Posted on 07/01/2009 7:11:49 PM PDT by Chet 99
BOSTON -- The beating death of a cat in front of shocked children prompted protests Sunday in Worcester.
A group of people gathered in front of the city police department, demanding police put Tom Foley behind bars.
Foley admittedly beat a cat named Lily to death in front of several children on Friday.
The owner, Lisa Tuttle, said her cat Lily had just given birth to a litter of kittens and may have been feeling territorial when she charged Foley's dog and scratched Foley several days earlier on Dupuis Avenue.
"I just came out. I saw the cat in a pool of blood, my daughter screaming," neighbor Lisa Tuttle said. Witnesses said at least one adult and four horrified children saw Foley beat the cat to death with a stick.
[Lisa Tuttle, cat's owner] Lisa Tuttle, cat's owner More "I think it's an awful crime that he did it in front of kids. I think it shows his lack of humanity. I think that these kids are going to be traumatized," protest organizer Jaqueline Corliss said.
Foley, of Stoneham Road in Worcester, claimed he was defending himself from the seven-pound cat.
He has not been charged.
The College of Holy Cross put Foley on paid leave from his job as a public safety officer.
The Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals law enforcement department is actively investigating the incident and asked any witnesses to any animal cruelty to contact them directly at: 617-522-6008 or 800-628-5808.
Animal cruelty is a felony in Massachusetts punishable by a fine up to $2,500 and up to five years in prison.
Ridiculous.
Cats are animals that can be on more occasions than not feral. Lets not even discuss Persian cats. I was routinely attacked by my X’s Himalayan cat, Charlie. I finally got fed up and kicked it across the house w/out remorse. Stephy’s family understood why I did it, and I will do it again if any feline acts in that manner again. For crying out loud...their claws are full of cat sh!t!!!
Amen.
> If a cat came scratching at me, I most likely would kick or beat the cat, too.
You can’t be serious. I hate cats — I’m a dog owner — but I can’t envisage a situation where I might kick or beat a domestic cat. Certainly not to death, and certainly not in front of children. Would you really do that? I don’t believe it.
A full-on Feral cat might be a different story: for one thing it would be much bigger than 7 lbs, and for another thing it would be a matter of self-defense. But feral cats — the real ones — are in short supply in Worcester, Massachusetts: there are none. In this case we’re talking about a 7 lb domestic kitty who had just given birth to kittens. Somebody’s pet.
Pretty shameful act, even if you don’t like cats.
Fawn — ping
Dawn — apologies for the ping: finger slipped.
Agreed. Sheesh. He should have been beaten to a bloody pulp, THEN thrown in for 5 years.
No this was an act of vengeance!
JJ61
I suppose if he’d have killed, butchered, and stir fried it for dinner he’d be OK.
Yes, I am serious. If a cat came scratching at me, my immediate reaction would be to kick or beat the cat, even if my own children were watching. I believe anyone would have the same reaction.
As I said, there could be more to the story. Someone here said he went back later to beat the cat to death; if so, then the story is different. But, if he’s beating a cat away from him and his dog, then he’s justified.
I grew up next door to relatives who had a houseful of pets at one point. Among other animals, there were three cats and a cute, friendly puppy. Those cats were mean. They hung together, constantly chasing and attacking the dog. The dog was afraid of them. Some cats are mean, and they will scratch someone up. Don’t be fooled by their appearance. ;-)
> I suppose if he’d have killed, butchered, and stir fried it for dinner he’d be OK.
A domestic pet? Slaughtered and cooked for dinner? In front of children??
All kidding aside, that wouldn’t be a very good thing for children to see, would it?
That is not a cat, its Kitler
> Yes, I am serious. If a cat came scratching at me, my immediate reaction would be to kick or beat the cat, even if my own children were watching. I believe anyone would have the same reaction.
I don’t like cats and I don’t have any time for them as pets.
If a cat came scratching at me I might send it on its way with a nudge with my boot — not hard enough to kill it or even injure it — or I might pick it up by the scruff of its neck, give it a shake and toss it to one side. Or more likely I’d ignore it because a 7 lb domestic cat against a 250 lb domestic galloot just isn’t a fair fight and the cat knows it.
I wouldn’t harm the cat in front of the kids because kids don’t need to see that. The world is full enough of ugly behavior without kids learning animal cruelty from me.
He never said that whatsoever, stop grandstanding. It was just an animal as he said and that jail term is outrageous IMHO. People like you give ammo to those that scream against hunting. He should of just filed a complaint with the city, then had the animal either locked up or it's head cut off for a rabies check.
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45 posted on Wednesday, July 01, 2009 12:41:31 PM by Jim Robinson (Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/jimrobfr)
When I was a young boy if I expected to get a chicken dinner, fried rabbit, or a hamburger I had to pluck feathers, skin a rabbit, or help gut out a cow.
And yes, they were pets; and yes, we ate them.
Real brave. I hope he goes to the pen. He can tell the other convicts what he's in for. That should get him the respect he deserves.
Damn! That’s sick. An innocent little domestic animal that really couldn’t fight back.
> He never said that whatsoever, stop grandstanding.
No, let’s be precise: he said that I was crazy (for believing a 10 year sentence w/o parole was more appropriate) and that it was only an animal not a human. As if that makes a dam’n bit of difference: subhuman behavior is subhuman behavior no matter what its victim happens to be.
His previous post showed that he didn’t believe the act even warranted a maximum of five years sentence.
Perhaps you should stop grandstanding instead.
> It was just an animal as he said and that jail term is outrageous IMHO.
Outrageously short IMHO. It was more than “just” an animal, it was somebody’s pet: a domestic cat, to be precise.
> People like you give ammo to those that scream against hunting.
What a perfectly idiotic thing to say. As if hunters would stoop so low as to beat a cat to death in front of kids.
> He should of just filed a complaint with the city, then had the animal either locked up or it’s head cut off for a rabies check.
Yup, that’s the law. And assuming that the Animal Control Officer could stop his arse from falling off while he was rolling on the floor laughing at the complainant, that is what should have been done.
Beating a domestic cat to death in front of kids? Do you think that was the appropriate thing to do here?
If so, you’re a sicko too
If not, then what legal sanction do you believe appropriate?
The dweeb CAME BACK after the scratching to beat down the cat. This is no “self defense” this is vengeance.
It’s possible what you might consider a “nudge” with your boot, someone else might see as a “kick”.
Whatever the case, if I were your size, I might react the same way you would. As a woman who is smaller, I can see myself kicking or beating the cat away. As I said, I saw what cats can do. I don’t think this cat simply hissed and took a swipe at the man and his dog and then ran off. I’m assuming it scratched them up.
Of course, a cat hasn’t done that to me personally, so this is all talk. If I’m ever attacked by a cat, I’ll let you know what I actually end up doing (probably something like running away screaming). ;-)
> The dweeb CAME BACK after the scratching to beat down the cat. This is no “self defense” this is vengeance.
Even more shameful. Neighbor from Hell, ay! Amazing there are people on this thread who defend this guy.
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