhat expected, but to see a BB gun hole really pissed me off. I understand that shit happens,, but when someone causes shit to happen for no good reason, that just gets me fired up.

<Please don't post in someone's thread for the express purpose of shitting in it - DK>

why?

Remember to squeeze any puss out.



Our cat was bitten on the head once while we were away for a few days. By the time we got back, there was a nasty infection.



We called the vet, they said just to squeeze out the puss, and if it didn't improve to take him in.

Food.

Probably. I meant why in this thread?

excellent, 10/10

 I really hate feral cats clogging my traps during trapping season preventing me from catching the animals I am really after.

<edited - DK>

As I recall, dying was an occupational hazard for ninjas.



Allowing your "ninja" to roam the neighborhood, piss and shit in other people's yards & flowerbeds, walk across their cars leaving little "ninja prints", kill birds and other wildlife, etc. does not necessarily endear your fuzzy little kitty to the rest of your neighborhood's population.



If you can't/won't control your animal (as dog, snake, lizard, pot bellied pig, and every other animal owner is REQUIRED  to do), then don't be surprised that something untoward happens to your cat.  If it gets eaten by a dog, hit by a truck, poisoned, trapped, or shot, it's not a shocking event.  



You love your cat.  I get that.  Not everyone feels the same.  I own a pit bull.  He's a great dog.  I realize however, not everyone feels the same, so I don't let him run the neighborhood...lest something bad happen to him.  Cat owners should do the same.  Keep your cat indoors, and there's very little chance of it being shot, and even less chance of it being hit by a car.  



This "I've got to let my cat run free, because he insists on it" is BS.  Either you're a responsible pet owner, or you aren't.  If you animal is running uncontrolled through the neighborhood, you're not a responsible pet owner.  Period.  The pets don't get to make the rules. If you say he's got to be an inside cat; then he's got to be an inside cat.  He that has opposable thumbs makes the rules, as we control the food.   You should explain that to your cat...

 

Same here. The vet said it happens when the loser turns to run and the other swats or bites it in the back half of the body. It was nasty when the abscess drained, too.



 

I can't argue that it's my responsibility as a cat owner to keep my cat on my property or accept the consequences. I just wouldn't kill someone elses pet because it was on my property unless it was harming my pets or me. Thats just me.

Plus, tomcats will attack and try to kill small kittens...all wild cats (solitary or communal) will, it brings females back into heat.  We ALWAYS had toms coming into the yard to kill our barn cats' kittens.  Sometimes the tom would get the kittens, sometimes our bulldog/boxer mix would get the tom.

I fully understand about letting animals run stray. That's why my dogs are in a fenced yard, or on leash with me. If the kitten was a wanderer, I wouldn't bat an eye about it disappearing, or even if someone had told me they killed it on their place. I have no problem with that. I have no problem whacking ferals or other pests. In fact, I have a few pastures I'm working on clearing of ground squirrells for a friend of ours. I do, however, have a problem with someone who would shoot a cat(or any other animal) on someone else's place who was doing no harm. There is a big difference between letting an animal run loose, and having it stay in your house the vast majority of the time, and on or around the back pporch a very small amount of the time.

Never understood owners that let their cats run outside, then get pissed/upset when something happens to it, usually when it's in someone else's yard.  Same with dogs.

If it was somebody with a BB gun gunning for the cat and it was in your yard, the person deserves an asskicking and whatever else that comes their way.

If it was in their yard.....

Are you trying to say the cat was "shot" in your yard, and that said cat has never left your yard?



Knowing cats, I find it difficult to believe that the cat hasn't "roamed" a bit when let out.  For instance, my parent's neighbor has a cat "Oreo", who frequently turns up in my parent's fenced in back yard and occasionally is found sleeping in their garage.  My parents don't have a huge issue with this, other than the fact that their dog hates cats and freaks out when it sees one.  Cats outdoors often roam.  Unlike an inside dog that will want to get back in after doing their business, cats like to hunt when allowed outside.



If your claim is that the neighbor kid shot your cat while it was in your fenced in yard, yeah, that's an issue.  If the cat was shot outside the wire, then that's your fault as the cat's owner.  You let your animals run free and bad things can happen.  The solution is to control your animals.  



I hope your wife's cat heals and that you have learned a lesson about letting the cat run free.  I also hope that if the neighbor shot the cat in your yard, you'll have a conversation with the boy, as that's not how things work.





 

...........................................................................................DITTO?