More or less?

Lately I have been having a lot of difficulty coming to terms with all the animal cruelty in the world. Not only for wild animals to do with trapping, hunting and so forth, but also (and especially) for all the poor victims of domestic animal cruelty.

This has been triggered by a website I came across when researching another animal abuse story, about American Pit Bulls and the illegal fighting rings and horrific other abuse that these dogs so regularly endure. It had plenty of photos and one particularly heart-wrenching story I have been unable to forget.

It is reaching a point where every time I see someone with a dog or a cat I think to myself, `Are they treating them right? Is that animal happy and cared for?' and so on. Its really starting to affect my daily life.

There seems to be so much abuse in the world, and yet there is so much love, too - people like the ones on this site and others who adore their animals and know how to treat them properly. Who know about puppy mills, kitten mills and Backyard Breeders, who always will do the right thing by their pets, who know about spaying and neutering, know about de-clawing and so on.

What I guess I want to ask in this thread is what do you think is more prevalent? Kindness or cruelty? Proper care or abuse? I don't think I could bear it if I thought that the majority of household animals were badly treated, but I suspect that is the case.

What do you all think?

To sum it up, I think the majority of people treat their pets well but I think a LOT of people are really unknowledgable or uninformed on how and why animals think and behave and even how to properly care for them in the best way possible. This leading to people getting rid of their pets for dumb reasons, or not understanding why their cat bites after being declawed or why the cat or dog pees on the floor or feeding their animals unhealthy foods etc.

I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that there is a massive amount of kindness towards animals in the world. Think about everyone you know who has a pet and how they treat it. They may not dote on it like most of us on here do, but I bet most people will love it and take care of at least their most basic needs, to allow the animal to be AT LEAST satisfied with its life.

Unfortunately it's only the few horrible cases that get imprinted into your mind. Same with children. Generally, they are very loved and well taken care of, but when you hear of a few stories in a row of how children are horribly abused, you start to wonder what's happening with the world.

The one thing that really upsets me is animal abuse in general. I always try to "walk in the other persons shoes", and in the case of animal cruelty, try to imagine what the cat must be going through, and what they're thinking. And it always upsets me. The poor little things have no idea what's happening to them, or why someone is causing them such pain. When I hear of kids torturing animals, especially puppies and kittens, I end up in tears, because those poor babies are just BABIES and have no defenses. Oh there I go, tearing up again

The one irrational thing that truly scares me, is that someone will break into my house one day and wither threaten to hurt the cat, or actually hurt the cat to get what they want, and having my baby seeing us and wondering why we're not helping her. It truly truly scares me, and often keeps me awake at night in fear. Like I said - stupid irrational fear, the odds of this are miniscule, but there's horrible people out there.

Originally Posted by sarahp

... and in the case of animal cruelty, try to imagine what the cat must be going through, and what they're thinking. And it always upsets me ...

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Oh I'm right with you - I do exactly that. And its horrible, horrible. I know what you mean

Well, there is big difference in hunting, and the abuse of a animal that is under your protection. i have no issues with hunting. I do have issue with sport hunting, IE just going to put its head on my wall VS i want to eat it. I dont trap. In fact i have been taken and tossed more then few trap in the lakes etc. i have found how hunting.. Maybe that sounds strange.but i see a big difference. I know that many people here will disagree. I have had the chance to hunt moose, bear, boar, duck but i wont go, why cause i wont eat them, so why would i hunt them.

As for the abuse. The reason those type of stories make the news is that they are rare, I really do think and from i have seen over the years most people want to do the right thing for ther pets..Sure there will people that do some stuff, but look at the number of people that make dumb mistakes with there kids. Most of the places and stuff i have been both here and overseas, the normal family takes or makes the effort to take very good care of the 4 legged family members.

even on my grandfathers farm where cows and pigs and chickens where kept just for food.
the animals where all taken care of. I can remember my grandfather refusing to sale a cow to someone once, cause he said the guy mistreats his animals

hehe one of these days, i really need to slow down and read what i write and check for spelling and stuff

Well since I suffered through animal abuse personally-I thnk the public needs more education about the proper treatment of animals.

Like my neighbor's do who spend the night on my porch. He is older -around 10, always a outdoor dog-but according to neighbor spends time in basement, usually chained up, smelled horribly, walks with a limp in hind quarters (age related), has some sort of wound/injury on front paw. He could have had such a better life with some obedience classes.

On breakfast t.v. this morning they said theres an 80% increase on animal cruelty here in the UK, and that saddens me because weve always been known as a nation of animal lovers

I really only think that the bad sticks out in people's minds. I know several people that I work with that have rescued cats and dogs, but they don't get any press about it.
To be honest, with the media trying to keep you attention they are trying to put out the most graphic violent image to imprint in your mind. You can come to TCS and see there are a lot of wonderful people here willing to change their lives for their animals.

Sadly, besides the people on this site, I feel that animals aren't treated as well as they should be in general. It seems like every person I meet doesn't give a !@#$ about pets or animals.

It's pretty sad I think. All of those people that judge us for spending so much $$$ when our pets are sick.Those people should not own pets..Many people are like that.

I literally have never met a pet lover in person. Ever. You guys are it.

Sad I think.

I could make myself sick worrying over my cat.... and I don't know how other people don't feel the same way about an animal that they take into their home to love & care for.... could they do the same to children??? I had a dream the other night that our house was on fire, and my husband was dragging me out in my pajama's, and the whole time I'm fighting him to stay in the house screaming for LuckyGirl, and I don't see her but somehow I know she's hiding under the bed cause she's scared.... I don't remember all that was in between, but I do remember that when I got her back her front left paw had been badly burned... and I was just so thankful that she was alive. When I woke up from this dream I was almost in tears.... I mean fighting the tears back, that's how upset I was, just from a dream. And now I run around every morning to make sure everything is off... I also think that animal cruelty/abuse is something we learn from our parents. I think alot of kids see their parents mistreat the dog, or kick it to get out of the way, and so they follow suit and grow up thinking it's ok... then they get a dog when they grow up... and it continues. So sad.....

I'm hoping that there is more kindness in the world. I know tons of people in my city that know how to treat animals. There is this cat a couple blocks away from my house that is extremely happy and tame. She is always just sitting on the sidewalk basking in the sun. Every time I pass her, I have to stop and pet her for a couple minutes. I know that her owners are very loving owners. I never see anything that would suggest that she isn't happy. I hope there's more people in the world who know how to care for an animals than there are people who abuse animals.

I think there's more kindness than cruelty. As others point out, what makes the news is the horrific stuff. Who's going to watch a report about "today, hundreds of thousands of Atlanta area pet owners took good care of their pets! They were feed good quality diets, played with, and taken to vets when health or behaviour issues were suspected. Experts believe that tomorrow will be another good day for Atlanta pets as well." That's not interesting or captivating news. Take this site as an example. I would say that most new members who come here with questions about the health and care of their cats are open to being educated. There are of course a small few that are adamant about their desire to declaw, or not spay, or have that one litter, etc. and they stand out more, because it's shocking to the rest of us who share similar ideals on cat care.

I also think you also have to be a peace with the fact that some pets will receive a minimum standard of care. There are millions of people out there who don't pamper their pets, but that doesn't mean they mistreat them. Before I came to this site I was feeding my cats horrible food! But I don't think anyone here would call me an animal abuser, and my cats weren't unhappy or unhealthy on the bad food. If I meet someone that is uninformed about some aspect of pet care, I'll try to educate them about what I know, but again, I don't think they're animal abusers or that their pet is horribly unhappy or unhealthy. (unless of course, you can see for yourself that the animal is in bad shape due to their ignorance)

I think you do what you can to help the animals around you. If you see someone's pet, and they look happy, healthy and well-adjusted, then I would think it's safe to assume they're treated well, even if it's not up to your standard of care. If they look mistreated, then do what you can to help.

~Julia

Originally Posted by rosiemac

On breakfast t.v. this morning they said theres an 80% increase on animal cruelty here in the UK, and that saddens me because weve always been known as a nation of animal lovers

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That is very sad to hear I do know that kids seem to be doing more crimes against other kids & pets - we are just getting too distant from Mother Nature. Time to turn off the video games & the TV, I guess...

I think there is more kindness - it just doesn't get reported. I think forums like this are good though, as there are people on every single one who dedicates so much to caring for needy animals, at their own expense, time etc. The majority of people I know who do rescue work have some kind of illness - our other fosterer is housebound due to illness, yet does a fabulous job. i think in some cases it is just not knowing enough - before I joined cat forums, my cats got lower quality food, trays emptied rather than scooped etc, so not neglect ,but they have done much better. Although I do look at the majority of the neighbours animals and know that I could do much better (overweight animals, unneutered animals, ones that seem happy but dont get a lot of attention - nothing major, well except the unneutered ones)

I think intentionally ignoring and becoming ignorant is a sin....and too often people just give up everything and makes every person and every animal around them miserable because they are resentful of their happiness.

I don't think it is a case of good versus evil. I think it is a case of clarity versus ignorance.

I think the most common problem is misinformation and just a lack of knowledge of specific animal needs, diatary guidelines, how frequent they need vaccinations...and so on. I think people would be much better owners if they were more informed.

Originally Posted by rosiemac

On breakfast t.v. this morning they said theres an 80% increase on animal cruelty here in the UK, and that saddens me because weve always been known as a nation of animal lovers

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well, it really going up, or are more people just reporting it when they see something that they think is wrong?

Originally Posted by Trouts mom

It seems like every person I meet doesn't give a !@#$ about pets or animals.

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You must be hanging with the wrong sort of people! I know soooo many cat people!!

Both of my neighbours are cat people, and both love our cat to death as well. One of my neighbours even adopted the mother cat that I had been fostering. Heaps of people at my husband's work are all cat people (predominately males as well). I've cat-sat for a few people a number of times and I know those kitties are well taken care of.

Every person I have met over here in the US that I've become friends with has turned out to be a cat person! I can honestly say that we have not had anyone around to our house since we've been here who hasn't turned out to be a cat person.

Have faith - I believe there's a lot of love in this world Look at all of us for a start!! The volunteer work we do fostering cats, spending our time at shelters, educating our friends and workmates - that makes up for a lot of cruel people!!! Think about all the volunteer run cat rescue groups out there! Sometime I think that cats are better looked after than people. It's a lot easier to help a cat in an abusive situation than a child in an abusive situation.

For example - look at "jcribbs" and JJ. JJ was being horribly treated, but she was eventually able to save him, get his leg fixed (through the kind donations of complete strangers might I add) and how he's a happy kitty in a loving home. Imagine if JJ was that family's child - it's probably still be stuck there...

I wouldnt go as far as to say ignorance was a sin - I know some of the things I didnt do with my cats before forums were simply because either the vet had never mentioned it, or I followed other people's examples. The cats were happy though, althoguh prob happier now. And while I know people that would class themselves as cat people, to me they are cat owners rather than cat lovers - the majority don't do simple things like vaccs, yearly checkups, toys, scratch posts, etc but the cats mainly look happy (well, only one of my neighbours 3, I could do so much with the other 2)

i can't even read about animal cruelty...it just bothers me too much. i'll end up depressed for days. i have to be careful in this forum. there are obvious threads, titled "horrible cruelty case", which i know to stay away from, but sometimes the most horrible stories pop up in a seeminly unrelated-to-cruelty thread. luckily i'm good at skimming-which is what i did with this thread. i skim the posts, and if there's a story of abuse, i skip it. not because i don't care, but because i care too much. i can't bear the thought of animals suffering. i made the mistake of watching Animal Cops on Animal Planet yesterday morning, and there was a horrible case and it made me cry, and i kept thinking of it all day, and i kept picking Wonton up and hugging him and snuggling him to me.

i agree with those who said that the majority try to treat their animals well, but a lot of people are just misinformed. ppl who have the right intentions, but dont know any better, and honestly think its ok or even better for a cat to declaw it, or to let it run free outside (i know the outdoor kitty thing is controversial. when i was a kid all our cats were allowed outdoors, and none were ever injured, but i think unless you live deep in the country, its too dangerous). i think ppl who hurt animals have psychological problems, just like people who hurt other ppl just for kicks.

i would hope the trend is changing..i would hope more people are learning to treat animals with respect. i'd hate to think that things are only getting worse. to be honest i try not to think about the animal abuse in this world, because if i do, it just depresses me so much. i want to help every single animal out there that needs help, and i can't.