I found this video on Youtube recently, it's not graphic. But it angered me anyway and a lot of people defended it. I was curious to see what people thought: I would have to personally say, it was abuse. I looked at the kittens body language and it was obviously terrified and huddled. Yes, the dog thought it was a game, but the kittens back was arched and tail stiff. The owners deliberately poked it so they obviously weren't allowing it to run when it thinks there's a threat in front of it which leads to fight instinct in animals. Even tame ones. I have seen this happen before where I went to my godmothers relatives house and they had a cat. The cat loved people, it was rolling around on the floor, playful and very sweet. When the owners came home, he turned into a terrified, cornered animal. They teased it and at one point surrounded it and cornered it to the point where it fled into the basement. They thought it was a game and thought it was hilarious while I watched sickened. The cat years later at my godmothers house who spoils her cats rotten was still terrified of guests and hid under the bed whenever they came over. So what do you think, is it abuse or play what's going on? EDIT: Sorry about the screencap, it's not my choice on what it comes out as. ><
It's hard for some people to tell what's going on in an animal's mind. I personally agree the cat looks scared. Especially when it's back is to the wall (or whatever that is). I personally would have gotten the cat away from the dog because I don't think it would come back towards it unless it really was playing. Some may argue that it would run if it was scared and not playing but you can be almost paralyzed by fear. Not wanting to move or look away because you're too scared. They clearly state that the cat is nervous but then brush it off as the cat has to learn how to not be scared of it which I disagree with. This comment particularly got me Pfisiar22 1 day ago The kitten is clearly nervous about the big loud dog. It is cautious, but not terrified. The dog is clearly trying to play and be friendly. The cat has to learn the dog's body language at some point. If the cat is in no actual danger, what's the problem? They state that the cat is nervous but then brush it off as the cat has to learn how to not be scared of it which I disagree with. People can be scared when there may or may not be danger so animals can be too.
Another thing that really got to me is the barking. I have very sensitive ears. To the point where I can hear a dog whistle going off in a movie and/or in real life. I've had this since I was a little kid and honestly didn't know that I wasn't supposed to hear the dog whistle until my teens and was very surprised to hear that I wasn't supposed it. My mom blew a dog whistle in a room I was in and I heard it as clear as day and my mom said that wasn't possible. The thing is with me, is when I'm close to dogs that bark, it REALLY hurts my ears. My eardrums start rattling very hard and I can actually hear it. If I'm around a lot of dogs a long time that are barking, it really hurts my ears after a short time and sometimes I can go insane with the pain and it actually scares me. I used to work at a veterinary hospital and after a while with four dogs there I couldn't stand the noise anymore and had to leave early. The kitten is standing there next to a huge, loud barking dog in a concrete garage where the noise is bouncing and echoing back to it. I can't imagine how painful it is for the kitten to be exposed to that for a few seconds let alone a few minutes.
I was going to say this was harmless play between a cat and a dog, well a kitten and a dog, but then I saw the guys hand reach into view. It looked like he was blatantly teasing the cat. I consider that a form of abuse. If he would've just left it be, then it looked like play. The dog, from what I could tell, was bearing no malevolent intentions towards the kitten. Of course the kitten was frightened a bit by the loud noise, what was child isn't? I'm going with abuse. It looked like this guy was obviously blocking this kitten to get a 'good' laugh.
Play. I know it can be tough to see animals treated this way. Heck, today I some some idiot yelling at his dog to stop barking, repeatedly saying "NO. SHUT UP. NO. NO. SHUSH. NO. NO." in a commanding matter. It was funny and stupid hearing him. But what made me more mad was the way the dog yelped for some reason. I guess he like dragged the doggie or something but come on. I wouldn't treat my dog like that (it ran away). As long as the cat is fine I don't see a problem with it. I've seen far worse things with nature and this is nothing.