Opinion - Animal Abuse?

[Snapdragon]

The mom does sound like a nut and plain mean.

I do suggest though being very careful with cats. I would not let the dck's touch a cat that wanders into my yard, even if I know who owns it. My neighbor's husband got scratched by thier own cat last year and he almost died from whatever kind of infection he got. I don't remember all the details now but he was in the hospital in a coma for a little bit and he did not come home quite the same. I think he had/has memory issues. I don't remember exactly what the infection was...possibly sepcis (sp?). But I do know that after seeing her posts on fb and talking to her last summer about her experience, I would never touch a cat I see outdoors. I believe my neighbor's cat did wander outside alot,too, so maybe that had something to do with it.

But, anyways, that mom sounds violent so I would not want to deal with her.

Agree with this! I think the mom is abusive to the cat, which is not acceptable; however, not knowing who the cat belongs to or whether it has had shots (particularly rabies) would be of a concern to me and I wouldn't want dc kids exposed. As you say, cats can scratch and in some cases it can cause serious infections. Just not worth the risk. The best and kindest way to discourage the cat from coming on your property is to spray it with water when you see it.

[Cat Herder]

The best and kindest way to discourage the cat from coming on your property is to spray it with water when you see it.

Please don't do that...it is winter.

Call a local shelter/rescue group, they will come out and pick him/her up.

[countrymom]

acually, go to the store and buy some ammonia, its about 2 dollars a bottle. Just pour it around your door and trash cans and anywhere else, the cats and any other wild animals will avoid your area because they don't like the smell of ammonia. THEY DON'T LICK IT, IT WILL NOT HURT THEM ITS THE SMELL THEY DON'T LIKE. It works great. we have a problem with raccoons and possums and wild dogs and they don't come near the door or trash because of the smell. The smell to humans is almost invisible, you do have to redoe if its a hard rain but its good to go.

[mac60]

When she said "dump", I assumed she meant take to the country and let loose. That is exactly what the police told us to do here, but that was before the cat ordinance went into effect.

[Snapdragon]

Please don't do that...it is winter.

Call a local shelter/rescue group, they will come out and pick him/her up.

Ooops! You're right; it's been so mild this winter where I am that I forgot about that I think the OP did say she had contacted a shelter, but that she was told that cats do roam around.