Posted on 05/24/2009 2:34:10 PM PDT by JoeProBono
LODI, Calif. -- A community controversy is brewing in Lodi.
A neighbor posted a sign with the words, "Hit a cat, I'll hit your kid." Some neighbors said they are concerned their children's lives are being threatened.
"Basically what this is saying is: Hit a cat and I'll hit your kid," said Tina Teixeira.
Teixeira got a lot of attention after she put the sign up in front of her West Elm Street home in Lodi.
"You don't want me to hit your kid so don't hit mine. You hurt mine, that is just like if I went over and ran over your kid. Basically, that is what I was intending," said Teixeira.
Teixeira said she decided to take action after a driver ran over and killed her cat on the bike lane on Friday.
Some parents were outraged over her cardboard note.
"Basically she is threatening to hit people's kids," said concerned neighbor Joann Larsen.
"One parent said that I was psychotic," said Teixeira.
Teixeira said she wanted to shock drivers, not harm their kids.
Teixeira said she knows her sign would upset people but she put it up because she is tired of people driving 65 mph on a 35 mph zone.
She said she noticed some cars slowing down and reading her sign so she wrote a new sign.
"After burying the cat and calming down a little bit ... (I realized) that it was a little shock value. It got attention for people, so I thought that I would put it in more understanding terms," said Teixeira.
The revised sign reads: I watch for your kids, so please watch out for mine.
"That is the whole point here is to stop hurting animals," said Teixeira.
Teixeira said she isn't shy about yelling at drivers and even her neighbors. She said she even mentioned she spit on someone to protect her cats.
Only one neighbor wanted to talk about her sign on camera. Others said they wanted to avoid any problems.
"I do like that she changed it," Larsen said.
The animal lover said she can only hope she can keep her cats from losing another life.
Teixeira said some of her feral cats don't like to stay indoors.
She said she hopes her sign will get city leaders to install speed bumps in her neighborhood, which is right near a school.
Hell! there isnt a place in Ca you can drive 65 if you tried! it cant be done on the freeway!
Well maybe out in the desert
LOL - Free Cat... I posted that on the ebay blogs and I got so much crap, they started accusing me of 1. Killing cats, 2. killing animals, 3. molesting children, you name it, they even wanted to report me to the police. Just the pic with title “Free Cat” and the whole ebay blogs when nuke on me.
I thought it was funny... the free cat pic.
I had a few cats. ONE died of old age
A coworker of mine sent that to another (cat-loving) coworker. Second coworker has been afraid to open email from first coworker ever since.
I had a cat named “Tiny” She was a good russian blue.
I had to go out to sea, and while I was gone she got in a cat fight and got an infection.
My roommates found her dead under the Christmas tree just before they had to go to sea. What did they do? They shoved her in the deep freeze in a bag, as the thrash didnt come around for a week.
I come home, after A 16 hr plus plane flight and find an empty house with a brown Christmas tree and a frozen cat in the fridge.
Maybe I should sue?
It is always open season on cats that leave their owners yards. When they do so, they are strays.
It doesn’t say a car crossed into the bike lane. It says a CAT was in the BIKE lane
I guess a kid on a bike has 3 options when bearing down on a cat in the bike lane.
Dodge into traffic
Bolt over the curb and hope for the best.
Stay steady on course and hope for the best.
Fluffy does not enter the equation.
Animals and bicycles dont always mix.
We had a Dobe(13 of them to be exact), My Brother took her out on the leash on a bike, and when he was braking, she went ramshackle into the spokes.
Lessons were learned, and gladly the Pooch wasnt hurt to badly. Brother recovered as well...Almost L0L
I am not responsible for other people's irresponsible procreation.
Keep your dirty little children out of the street and my cats will stay stay in my yard.
The boy aint right ☺
"Hit a cat, I'll hit your kid."Oh. Really?
"Basically what this is saying is: Hit a cat and I'll hit your kid," said Tina Teixeira.
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