Cat theives: what do they do?

Originally Posted by gizmocat

Koneko, whether your cat is friendly or not is not the issue. A professional thief does not steal a cat by making friends with it.
I'd keep your cat at home, particularly since there is obviously something 'going on' in your neighborhood. I hope there's no tragedy but that is not the way to bet.

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you're right i really should keep him inside until hopefully the missing cats are found or there are less disappearances. It's such a shame i'll have to keep him inside just because people out there want to steal cats from their happy homes.

I had a biology professor that had a summer job rounding up "strays" to sell to the labs for dissection. I will admit freely that in both high school anatomy and physiology and college anatomy, I did dissect cats. It was a requirement in both courses and a valuable learning tool. I'm not proud of it, but I had nothing to do with the deaths of these cats. In college, we had to pay for our animal at the cost of $200, so there is money in this. I imagine people continue to steal for this purpose as well.

AnnasMom, cats for dissection are available from Carolina Biolgical Supply (to schools and universities only), injected with latex for identification of arteries and veins for a little over $30. So far as I've been able to figure out, the major source of these cats is euthanized animals from shelters, which would go into the trash if they weren't dissected for educational purposes.

There is a LOT of concern about cats being stolen for dissection, and from what I can figure see on their website, that is something that the Animal Care section of APHIS does a lot to prevent. They DO certify "animal dealers", although it looks to me like more oversight might be a good thing, there is at least some oversight.

From my experience, Universites do very carefully follow the regulations of their IACUC (Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee)'s, and all IACUC's require that animals for research and teaching come from animal dealers, often specific animal dealers that are doing a good job of operating ethically.

I can understand eating cats for food. We eat cows and pigs; and those are animals at just about the same level of intelligence as the cat (for the pig, probably more).

I can understand using cats for dissection; they are closer to humans than the traditional frog, especially their nervous systems, and the knowledge gained by nurses and pre-med students may make the difference that saves someone's life.

What I cannot understand is that people are willing to deliberately cause any animal pain--cat, dog, cow, or snake. Okay, yes, we're humans, and humans are predators; but we're also much, much smarter than those animals we make use of. That gives us a responsibility to treat those animals with respect and kindness, to kill them only if it will serve a valid purpose, to kill them quickly if we need to kill them, and to take care of them--physically and emotionally--while they are alive.

I'm more upset about the human rights violations in China, yes; but when you see that sort of rampant animal abuse, it's almost a dead giveaway that the people are used to being victims or perpetrators of cruelty to their fellow human beings.

Originally Posted by Callista

What I cannot understand is that people are willing to deliberately cause any animal pain--cat, dog, cow, or snake. Okay, yes, we're humans, and humans are predators; but we're also much, much smarter than those animals we make use of. That gives us a responsibility to treat those animals with respect and kindness, to kill them only if it will serve a valid purpose, to kill them quickly if we need to kill them, and to take care of them--physically and emotionally--while they are alive.

I'm more upset about the human rights violations in China, yes; but when you see that sort of rampant animal abuse, it's almost a dead giveaway that the people are used to being victims or perpetrators of cruelty to their fellow human beings.

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You're right, If I am asked personally, every life is valuable, human or non-human, and I believe animals are not here on earth to be food, that's why I'm doing my part as a vegan. However, no one should impose their beliefs on no one, the only issue is that those animals being killed for food, at the very least let them die in dignity, have them stunned before "processing", they're going to die anyway.

There is a study connecting murders and serial killing to deliberate acts of inflicting animal torture during childhood. Summarily, it says those who torture animals so casually have more propensity to kill another human being guilt-free at one point or another.

Originally Posted by Callista

I can understand using cats for dissection; they are closer to humans than the traditional frog, especially their nervous systems, and the knowledge gained by nurses and pre-med students may make the difference that saves someone's life.

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I understand we need to dissect animals for medical purposes. What I don't understand is making animals suffer for the choices we humans make. Why do we place primates in cylinders and force them to smoke cigars when legions of materials and research already proves smoking is bad for the health? Then we inject animals with nicotine suppressants to test if these newly-concocted drugs will make us humans finally quit smoking. We are the ones who choise, it's ous choice as humans, leave the animals alone.

What I also don't understand is vivisection. Animal testing is so unscientific, innefective, inconclusive, and outdated. Again, ethic is in inquestions. Why would I have one poor rabit blinded to death just because I want another hairspray?

Some animal testing falls under the heading of "unnecessary"... that, I am definitely against. I'm pretty sure you can make cosmetics and such without testing them on animals; quite a lot of people do so already.

I don't think they vivisect animals anymore; that'd be horribly cruel. Or anyway, if they do, they've got them under anesthesia.

Originally Posted by bab-ush-niik

We found their car about 10 months after we got Patches (my "replacement" semi-feral calico that my parents got for me). The problem was, how do we prove they have our cat? The police couldn't go there just because the car plate was similar to the partial plate that my neighbor had. And even then, how do you prove it's the same cat? She wasn't microchiped.

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Steal her back...

Generally, they're sold into laboratories or dogfighting rings.

This is terrifyingly common, so keep those kitties inside everyone!

Originally Posted by Malena

It is true that they are skinned alive. The same things happens to dogs in northeast europe. They hang them first so they are slowly choked at the same time. The reason is that the fur fore some reason becomes more beatiful if the animal is kinned with the fur "raised" as if scared or angry. This doesn't happen if they are dead.
I visited China 14 years ago. ...
I still have nightmares about this now and then.
I liked a lot of things in China but it was really a culture chock. I met a lot of very warm people during the monthes I stayed there but my general impression is that they have a completely different view on death and pain than we have both when it comes to people and animals.

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I reread first part of Karl May´s Winnetou the other day, the action is in the pre US Wild West. One intelligent indian girl speaks to our hero: You talk to me about Christian ideals. But I know your customs. Our european teacher did tell us. You are skinning your animals alive. You cut out their bowels alive before you cook them....

Our hero, Old Shatterhand, had no defence. He didnt say it was done only with fishes sometimes....

Ergo. I take it such things were not uncommon in Germany and other parts of Europe in 1800-ties...

If correct, we are not much better then Chineses in those aspects.

It was a good 15 years ago but a man from a same community about 20 miles away from where I live was convicted for stealing cats and dogs and selling them to laboratories for medical purposes. The happended to be a rash of pet losses and I think it was a relative that turned him in-I'm trying to remember but he had some sort of license to collect animals for this purpose??? But he got greedy and was stealing pets from peoples yards (especially dogs).
I remember way back when I was in high school my biology class had a cat-it had been a pregnant cat for disection. I became ill-just about passed out in class and had to leave this session.

I cannot how someone could take a life like everyone is describing.

There have been instances here in Rochester of animal sacrifice.
One of the victims was a Chihuahua that was obviously a stolen pet. (you don't see any feral Chihuahuas in upstate New York.)

Keeping the pets at home keeps them out of harm's way.

and I agree that you should steal your calico cat back but BETTER YET:

Bring your little girl past that house, and tell her to start crying for her pet and calling its name. The cat should react. Don't let the little girl stop crying. She probably won't need coaching. Go with a friend so you have a witness. Make a huge stink til that crud gives the pet back.

Be sure to have some photos of the cat with you, and the posters you put up advertising its loss, and a witness to say that you did post them months ago.

Then press charges. Make the rat pay.

Good luck.