Moral Dilemma

[jugen]

Originally Posted by Animelee

You guys've all make excellent points. I've blocked + deleted him on MSN, blocked his e-mail address, ignored him on all the forums he and I both visit, etc.

I'm just going to block all contact with him -- I've lost all respect for him, and frankly, everytime I talk to him, I can't help but think about what his family put the cat through. Everytime I talk to him, I get upset, and I go online to talk with friends and be happy, not to get a rise in blood pressure.

Once again, thanks for all the advice, all of you.

And now, I'm going to go let my cat bite, kick, and scratch my arm with Temptations as a reward.

Congratulations! That's what I would've done! That a$$ needs to see that you absolutely WILL not condone stupid behavior like that. If that were someone I know, I tell you they ALL know my opinions on animals and they absolutely will NOT do anything that will raise my blood pressure because they know that I have no problems in telling them what I think and how I feel. My mouth gets me in trouble sometimes when it comes to animals. I don't allow anyone to treat an animal any different then I'd treat my animals in my presence, I don't care if they treat their animals as "just animals" when I'm not there, but when I am they'd better be extra nice to them.
And I agree that I'd report him asap and his family too. To me that's animal abuse and I think that might get at least an eyebrow raised from the animal control at the very least.

 

[ciera23]

Originally Posted by Animelee

Hello, all.

I have a very good online friend, who I'll just call Jack. Jack and I were friends for over the last year, and we shared many different hobbies, so it was easy to talk to him.

Jack has a 12-year-old sister who I'll call Elaine. Last June, Elaine brought home a cat from an animal shelter. The cat was about a year-old, and he was neutered, checked for rabies, etc. So at first, everything is fine, but the day after Elaine brings the cat home, Jack tells me how the cat is always biting and kicking Elaine in the arm. I told him that's how cats play, and my cat does that all the time.

I then told him that a cat is a big responsibility, and you have to do research before choosing to get one, and you're stuck with what you get.

Every few days, he's complaining to me how his sister's getting "beaten up" by the cat -- hissed at, kicked, bitten, etc. I gave him literally twenty different websites on cat behaviour, and urged him to keep the cat, as it was attached to them. I told him to get the cat checked at the vet.

Of course, he made excuses, saying that "this cat isn't normal" and "he's a very bad cat". I told him cats are beyond morals like good and evil because they're not like us humans in terms on intelligence. Of course, he kept making excuses.

I told him I'd take the cat if he didn't want it, and I'd pay for the transportation, since I like fiesty cats, and I didn't want him to go back to the shelter. His sister immediately said no, even though I offered to pay $200. Her attitude, to me, is a "if I can't have it, no one can!" type of attitude.

So I talked to him a few days ago, and he told me he's getting a new cat. I asked him what happened to the old one, and he started saying, "He was a bad cat, he was a bad cat..." This didn't sound good.

He said that they put him to sleep because he was "anti-social, mean, bad", etc. He said his sister was actually the one who asked their parents to have the cat put to sleep because "he was too mean". Like the cat is some kind of ****ing toy you can replace.

Today, he and I got into this whole debate about morality. I told him that I eat cows, pigs, chicken, fish, and lamb, and I feel bad about it, but I'd never kill a family member like a dog or cat.

Now, you have to keep in mind I'm an atheist, so I don't believe in god, but he kept saying how his god says animals were made for us to eat, and we could do whatever we wanted to them, etc.

Now, no offence to Christians, you can believe what you want to believe, but this guy was trying to justify killing a cat he adopted and brought into his own home for no reason. You killed him because he was "bad"? How? All cats bite and scratch when playing with their owners.

It's disgusting. He said the cat would rub against his legs every morning. How could you condone something like this? How could you kill someone that gives you affection every morning?

It's not like the cat had some life-threatening disease, or was suffering from old age. He simply killed it because it was an inconvenience, and then got another one a week later (last Sunday).

I don't know if I should be his friend anymore, or if I'm over-reacting. After all, I eat animals of equal intelligence to cats, like cows and pigs... But, c'mon, family members are different, right? I would never harm or eat a cat or dog. I know I'm being a hypocrite with double-standards here, but, should I be condoning Jack for killing his cat? Or am I right for blocking + deleting him, thus cutting off the friendship?

Guys, I'd like to hear your opinions on the situation. Is it right to condone Jack for putting his cat to sleep because he was an inconvenience, even though I eat meat?

IMO, you are not at all being a hypocrite. I eat meat as well but that is a totally different subject and my babies are my babies!!! They are my children. I think what they did is disgusting!!!

What he did was wrong and inhumane. Makes my heart hurt to hear this.
In regards to your friendship, I personally could not be friends with someone who did that. In fact, when you read through some of the posts, you will see a few venting sessions from me in regards to me cutting off my friend and my cousin on account of comments they made. I will not tolerate that kind of stuff.

 

[mrsd]

Sounds cruel hearted to me. And what if a friend doesn't measure up? Do they 'kill' them too? Watch out!

 

[ciera23]

Good point!!

 

[wellingtoncats]

That's true, mrsd. Good to hear you have stopped contact with him.

 

[misstorri]

I would casually ask him where they got the cats then call the animal shelter and let them know what these evil poeple have done! THIS iS ABSOLUTLEY WRONG! If it were Me I wouldnt continue to talk with him b/c someone like this would make me sick,I would never feel comforable with him ever again,buts thats me.

 

[annabelle33]

I don't get it.. what about the parents? The ones who had it put to sleep? It's their house so I wouldn't go blaming a 12 yr old for making a bad decision, I mean what a surprise, a 12 yr old with poor decision making skills. Maybe they shouldn't be allowed to drive or work or drink alcohol--no wait, they already can't. So why put her in charge of an animal? I say it's the parents fault, not the kids.