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Children are not responsible for their actions because they are biologically incapable of The foresight to predict consequences. And maybe you should do a little reading before spouting off knee jerk reaction type posts.
1. 7 yos are not even capable of the type of abstract reasoning to understand why things are morally wrong. Literally their brains do not develop that until the teen years.
How on EARTH could this kid know that this is wrong when wrong is done to her? She was hurting the cat because it was "mean". I wonder how often that has been done to her?
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Originally Posted by lkb0714
2. How many 7yo girls can you name or even google who have ever killed someone? More than hugely premature to label this child a serial killer.
3. I have two cats, two dogs all rescued from abuse situations. I am very aware of what is and is not abuse. Poking at a cat under a dresser is not th same thing as burning one with a cigarette (as had been done to one of mine), mutilating one (as is common in "sociopaths/ASD") or a variety of other thing that truly earn the name torture.
So yes take the cat someplace safe, get the child some much needed help, but enough already with the wacko over reactions.
Amen, sistah.
Last edited by JustJulia; 03-21-2012 at 08:03 AM..
Reason: fixed quote tag
While animal torture is A (not the only) sign of psychopathy, not every child who abuses animals will go on to become a psychopath. Regardless, it is a troubling behavior that indicates that the girl is having difficulty in life and it is completely unfair to the animal that is the victim of her attention. We can say the child needs help and the cat needs out of the situation without spinning theories of the girl ending up on the six o'clock news, y'know?
Were they just poking the cat? Thinking it was funny making noises when they did? Or were they actually physically hurting the cat, torturing it physically? I'm a little unclear about the act. The fact that the girl wanted to keep doing this behavior I think has more to do with defying an adult, not enjoying the cats pain. It sounds like they weren't thinking about hurting it but more making the cat howl. While that isn't a great thing and they should be taught about animal behavior but it isn't psychopath behavior, it's unsupervised bratty kid behavior.
I'd like a clearer picture of what actually occurred with the cat. Is it equivalent to little boys throwing rocks at a bunch of birds or is it equivalent to a kid capturing the cat and burning it or hanging it? What are we talking about here?
So, you don't worry about the child who is probably being abused herself?
Seriously, while I love cats, I am just as concerned about any 7 year old child who is abusing a cat.
Both the cat and the child need to be out of the situation and need real help.
I didn't say I was unconcerned for this child. I said I wasn't worrying whether she would be a serial killer. I am just facing the issue at hand, the one where there is evidence. The Op sees the cat being mistreated. Those are the facts. If this child is indeed being abused then I would love to see her get help. If she acts out in school or shows signs of abuse, there are people on staff who will report it. If the OP knows of her being abused he/she can report it. Who will protect and step in for this cat? He doesn't get to go to school and interact with other adults. No one will notice signs and symtoms of abuse.
Were they just poking the cat? Thinking it was funny making noises when they did? Or were they actually physically hurting the cat, torturing it physically? I'm a little unclear about the act. The fact that the girl wanted to keep doing this behavior I think has more to do with defying an adult, not enjoying the cats pain. It sounds like they weren't thinking about hurting it but more making the cat howl. While that isn't a great thing and they should be taught about animal behavior but it isn't psychopath behavior, it's unsupervised bratty kid behavior.
I'd like a clearer picture of what actually occurred with the cat. Is it equivalent to little boys throwing rocks at a bunch of birds or is it equivalent to a kid capturing the cat and burning it or hanging it? What are we talking about here?
We have had two cats for many, many years. My child has had numerous friends here over the years. Never once has anyone poked the cats or did anything to hear them make noise. All the kids who come here just want to pet the cats in a loving way. That is what normal kids do.
May. Probably. Not very compelling. You link to a national government site. Never say all, but I would venture all states have their own laws covering child abuse and neglect. The truth of the matter is there is just no way to know WHAT a child protective services organization can or will do toward protecting children since in may states, for right or for wrong, the protection of the child even supersedes any kind of due process for the parent.
I didn't say the OP shouldn't call, I just said that emotional abuse is very hard to prove. Most states do have their own laws, based on the Federal policies.
the OP doesn't seem to want to get involved with calling any agencies because it will take too much time and it sounds as if the OP has called animal control before and they did nothing so he/she doesn't think they will do anything now.
As of now the only thing you CAN do is help the cats.
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I just said that emotional abuse is very hard to prove. Most states do have their own laws, based on the Federal policies.
Proving is not the job of the reporter. It is the job of the investigator.
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the OP doesn't seem to want to get involved with calling any agencies because it will take too much time
And to the OP, if this is the case, and to many of the other posters on this tread, Shame on You for being more concerned for the well being of a CAT than a human child.
Were they just poking the cat? Thinking it was funny making noises when they did? Or were they actually physically hurting the cat, torturing it physically? I'm a little unclear about the act. The fact that the girl wanted to keep doing this behavior I think has more to do with defying an adult, not enjoying the cats pain. It sounds like they weren't thinking about hurting it but more making the cat howl. While that isn't a great thing and they should be taught about animal behavior but it isn't psychopath behavior, it's unsupervised bratty kid behavior.
I'd like a clearer picture of what actually occurred with the cat. Is it equivalent to little boys throwing rocks at a bunch of birds or is it equivalent to a kid capturing the cat and burning it or hanging it? What are we talking about here?
This was the second incident I noticed...the cat yowled and violently hissed for a long time over and over...probably at least an hour the first time and the second it was 45 minutes when I went in to see what was upsetting the cat. Cats don't yowl and hiss for 45 minutes to an hour...usually it's once, twice, maybe 3x and they're done. Even when I walked into the room with the two girls and the cats, the dtr did not stop, she was rapidly and forcefully poking and sliding a 3 or 4 ft long dowel under the bureau trying to hit the cat with it. And, yes, given this girl's conversation, attitude, and body language, she was indeed trying to hurt the cat. The cat was crying out because of what she was doing. The cat is acting extra cautious around me since this happened. PTSD.
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