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2005

Cruelty Toward Cats: Changing Perspectives

Randall Lockwood American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

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Recommended Citation Lockwood, R. (2005). Cruelty toward cats: Changing perspectives. In D.J. Salem & A.N. Rowan (Eds.), The state of the animals III: 2005 (pp. 15-26). Washington, DC: Humane Society Press.

This material is brought to you for free and open access by WellBeing International. It has been accepted for inclusion by an authorized administrator of the WBI Studies Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Cruelty toward Cats: Changing Perspectives 2CHAPTER

Randall Lockwood

Some of this content appears in L. Sinclair and R. Lockwood, “Cruelty Towards Cats” (in Consultations in Feline Internal Medicine, 5h ed., ed. J.R. August. 2005. Philadelphia: Elsevier Inc.).

f all the species that have (from 1567 B.C.), paintings and of Herodotus, about 450 B.C. He been domesticated, cats statues of cats became increasingly describes his visit to the temples in Ohave historically been sub- common in Egypt (Beadle 1977). Bubastis and the various practices jected to the widest diversity of Recently, remains of a cat found surrounding the cult, including treatment by humans. They have buried in association with a human the harsh penalties for injuring or been worshipped as gods and at a site in Cyprus were dated to killing cats (Clutton-Brock 1993, reviled as devils, coddled and pam- approximately 7500 B.C. The rich 36): “When a man has killed one of pered, but also abandoned and offerings found in the grave sug- the sacred animals if he did it with abused. Our treatment of cats has gested that the person had special malice prepense, he is punished likewise created a range of prob- social status and a special relation- with death, if unwittingly, he has to lems for professionals concerned ship with the animal. This find pay such a fine as the priests with their care—from dealing could constitute the earliest evi- choose to impose.” with problems of obesity and dence of taming of the cat (Vigne Later in the same volume, overindulgence to tending to the et al. 2004). Herodotus details the reverence needs of animals who have been Serpell (1988) notes that the with which deceased cats are neglected, intentionally harmed, role of cats in the Egyptian pan- embalmed and entombed. Archeol- or even tortured. theon was complex and confusing. ogists in the nineteenth century Male cats were associated with the recovered mummified remains of sun god Ra. Cats and lionesses hundreds of thousands of cats from A Brief History were also linked to the warlike god- this period. Ironically, it is this col- of Kindness and dess Sekmet. The primary associa- lection of remains that provides the tion was with the cat goddess first evidence of what might be con- Cruelty to Cats Bastet, a symbol of fertility, fecun- sidered “ritualistic abuse” of cats. Most authorities consider the cat dity, and motherhood who was also Clutton-Brock (1993) describes to be among the most recent ani- associated with the moon and findings from the radiological mals to be domesticated, with its menstrual cycles. The prominence study of fifty-five wrapped cat origins in Egypt (Zeuner 1963; of cat cults did not develop until mummies collected by egyptolo- Clutton-Brock 1993). There are no the twenty-second dynasty (c. 950 gist Flinders Petrie in 1907. She remains of cats from prehistoric B.C.), when the capital became notes that “contrary to the gener- Egypt or the Old Kingdom Bubastis, home of the cult of al belief that ancient Egyptians (2686–2181 B.C.). Pictorial repre- Bastet, and the local cat goddess never killed their cats, many of sentations of cats that are clearly became the official deity of the these had ‘broken necks.’ This domesticated appear at the time of kingdom. The modern view of rev- could be seen in the x-rays as the fifth dynasty (c. 2600 B.C.), erence for cats in Egypt comes markedly displaced vertebrae in and from the New Kingdom onward almost entirely from the writings the neck” (38).

15 She notes that the mummies fell Similarly, Inquisitor Nicholas Remy, squashed the bodies of cats, into two groups. Twenty were kit- in his 1595 Daemonolatreiae libri twisted cats at the midsection, tens one to four months old when tres, announced that all cats were and suffocated cats. They even they died or were killed, and seven- demons (Conway 1998). improvised a gallows and hung teen were nine to seventeen Darnton (1984) details a variety cats by the neck. (1989, 48) months old. Only two were more of forms of widespread institution- The events were replayed in pan- than two years old. She suggests alized cat abuse common from the tomime many times during the that the cats were being specially Middle Ages well into the late eigh- weeks that followed. Darnton puts bred to be mummified by the teenth century. Carnival celebra- these events in the context of the priests for sale as votive offerings, tions of deviance came to an end social upheaval of the times. Print- which could explain what appears on Shrove Tuesday, or Mardi Gras, er’s apprentices were among the to have been a mass market in when a live cat was incorporated most exploited workers of the time, mummified cats. (This market was into a straw mannequin, King of while a passion for pet cats was not without a hint of fraud. Some Carnival, and given a ritual trial growing among the bourgeois, par- cat mummies from other sources and execution. In Burgundy young ticularly the masters of the printing appear to have been faked by wrap- men passed around a cat, tearing trade. Portraits were painted of ping a cat skull mounted atop frag- its fur to make it scream as a form pampered cats who were fed choice ments of human tibia and fibula.) of “rough music.” For the cycle of fowl, while the boys in the print The export of cats from Egypt was Saint John the Baptist, coinciding shops labored with little hope of illegal, so the domestic cat’s intro- with the summer solstice, cats promotion to the ranks of journey- duction into Europe and Asia did were tied up in bags, suspended men. Cat abuse was already well not begin until several hundred from ropes, or burned at the stake. established in the culture of the years after the peak period of the He further notes: time, thus cats were an easy and cult of Bastet, finally becoming Parisians liked to incinerate seemingly appropriate target for widespread by the tenth century cats by the sackful, while the this outrage. (Zeuner 1963). The spread of Chris- Courimauds (cour a miaud or Such abuse was also common- tianity brought with it what Serpell cat chasers) of Saint Chamond place in England as well. The own- (1986, 155) describes as “extreme preferred to chase a flaming ers of cats were often suspected of ruthlessness in suppressing unorth- cat through the streets. In “wickedness” and were killed, odox beliefs and in extirpating all parts of Burgundy and Lor- along with their cats, under the traces of earlier pre-Christian reli- raine they danced around a Witchcraft Act of 1563 (Young gions.” Since cats were often cen- kind of burning May pole with 2001). The first person to be tried tral to many of these belief systems, a cat tied to it. In the Metz under this law was Agnes Water- from the cult of Bastet to the wor- region they burned a dozen house, who was executed in 1566 ship of the Norse goddess Freya, cats at a time in a basket on for owning a cat unfortunately they became a convenient target for top of a bonfire. The ceremony named “Sathan” (Durston 2000). the demonization of all things non- took place with great pomp in More conventional abuse of cats Christian and the focus of myriad Metz itself, until it was abol- at the hands of young offenders forms of abuse intended to drive out ished in 1765. (83) flourished in eighteenth-century and destroy the Devil. Cats also One of the best documented England. The first illustration in were transformed from a symbol of instances of cruelty to cats was the William Hogarth’s classic series of grace, fertility, and maternal care to “Great Cat Massacre” of the Rue woodcuts “The Four Stages of Cru- one of bewitching sexuality and las- Saint-Severin, Paris, which took elty” depicts a 1750s street scene civiousness—an association that place in the late 1730s (Darnton in which young boys are torment- continues to affect public interpre- 1984; Twitchell 1989). The story ing a variety of animals in many tation and behavior and serve as a was obtained from an account by ways. Cats are the most abundant justification for continuing abuse. Nicolas Contat, a worker who had victims in this illustration. They are In the thirteenth century, Pope witnessed the event. Several young seen being thrown out of windows, Gregory IX (ruling 1227–1241) male printer’s apprentices system- hung by their tails from a pole, and issued a statement that Cathars, atically slaughtered all the neigh- set upon by fighting dogs. Hogarth breakaway Christians, were known borhood cats, starting with a was an astute observer of both ani- to be breeding black cats, who were favorite pet of their master’s wife. mal and human behavior, and it is the devil in disguise. In 1489 Pope According to Twitchell: likely that this illustration was a Innocent VIII issued an official In fits of laughter they gleeful- composite of instances he had wit- order to persecute all witches and ly bashed the heads of cats, nessed personally. He made these kill all cats within Christian lands. snapped the spines of cats, illustrations

16 The State of the Animals III: 2005 [I]n hopes of preventing [to] spectacle of suffering encourages other representations in popular some degree the cruel treat- cruelty....The child accustomed to culture, including an unaired but ment of poor Animals which bloody pastimes or witnessing cru- widely distributed car commercial makes the streets of London elty will become a dangerous man” making light of the decapitation of more disagreeable to the (Kete 1994, 5). Such views repre- a cat by a closing sunroof. A signif- human mind, than anything sented, in part, a continuing con- icant proportion of the population what ever, the very describing cern about the issues raised by the continues to express active antipa- of which gives pain.” (Uglow Great Cat Massacre more than a thy toward cats. Kellert and Berry 1997, 500) century earlier. (1980) found that 17.4 percent of Cats did not fare much better in The historical ambivalence of people surveyed expressed some the scientific views of the mid-eigh- many cultures toward cats contin- dislike of cats, compared with only teenth century. The most influen- ued into the twentieth and twenty- 2.6 percent who specifically dis- tial naturalist of the time was Buf- first centuries. In the 1980s cats liked dogs. Holland comments on fon, author of the multivolume became the most abundant species this discrepancy and associates the Histoire naturelle (1749–1788). (excluding aquarium fish) in Amer- differences in American attitudes Kete (1994) notes that, quite sim- ican homes, a trend that has con- toward dogs and cats with a degree ply, “Buffon hated cats,” describ- tinued (AVMA 2002; APPMA 2004). of xenophobia: ing them as having a perverse The American Pet Products Manu- People who hate cats tend to nature and worthy of being kept facturers Association (APPMA) esti- be proud of that fact, and brag only to control rodents as “the mates that there are 77.6 million about it as if it proved some- lesser of two evils.” owned cats in the United States, thing honest and straightfor- Conditions seemed to improve compared to 65 million owned ward in their natures. Nobody for cats in the mid-nineteenth cen- dogs. Although there are more brags about hating dogs. To tury. In the United Kingdom, cats dog-owning homes (40.6 million) hate dogs would be mean-spir- were not afforded protection under than cat-owning homes (35.4 mil- ited and peculiarly unpatriotic; anti-cruelty laws until the 1835 lion), there are more cats in the dogs are a very American con- revisions of the 1822 animal wel- average cat-owning family (average cept, fraternal, hearty and fare legislation protecting live- 2.2, compared with 1.6 dogs per unpretentious, while cats are stock, which extended the protec- dog-owning household). Despite inscrutable like the wily orien- tions to domestic pets and this popularity, cats have not tal and elitist like the Euro- prohibited bull baiting and cock- achieved equal status with dogs as pean esthete. (1988, 34) fighting (Ritvo 1987). The Annual true companion animals. The size Report of the Royal Society for the of feral cat populations is impossi- Prevention of Cruelty to Animals ble to determine accurately, but it The Psychology (RSPCA) detailed the animal-cru- may approach the number of and Biology elty cases investigated and prose- owned cats (Holton and Manzoor cuted under these laws. The major- 1993; Slater 2002). of Cat Abuse ity of cases continued to involve Despite the popularity and pro- What is it about cats that elicits maltreatment of livestock and liferation of resources on cat care, such paradoxical views? In addition draft animals, but proponents of there is also a continuing stream of to the long-standing social and cul- companion animal welfare recog- material promoting, or at least tural factors discussed above that nized the growing concern about making light of, cat abuse. This has have promoted abuse of cats, cer- the abuse of dogs and cats. From no parallel in the canine world. tain elements of the animals’ biol- 1857 to 1860, dogs and cats Popular books include The Cat ogy and ethology have allowed or accounted for only 2 percent of the Hater’s Handbook or the Ailuro- encouraged their maltreatment. cruelty convictions, although 13 phobe’s Delight (1963), The Official percent of the RSPCA’s reports to I Hate Cats Book (1980), 101 Uses Sexual and Social the public focused on dog and cat for a Dead Cat (1981), with sever- Behavior cruelty cases. al sequels, How to Kill Your Girl- Cats were associated with feminin- In France, the first success of the friend’s Cat (1988), and Cat- ity, fertility, and sensuality in emerging animal protection move- Dependent No More! (1991). ancient religions for good reason. ment was the Grammont Law of Recently there has been a prolifer- Female cats are induced ovulators 1850, prohibiting public abuse of ation of video and on-line games and are highly promiscuous, invit- animals. Grammont, a retired cav- allowing simulated cat-killing, ing the attention and competition alry officer, promoted the legisla- such as “Cat Hunter,” “Clay Kitten of several males, indeed, courting tion in part on the basis that “the Shooting,” and “Cat Blaster,” and

Cruelty toward Cats: Changing Perspectives 17 up to twenty males during a single (156) “The unmitigated cruelty tical partnership in the pursuit of estrus period (Natoli and DeVito cats have received...doubtless game—the predatory behavior of 1988). This is an effective repro- speaks volumes about the sexual cats is often perceived as being ductive strategy for a solitary insecurities of European males.” “selfish” and unnecessarily cruel. hunter who must insure that males The “game of cat and mouse” has contributing to the gene pool of Resilience become synonymous with action her offspring are capable of Despite their relatively small size that is sneaky, malicious, and repelling their rivals. Many cul- and fragility, cats have a reputation underhanded. Cats, particularly tures have equated promiscuous as survivors, perhaps due in part to females with recently weaned kit- sexuality with cats, as seen in the speed, agility, quick reflexes, tens, will often wound or maul their slang. As early as 1401 men were and other adaptations that allow prey without killing it quickly, in warned of chasing “cattis tailis,” them to survive situations that part as a way of providing the young for example, prostitutes, giving would be likely to kill a human or with disabled prey on which to prac- rise to “tail” as slang. Other phras- dog. Most intriguing have been tice their predatory skills (Turner es echoing feline sexuality (“cat reports of “high-rise injuries” sus- and Meister 1988). By human stan- house,” “pussy”) have been in use tained in falls from tall buildings dards this adaptation, which poten- since before the seventeenth cen- (Robinson 1976; Whitney and tially prolongs the suffering of the tury (Morris 1986). Mehlhaff 1987). One interesting cat’s prey, can appear to be cruel, In addition to being perceived as aspect of high-rise injuries in cats sadistic, and “amoral,” and thus, to highly sexual creatures, female is the effect of the distance fallen some, it may seem to justify similar cats are frequently aggressive on the frequency and severity of maltreatment of cats, who are often toward their recent mates. As with injuries. The rate of injury is linear portrayed as enjoying inflicting tor- many solitary hunters, following up to a fallen distance of approxi- ment on their victims. mating, males are potential com- mately seven stories; above this Since many cats that are allowed petitors for food and may be a height, injury rates do not in- to hunt will bring dead or maimed threat to kittens, so the females crease, and fracture rates de- prey home to their human “fami- often attack them or drive them crease, in part because cats falling lies,” the consequences of cat pre- off. Individually, cats of both sexes from greater heights have time to dation can often be obvious and can at one moment exhibit a orient themselves to better absorb can fuel strong emotional respons- warm, soft, cuddly demeanor and impact. A cat who free-fell from es against cats. The Mammal Soci- at the next indicate that they have thirty-two stories onto concrete, ety in the United Kingdom (2001) had sufficient contact by terminat- the subject of one of the published released a report based on a review ing an interaction with a serious reports, suffered only mild pneu- of prey killed or captured by 964 bite or scratch. This is often in mothorax and a chipped tooth and owned cats during a five-month stark contrast to dogs, who will was released after forty-eight hours period in 1997. The report docu- solicit attention and often contin- of observation. mented more than 14,000 prey ue to invite interaction submissive- Although this kind of resilience collected by cat owners from their ly even when maltreated. may have contributed to the percep- animals. Highly controversial The social independence and tion of the “invulnerability” of cats, extrapolations to the entire British resistance to training of most cats, Tabor (1983) attributes the specific cat population led to the assertion along with their “coy” sensuality, notion that cats have “nine lives” to that “domestic moggies could be can present a special challenge or distortions of a statement c. 1560 by killing 275 million creatures a threat to those needing to gain a Baldwin in Beware the Cat, who year” in England (BBC 2001). sense of power and control over wrote, “it was permitted for a witch Hartwell (2004) offers a detailed others as well as over the uncon- to take her cattes body nine times.” critique of the report and provides trollable changes occurring in their At the same time, this resilience is details of some of the alarmist own bodies, that is, adolescent to blame for a great deal of feline reports and anti-cat backlash that boys. It is not surprising that both suffering. Morris (1986, 6) notes, followed its release, including a historically and epidemiologically, “Because cats can survive when call from a renowned wildlife pho- the principal abusers of cats have thrown out and abandoned, it makes tographer that cats should be shot. been young males, particularly it easier for people to do just that.” Patronek (1998) reviewed numer- those seeking to assert their ous studies to evaluate the potential authority. As noted by Serpell Predatory Behavior impact of free-roaming and feral (1986, 156), there is “an element While the hunting behavior of dogs cats on humans and wild animals. of misogyny embedded in this generally is perceived as something He noted that few studies indicate hatred of cats.” He further observes that is useful to humans—as a prac- any long-term effects on songbird or

18 The State of the Animals III: 2005 wildlife populations, and many pro- er centuries. Many of the common his cat, believing the animal to be vide evidence to the contrary. This abuses in this era seemed designed gaining control of him, several report suggested that humane agen- to elicit such cries from cats, reach- days before shooting his wife. cies should continue to urge people ing their nadir in the form of “cat Building on these earlier sur- to keep cats indoors for their safety organs,” musical instruments veys, Felthous and Kellert (1987) and for the safety of potential prey, designed to produce different tones provided a systematic review of the but they should not see predation as through tormenting cats of differ- choice of animals for abuse based a significant concern in assessing ent sizes (Barloy 1974). on interviews with 84 prisoners in the feasibility of trap-test-vaccinate- The “caterwauling” associated two penitentiaries. The greatest neuter-and-release (TTVAR) pro- with female cats in heat, and the variety of cruelties had been inflict- grams to control feral cats (see combat between the males they ed on cats (thirty-three different Slater and Shain, this volume). attract, is often used to justify var- forms of abuse were described), A report released by Defenders of ious forms of abuse. The image of a and most subjects who had abused Wildlife (King and Rappole 2003) rock or shoe thrown at noisy cats cats used several different meth- also questioned the significance of perched on a fence has become a ods. Cats were the most frequent the impact cats have on songbirds, cliché in cartoons and other depic- targets across all forms of abuse based on review of the North Ameri- tions of cats. and were the predominant victims can Breeding Bird Survey and thirty- in cases involving burning, break- six other long-term surveys of migra- ing of bones, or being thrown from tory bird populations. This review Psychopathology/ a height (Table 1). notes: “windows, cats, West Nile Criminology of They conclude: virus, wind turbines—all those spe- Physical features of cats render cific causes of death that are appar- Cat Abuse them suitable for some specif- ent in people’s backyards—are not, As noted above, cruelty to animals ic methods of abuse. Cats have at present, having any known effect in general has long been associated long flexible tails that can be on the population size of any conti- with an increased risk for involve- joined together. Fur burns. nental bird species” (Yakutchik ment in criminal and antisocial Their bones are easily broken. 2003, n.p.). Habitat destruction in behavior (Lockwood and Ascione Cats are small enough to be both winter and summer habitats of 1998; Ascione and Arkow 1999; carried about and dropped these species was considered a much Ascione and Lockwood 2001; Merz- from heights. (231) greater threat to bird populations. Perez and Heide 2003). Cruelty to They note that these qualities cats has been associated specifically are not unique to cats and suggest Nocturnal Behavior with future tendencies toward vio- that cultural patterns and the sex- Creatures of the night have always lence in a number of quantitative ual symbolism contribute to this been viewed with suspicion and are and anecdotal accounts. Felthous selection of cats for abuse by vio- often equated with occult forces. (1980) reviewed eighteen cases of lent offenders. They further note: Nocturnal habits, coupled with the men admitted to an inpatient psy- Although none of the subjects unusual “eyeshine” produced by chiatric service who presented a his- identified cats as symbolic of the reflective tapetum of the cat’s tory of repeatedly injuring dogs or evil women, a “bad mother,” or eye, helped promote the percep- cats. These were compared with a the female genitalia, the possi- tion of cats as something alien and group of assaultive patients who did bility of consciously or uncon- suspicious. Such habits, along with not have a history of animal cruelty. sciously associating cats with the stealth required of a solitary All but one member of the animal women ought to be considered hunter, only reinforce the percep- abuse group had tortured cats. This in aggressive men whose sexu- tion of cats as “occult” (literally group also skewed toward higher al and aggressive impulses may “hidden”) animals. levels of reported aggressiveness to be fused at a primitive level, people. Over 60 percent of these poorly differentiated and poor- Vocalizations subjects reported childhood histo- ly modulated. (232) Darnton (1984) notes that the ries that included brutal punish- This view echoes that of Revitch cries of cats subjected to pain or ments by father and mother, fre- (1965), who suggested that cat torture have a human-like tone that quent childhood fights, and school abuse was associated with sexually contributed to the impression that truancy. motivated murders of women. This an anthropomorphic demon was Felthous (1984) provides case was clearly true in the case of serial being destroyed or driven out when histories of violent crimes involv- murderer Keith Jesperson, who was they were tormented during the rit- ing prior acts of cruelty to animals, convicted of three murders but who uals that were so common in earli- including one in which a man shot claimed responsibility for more

Cruelty toward Cats: Changing Perspectives 19 multiple reports on a case that is Table 1 covered over a long period (e.g., Self-Reported Patterns of Animal Abuse from the original report of the inci- dent through the prosecution and by Incarcerated Prisoners, by Percentage outcome), all the available informa- Form of Reports Reports Reports tion is merged into a single case Animal Involving Involving Involving record. The database in then con- Abuse Dogs Cats Other Species verted into SPSS® format for more Burning — 33.3 66.7 detailed statistical analysis. For this analysis we reviewed Shooting 21.4 7.1 71.4 records of reports on 4,695 cases Breaking Bones 16.7 50.0 33.3 of animal cruelty reported between January 2000 and May 2004. Throwing from Height 30.0 70.0 — These cases involved 5,225 alleged Beating/Stoning 34.5 27.6 37.9 offenders. Despite the higher inci- dence of cats in the companion an- All Abuses 22.5 27.5 50.0 imal population, they were under- represented in these reports of Adapted from Felthous and Kellert (1987) cruelty. Of these cases, 51.8 per- cent reportedly involved dogs, than one hundred killings, many of them the target of choice for those 15.1 percent involved cats, 3.7 which involved prostitutes as vic- who are or who are destined to percent involved both cats and tims. In interviews with Jesperson become perpetrators of violence dogs, 3.7 percent involved cats and conducted by the author and Jes- against people. This makes detect- dogs and one or more other person’s biographer (Olsen 2002), ing, reporting, and responding to species, and 25.7 percent involved he has drawn a direct connection acts of cruelty against cats an even other species only—usually horses, from the sense of empowerment he more pressing concern. livestock, fighting cocks, and got from childhood killings of ani- wildlife. mals, usually cats, to the feelings that fueled his murders. A Victimological Cruelty to Cats vs. In the trial of Washington, D.C.- Analysis of Cat area sniper Lee Boyd Malvo, Cruelty to Dogs defense psychiatrist Neil Blumberg and Dog Cruelty Cases were broadly categorized as argued that Malvo’s teen history of To better understand the nature of featuring “intentional cruelty” cat-killing meant that he was cat cruelty cases, The Humane Soci- (e.g., traumatic physical injury), “unable to distinguish between ety of the United States (HSUS) “neglect” (including malnourish- right and wrong and was unable to undertook a detailed review of the ment, abandonment, and starva- resist the impulse” to commit the largest possible sample of such tion), or “collecting or hoarding” sniper killings (Associated Press reports. The HSUS receives daily (i.e., maintaining large numbers of 2003). Federal Bureau of Investiga- media clips from Cyberalert®, a serv- animals in unsanitary conditions tion (FBI) psychologists who ice tracking more than 13,000 without commercial intent, as reviewed Malvo’s history in detail newspapers, magazines, journals, defined by Patronek [1999]). Over- suggested that his pattern of stalk- wire services, TV networks, and local all, 62.7 percent of the cases were ing and shooting cats from a dis- TV stations. These clips are drawn characterized as “intentional.” tance was consistent with his from coverage of stories with any This was significantly higher for actions in his later crimes and mention of animal abuse, cruelty, or cats (69.0 percent) than for dogs served, in some ways, as a rehears- neglect. The reports are then (60.8 percent, chi-square = 15.43, al for those actions (personal com- reviewed, and data on the specifics p<.001). Animals were killed in munication, FBI Special Agent A. of each case are entered into a 47.4 percent of all cases involving Brantley, June 25, 2004). Microsoft Access® database. The cats or dogs. Cats were killed in It is clear from these and other data recorded for each case include significantly more cases in which accounts that the selection of cats offender age and gender, number they were victims (56.9 percent) of as the object of abuse is more than and species of victims, details of the cruelty than were dogs (44.7 per- just a result of their availability. action against the animal, co-occur- cent, chi-square = 32.39, p<.001). Their physical, behavioral, and rence of other crimes, charges filed, In cases that did not reportedly symbolic attributes often make and case outcome. When there are

20 The State of the Animals III: 2005 involve hoarding, there were no significant differences between cats Table 2 and dogs in the number of animals Forms of Abuse in 3,488 Reported abused (for cats, mean = 5.29; for dogs, mean = 6.87) or in the num- Cases of Animal Cruelty—Cats ber of animals killed (for cats, mean Overrepresented, by Percentage = 3.34; for dogs, mean = 4.98). Cats were significantly overrep- Form of Cat Dog Chi Significance Abuse Cruelty Cruelty Square resented, when compared to dogs, Cases Cases in incidents involving several spe- cific forms of intentional abuse Torture 14.9 6.8 44.3 p<.001 (Table 2). Beating 13.4 10.7 4.0 p<.050 There were no statistically sig- nificant differences between cat Throwing 11.4 5.3 32.7 p<.001 and dog cases in the incidence of Mutilation 10.6 5.9 18.6 p<.001 hanging, stabbing, shooting, kick- ing, poisoning, or sexual assault Suffocation 3.4 1.5 10.7 p<.001 (Table 3). Drowning 2.3 .7 11.8 p<.001 Animal cruelty often occurs with- in the context of family violence, particularly domestic violence (DeViney, Dickert, and Lockwood Table 3 1983; Ascione 1998; Ponder and Lockwood 2001). Companion ani- Forms of Abuse in 3,488 Reported mals are frequently threatened, Cases of Animal Cruelty—Cats and injured, or killed to intimidate or Dogs Equally Represented retaliate against a family member. Overall, 4 percent of animal abuse Form of Cat Dog Chi Significance Abuse Cruelty Cruelty Square cases included concurrent reports Cases Cases of domestic violence. The incidence rate was not statistically significant Shooting 13.4 14.8 .792 p>.30 for cats vs. dogs (4.4 percent vs. 3.9 Poisoning 4.1 3.3 1.060 p>.30 percent, chi-square = .28, p>.5). However, children were more likely Stabbing 3.3 3.0 .202 p>.60 to witness cases of abuse of cats Kicking 2.7 3.7 1.460 p>.20 (5.0 percent) than of dogs (2.7 per- cent, chi-square = 6.43, p<.05). Hanging 2.0 1.5 .861 P>.30 Young offenders were more likely to be identified as perpetrators in Sexual Assault .3 .6 1.140 P>.28 cases victimizing cats than in those involving dogs. Children under age cases committed by teenagers This reflects the prevailing societal seventeen accounted for 2.9 per- involved boys, as did 97 percent of view that cats are self-sufficient and cent of intentional cat abuse cases the teen dog abuse cases. are less likely to suffer if left unat- and 1.2 percent of intentional dog Cats were significantly underrep- tended or not provided for, thus abuse cases (chi-square = 6.95, resented when compared with dogs leaving them in this condition is p<.05). Teens (seventeen to twenty- in cases reportedly involving neg- often not perceived as neglect, even one years of age) accounted for lect. Of the 931 companion animal when it results in illness or injury. 14.0 percent of all intentional cat cases characterized as severe neg- Virtually all of the dog or cat cases abuse cases and 6.9 percent of dog lect of a small number of animals involving “fighting” represented cases (chi-square = 25.3, p<.001). (rather than hoarding), 89.6 per- action against dogfighting opera- All of the fifteen reported cases of cent involved dogs and 10.4 per- tions. Cats were listed as victims in cat abuse by children under seven- cent involved cats. Looking at it two of 224 cases counted as “fight- teen years of age involved boys, as another way, 36.2 percent of all ing.” In these instances they were did 95 percent of the dog abuse dog-cruelty cases were described as being used as bait or training ani- cases. Similarly, 94 percent of the “neglect,” vs. 16.6 percent of cat mals. Dogs were significantly over- sixty-nine intentional cat abuse cases (chi-square = 82.7, p<.001). represented in the 50 cases in which

Cruelty toward Cats: Changing Perspectives 21 in hoarding cases and 33.3 years in Table 4 all other cases (t = -9.85, p<.001). Victimology of Hoarding and The women involved in hoarding cases were significantly older than Nonhoarding Cruelty Cases the men (t = -1.98, p<.05). Type Mean Number Mean Number There were significant gender of Case Involved Killed differences in the nature of ani- mals who were hoarded (Table 5). Women were overrepresented in Dog: Nonhoarding 6.87 3.34 cases where cats were hoarded, Dog: Hoarding 59.49 19.06 either exclusively or in connection with dogs or other species. Men Cat: Nonhoarding 5.29 4.98 were significantly more likely to be Cat: Hoarding 61.48 33.78 involved in cases where dogs alone were victims of hoarding (chi- square = 32.9, p<.001). animals had been dragged behind a and vehicle (96 percent of such cases). • fails to act on or recognize the Although a significantly higher negative impact of the collec- Implications for proportion of cat cases involved tion on his or her own health intentional acts of malice, which and well-being. Animal Welfare are often a requirement for a crim- Overall, 412 cases in the data- inal charge of animal abuse, base (9.0 percent) were character- and Veterinary charges were filed in significantly ized as animal-hoarding cases. By Professionals fewer cases involving cats than definition, these cases involved sig- Cruelty to cats is a widespread phe- those involving dogs (56.4 percent nificantly higher numbers of ani- nomenon with serious implications of cat cases vs. 65.3 percent of dog mals than did nonhoarding cases, not only for animal welfare, but cases, chi-square = 18.5, p<.001). and, consequently, significantly also for potential identification of This is consistent with the general more animals killed (Table 4). The situations where children, spouses, view that cats tend be less valued number of dogs and cats involved the elderly, and others may be at than dogs, and that cruelty to cats, did not differ significantly in risk. It is likely that the incidence however extreme, is seen as less hoarding cases. The mean number of cruelty to cats is underreported problematic than comparable mal- of animals killed was nearly twice as significantly. The widespread hos- treatment of dogs. high in cat-hoarding cases as it was tility to cats described above cre- in dog-hoarding cases, but this was ates an environment in which cat not statistically significant due to cruelty, even when detected, is Hoarding Cases wide variation across cases and a more likely to go unreported Animal hoarding is a form of ani- smaller number of cases for which and/or unprosecuted. mal cruelty that has received grow- all of these details were available Other characteristics of cat ing attention from veterinary, (62 hoarding cases and 1,382 non- behavior and the human-cat rela- humane, and mental health profes- hoarding cases) (t = -.326, p>.5). tionship make it likely that much sionals (Lockwood and Cassidy In this sample, women were sig- maltreatment of cats is overlooked. 1988; Mullen 1993; Lockwood nificantly more likely than men to Dog owners will usually search for 1994; Patronek 1999; HARC 2000; be involved in hoarding cases (62.5 missing and potentially injured Davis 2003; Berry, Patronek, and percent vs. 37.5 percent, chi-square dogs if they do not return home Lockwood 2005) and the media = 335, p<.001). This is consistent when expected. Injured dogs, as (Arluke et al. 2002). The Hoarding with other reports of this phenom- highly social creatures, will often of Animals Research Consortium enon (Worth and Beck 1981; solicit care from people if they have (HARC) defines an animal hoarder Patronek 1999; HARC 2000). Over- been injured. In contrast, cat own- as someone who: all, perpetrators in hoarding cases ers frequently fail to look for cats • accumulates large numbers of were older than those in nonhoard- who do not return home, often animals; ing cruelty cases. The mean age for assuming they have chosen a life of • fails to provide minimal stan- women was 52.6 years in hoarding freedom. Injured cats are more dards of nutrition, sanitation, cases and 38.8 years in all other likely to hide from, rather than and veterinary care; cases (t = -11.2, p<.001). The seek contact with, people, consis- • fails to act on the deteriorat- mean age for men was 48.7 years tent with their basic nature as soli- ing condition of the animals;

22 The State of the Animals III: 2005 tary predators. Fewer than 5 per- William Blackstone provided an Some case law specifically ac- cent of cats entering U.S. shelters early distinction in common law, cords cats the status of “domestic as strays are ever reclaimed. differentiating between animals animals” (Thurston v. Carter, 92 A. raised for food and those kept for 295 [Me. 1914]; cited in Young “pleasure, curiosity, or whim,” 2001). One of the more infamous Conclusions and which included “dogs, bears, cats, decisions went the other way. In Recommendations apes, parrots, and singing birds,” Commonwealth v. Massini (188 A. noting that “their value is not 2d 816, Pa. Super 1963), a man Cruelty to cats, in its many forms, intrinsic, but depending only on the shot and killed his neighbor’s cat. is a serious problem that dramati- caprice of owners” (in Frasch et al. The court held that cats did not fit cally affects many animals and the 2000, 47). Blackstone notes, how- under the state cruelty code’s defi- people who care about them. It ever, that the ancient Britons nition of “domestic animal” and also should raise concerns about viewed cats as “creatures of intrin- thus had “no intrinsic value in the perpetrators’ potential for other sic value; and the killing or stealing eyes of the law” (Frasch et al. acts of abuse and neglect that [of] one was a grievous crime” (47). 2000). At the time the statute might affect other human and non- For centuries, animal-cruelty defined a domestic animal as “any human victims. Professionals in laws have continued to view the equine animal, bovine animal, veterinary medicine, animal behav- crime of animal cruelty as a prop- sheep, goat or pig.” The statute ior, and animal protection, as well erty crime that deprives the owner was subsequently amended to “any as concerned individuals, can take of the property or the use or enjoy- dog, cat, equine animal, bovine several steps to focus greater ment of that property (Favre and animal, sheep, goat or porcine ani- attention on this problem. Tsang 1993), while society as a mal,” removing the apparent 1. Strengthen and enforce laws whole is increasingly likely to view exemption of cats from coverage in protecting cats and other com- such acts as a morals crime, indica- the state’s criminal code. Although panion animals. tive of poor character, or as a vio- most states currently define “ani- The legal status of cats has under- lent crime that inflicts suffering mal” or “domestic animal” in ways gone some curious changes in the and/or death on a fellow sentient that clearly extend protections to last five hundred years. In the fif- creature. Thus the legal response cats, animal advocates should teenth and sixteenth centuries, it to cat-cruelty cases has often examine existing laws in their was not uncommon for a wide vari- echoed the debates of Napoleonic areas carefully to ensure that such ety of animal species, from insects and common law, centering on the protection exists. to cattle, to be subjected to crimi- value associated with cats and Even when anti-cruelty laws nal prosecution, excommunication, whether they can be considered clearly apply to cats, application of and even execution in a manner “domesticated animals.” these laws may be hampered by the almost identical to the treatment of humans (Evans 1906). Although cats often were killed along with their owners who had been accused Table 5 of witchcraft, Evans found no cases Species Involved in Animal in which a cat was the sole defen- dant. There were, however, many Hoarding Cases cases in which cats appeared as Species Hoarded Hoarder’s Gender “witnesses” at the trials of thieves or murderers. Male Female Most contemporary Western laws Cats Only 25 79 trace their origins to the Code (24.0 percent) (76.0 percent) Napoleon or English Common Law. The Code Napoleon recognized sev- Dogs Only 52 40 eral kinds of cats. Wild cats were (56.5 percent) (43.5 percent) seen as noxious animals whose Both Cats and Dogs 11 45 destruction could be rewarded, but (19.6 percent) (80.4 percent) the law declared that “the domes- Multiple Species with 30 46 tic cat, not being a thing of nought Cats and Dogs (39.5 percent) (60.5 percent) (res nullius) but the property of a master, ought to be protected by Other Species 26 27 law” (Van Vechten 1936). In 1769 (49.1 percent) (50.9 percent)

Cruelty toward Cats: Changing Perspectives 23 perception of the “value” of feline compensation to people who obtain and about them. Publishers, adver- victims. In 1997 three teenage companion animals who subse- tisers, and others who appear to boys broke into an animal shelter quently are shown to have preexist- condone or promote such cruelty in Iowa, bludgeoned sixteen cats ing diseases or genetic defects. The should be notified of concerns and and kittens to death, and injured majority of these are specifically held accountable for treating cat seven others. The three were not puppy “lemon” laws, but several abuse lightly. This should extend as charged with animal cruelty, in (New York, Florida, Connecticut, and well to strong opposition to organ- part because the existing animal- Arkansas) now include cats as well. ized and institutional abuse of cats, cruelty laws were weak and carried The courts are also evolving in including the commercial trade in only minimal penalties. They were their consideration of the effects of dog and cat fur (HSUS 1999) and charged instead with third degree the death or injury of cats on those use of cats in research involving burglary and breaking into an ani- who care for them. In most court pain and distress (Spiegel 2003). mal facility (ironically, this law was cases seeking redress for the loss of 4. Promote humane control of passed with the intent to protect a companion animal, awards, when “problem” or feral cats. research laboratories from animal granted, have been limited to actu- Historically, communities have activists). These charges could al monetary value or veterinary responded to cat-related conflicts have risen to the level of felony costs. This has been changing as by using methods that rarely offenses had the damage inflicted some courts consider the emotion- provide long-term solutions. The on the “property,” that is, the cats, al significance of animal compan- HSUS believes that community cat been in excess of $500. Despite the ions (Wise 1998; Young 2001), and care and control programs should fact that the shelter spent in recent decisions have allowed cat include the following (HSUS excess of $50 per animal for neu- owners to sue for mental injuries 2002): tering, vaccination, and other care when a cat was destroyed (Peloquin • Mandatory registration or in preparation for adoption, a jury v. Calcasieu Parish Police, Jury S. licensing of cats. If a fee is in the rural community decided 2d 1246 [La. Ct. App. 1979]) and charged, it should be higher that the twenty-three cats were not for punitive damages in the mali- for unsterilized cats than for worth the $500 required to elevate cious killing of a cat (Wilson v. City sterilized cats (“differential the crimes to the level of felony, of Eagan, 297 N.W.2d 146 Mn. licensing”). and the men were convicted only of 1980). Still, the movement away • Mandatory identification of misdemeanors (Bollinger 1998). from the common law view of cats cats. In addition to requiring Laws and policies developed to as property with little or no intrin- that cats wear collars and protect and control cats clearly sic value has been slow. tags, communities should have not kept pace with their status 2. Educate the public and other consider implementing a per- as America’s preferred pet. Even professionals. manent identification system when strong anti-cruelty laws are in Much cruelty to cats is rooted in such as microchips. place, they may not be enforced vig- long-standing myths and miscon- • Mandatory rabies vaccina- orously by police, prosecutors, or ceptions about cat behavior and tions for all cats more than judges, who may dismiss animal- biology. Animal protection and vet- three months of age. cruelty cases as being of minor sig- erinary medicine professionals • Mandatory sterilization of all nificance. As this study has shown, need to continue to promote cats adopted from public and this is even more likely to be true of efforts to dispel such misinforma- private animal shelters and cases involving feline victims and tion and to promote a high stan- rescue groups. young offenders. Cat abuse is not a dard of care and responsibility in • Mandatory sterilization of all normal teen pastime, and evidence caring for cats. The HSUS initiated free-roaming cats. suggests that ensuring that such a “Safe Cats” campaign to dispel • A mandatory minimum shel- behavior has immediate and seri- many of these ideas and promote ter holding period for stray ous consequences for the offender responsible care, including a strong cats consistent with that provides a chance for early inter- emphasis on the need to keep cats established for stray dogs. vention at a time when it is more indoors (HSUS 2003). This policy should allow for likely to be effective. 3. Respond to individuals and euthanasia of suffering ani- There is some indication that the organizations promoting abusive mals before the end of the cat’s legal status is progressing slow- practices. holding period. ly in other ways, but it still is not on Cruelty to animals, including • Adequate and appropriate the same level as that granted to cats, should never be taken lightly. shelter holding space, staffing, dogs. At least a dozen states cur- It causes enormous suffering for and other resources necessary rently have “lemon” laws that allow the animals and those who care for to hold stray felines for the

24 The State of the Animals III: 2005 mandatory minimum holding from wrong. December 11. accused of violent crimes. period. Barloy, J. 1974. Man and animal. Behavioral Sciences and the Law • An ongoing public education London: Gordon and Cremonesi. 2: 331–339. program that promotes re- Beadle. M. 1977. The cat: History, Felthous, A.R., and S.R. Kellert. sponsible cat care. biology, and behaviour. London: 1987. Psychosocial aspects of • Subsidized sterilization servic- Collins and Harvill Press. selecting animal species for es to encourage cat owners to Berry, C., G. Patronek, and R. physical abuse. Journal of Foren- sterilize their animals. Lockwood. In press. Long-term sic Sciences 32: 1713–1723. While cats may never again outcomes in animal hoarding Frasch, P., S. Waisman, B. Wagman, achieve the special status they had cases. Animal Law. and S. Beckstead. 2000. Animal in ancient Egypt, they are loved Bollinger, V. 1998. One deadly law. Durham, N.C.: Carolina Aca- and admired by hundreds of mil- night at Noah’s Ark. HSUS News demic Press. lions of people worldwide. Ensur- 43(2): 36–40. Hartwell, S.L. 2004. Domestic ing that they live safe, healthy, and British Broadcast Corporation. cats: Wildlife enemy number one happy lives is an important part of 2001. Purring predator: Pet cats or convenient scapegoats? having a truly humane society. and wildlife. BBC Wildlife maga- www.messybeast.com/cat-wild zine, February. www.bbc.co.uk/ life.htm. nature/animals/features/175in Hoarding of Animals Research Literature Cited dex.shtml. Consortium (HARC). 2000. Peo- American Pet Products Manufac- Clutton-Brock, J. 1993. Cats, ple who hoard animals. Psychi- turers Association (APPMA). ancient and modern. Cambridge, atric Times 17 (4): 25–29. 2004. National pet owners sur- Mass.: Harvard University Press. Holland, B. 1988. The name of the vey 2003–2004. Greenwich, Conway, D.J. 1998. The mysteri- cat. New York: Dodd, Mead. Conn.: APPMA. ous, magical cat. New York: Holton, L., and P. Manzoor. 1993. American Veterinary Medical Asso- Grammercy Books. Managing and controlling feral ciation (AVMA). 2002. U.S. pet Darnton, R. 1984. The great cat cat populations: Killing the crisis ownership and demographic massacre. New York: Basic and not the animal. Veterinary sourcebook. Schaumburg, Ill.: Books. Forum March: 100–101. AVMA. Davis, S. 2003. Prosecuting animal Humane Society of the United Arluke, A., R. Frost, G. Steketee, hoarders is like herding cats. States (HSUS). 1999. Betrayal of G. Patronek, C. Luke, E. Mess- California Lawyer. September. trust. Washington, D.C.: HSUS. ner, J. Nathanson, and M. Papaz- DeViney, L., J. Dickert, and R. ————. 2002. Guide to cat law. ian. 2002. Press reports of ani- Lockwood. 1983. The care of Washington, D.C.: HSUS. mal hoarding. Society and pets within child abusing fami- ————. 2003. A safe cat is a Animals 10 (2): 113–135. lies. International Journal for the happy cat. Washington, D.C.: Ascione, F.R. 1998. Battered Study of Animal Problems 4(4): HSUS. women’s reports of their part- 321–336. Kellert, S.R., and J.K. Berry. 1980. ners’ and their children’s cruelty Durston, G. 2000. Witchcraft and Knowledge, affection, and basic to animals. Journal of Emotional witch trials: A history of English attitudes toward animals in Abuse 1: 119–133. witchcraft and its legal perspec- American society. Washington, Ascione, F.R., and P. Arkow, eds. tives, 1542 to 1736. Chichester: D.C.: U.S. Government Printing 1999. Child abuse, domestic vio- Barry Rose Law Publishers. Office, #024-010-00-625-1. lence and animal abuse: Linking Evans, E.P. 1906. The criminal Kete, K. 1994. The beast in the the circles of compassion for pre- prosecution and capital punish- boudoir: Petkeeping in nineteenth vention and intervention. West ment of animals. London: Heine- century Paris. Berkeley: Univer- Lafayette, Ind.: Purdue Universi- mann. sity of California Press. ty Press. Favre, D., and V. Tsang. 1993. The King, D.I., and J.H. Rappole. 2003. Ascione, F.R., and R. Lockwood. development of anti-cruelty laws Population trends for migrant 2001. Animal cruelty: Changing during the 1800’s. Detroit Col- birds in North America: A sum- psychological, social, and legisla- lege of Law Review, 1–35. mary and critique. Report from tive perspectives. In The state of Felthous, A.R. 1980. Aggression Defenders of Wildlife. www.de the animals: 2001, ed. D.J. Salem against cats, dogs, and people. fenders.org/wildlife/news/birds. and A.N. Rowan, 39–53. Washing- Child Psychiatry and Human html. ton, D.C.: Humane Society Press. Development 10: 169–177. Lockwood, R. 1994. The psycholo- Associated Press. 2003. Psychia- –———. 1984. Psychotic percep- gy of animal collectors. Ameri- trists: Malvo couldn’t tell right tion of pet animals in defendants can Animal Hospital Association

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26 The State of the Animals III: 2005