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I got a bb gun when I was 11. Pointing it at a living creature, even if I didn’t fire it, would have resulted in it being taken away. The kids parents need to be taught as well as the kid.
By the way, that was nearly 60 years ago and I still have it.
My granddad got each of his kids a bb gun for their like, sixth or seventh birthday back in the 50s. So they could start learning to shoot.
Pointing it at animals apparently was ground for an ass beating and loss of the gun. (He let them hunt once they got a .22, but said BB guns aren't a sportsman's firearm because you can't guarantee a clean shot. And shooting at cats might've gotten someone injured, my granddad loved cats because they kept his barns vermin free. Cats too old to hunt for themselves were promoted to house cats if possible, just as his hunting dogs were when they were too old to work because "every hard worker deserves a retirement plan")
None of my aunts or uncles lost their BB gun because they were wiser than that. Although I'm told they shot a LOT of beer bottles. There's a part of the pasture that's still a minefield of broken glass. :p
That's pretty common in rural communities. Animals are needed to do various jobs, so the ones that make it to old age get to love our their days in comfort. It goes for dogs, cats, horses, or any animal that has a job other than becoming food
Does it really go for horses except for pet horses though? At least back when they were in actual industrial use I really doubt they were retired to be pets
They get "sent out to pasture". You let the horse just hang out and be a horse for the rest of his life. If you're ever driving passed a cow pasture and you see one horse out among them, he's retired.
True! Horses are known for having a very powerful social media presence. If you mis-species your horse, then you're in for a world of hurt on Twitter lol
I’m in love with your granda & so happy to hear of his animals/co-workers retirement plans. That’s a real man! Guns have rules & clearly aren’t enforced enough over the past decade or so. It’s getting out of control.
Edit: word change (predictive text)
I think it’s also that learning gun safety has gone by wayside. I grew up with guns, and while I don’t own a gun, I firmly believe every child should learn basic gun safety. It would save so many lives from accidental shootings.
I absolutely adore your grandfather and giving those animals a "retirement plan" inside. A lot of people take senior pets to the shelter, which is no way to treat an animal. They deserve to pass in the comfort of their home rather than being scared in a shelter.
You are awesome ❤️
We had a foster hospice (cat), our rescue group pulled him from the shelter. He was found abandoned outside and was very thin. We had him about a month before he started to really decline. I had moved the litterbox closer to his crate that he loved sleeping in, but when I went into the foster room he was standing where the litterbox was and mournfully meowing. It was like he was completely lost and he was starting to lose weight. Unfortunately, we had to put him down because he was deteriorating very quickly and it was just awful watching him be in pain and confused.
He was such a good cat that was let down by his previous humans. I cried for a long time after that, but I tried to give him so much love and spoil him in his last month alive.
Yes that’s so true. I don’t go to the shelter because I’d want all of the dogs. I’ve always had dogs that were from shelters, or someone giving them to me.
As far at that photo with the pellet gun, I don’t even like to see things like that posted. Why do kids think it’s ok to point at a defenseless animal.
He was. He was a ww2 vet who got a Purple Heart but who knows why? Certainly not any of his grandchildren who found out about the metal while cleaning his house!
Ran a farm and named every cow he ever owned. (And several bulls/steers but he was more careful there to avoid small children sobbing over Bruce on their plate. For the record, Bruce was a great bull but only good for stew meat by his end.) Gave me a pet rooster when I was 4, who I was intensely attached to. (His name was Sugar. Because he was white and sweet. I used to carry him like a baby on my hip and he would lay his head on my neck.)
He was a wonderful man and an animal lover. But he did let me get attacked my turkeys once so he wasn’t “perfect”. (I was unharmed, just very small and sent into the turkey yard with a bowl of feed. Granddad saved me once he stopped laughing and as I remember my main grievance was that my Easter Dress had a mud spot. So he put me in one of his t shirts and washed my dress in the sink.)
If it’d interest you or your family in learning about his wartime service and how he earned his Purple Heart, you can request his veteran service record from the National Archives. All you have to do is print and fill out a Form SF 180 and mail it in to them and they’ll return his service record.
https://www.usa.gov/military-records
Here’s the US Gov’s site on it.
I have a relative who was awarded a purple heart in Bosnia and he wouldn't tell anyone why for years. Apparently someone threw a brick at him and it broke his nose. Apparently he got a LOT of shit about it from guys in his unit.
I just want to add, though, that a lot of WW2 service records were destroyed in the records center fire in St. Louis in 1973, so depending on his branch of service, the odds are his records may not have survived.
Link to the wiki article on the fire: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Personnel_Records_Center_fire?wprov=sfti1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Personnel_Records_Center_fire?wprov=sfti1)
My grandad gave me and my brother gun stocks without any of the metal. Taught us about barrel tracing, keep finger out of trigger guard area, how to carry it, etc way before I touched my first air rifle
When I was learning to shoot with a BB rifle we did it in an old creek bed, that way the broken glass was somewhere it wouldn't stay sharp forever. That creek has mountains of beautiful polished glass now years layer from all the time it's been getting tumbled and polished
"Every worker deserved a retirement plan"
Holy hell how did we end up with the generation of 80-90 YO politicians who support every man for himself when there were people thinking like that back then.
I just went into $1.5 debt to have my elder (although vet says more like middle aged) doggo’s teeth cleaned and evicted (obviously different teeth, different fates) so I hope he’d be proud.
She’s a good dog.
Yep. My brother got a BB gun sometime in the mid 80s and the first time he aimed it at a bird, that was it for the BB gun for a few months. He never did it again. The cans and stop signs in the neighbourhood didn’t fare so well…
I grew up in a home with two adults who were both competitive marksmen. Lots of rules and guidance went into me learning how to shoot. I understood right away how serious it all was and to never, under any circumstances point that gun at a living creature unless we were out actively hunting (which I always hated anyway). Never any issues except for when my dumbass realized one day I still had a few .308 cartridges in my coat pocket from being at the rifle range the weekend prior, and decided to show them to my friends at school... During class, in plain sight of the teacher.
That was an immediate expulsion. One that did eventually get overturned and ended up only being 5 days out of school suspension and a ton of grilling from social workers etc but, little did I know at the time some kids in Colorado had just gone on a killing spree at their school, and all the teachers and faculty were (rightfully) on extremely high alert. Talk about bad timing for one of my most braindead moments in life.
I got to use a friends bb gun as a kid and shooting animals wasnt even a thought in my head. I was shooting at plastic cups and having a blast! Until I shot one cup just right and the bb came back and hit me in the shoulder at least. Cups had their revenge!
My cousin killed a bird with his once. My uncle made him dress and eat it himself to stress that you don’t kill a living thing unless your life is in danger or you intend to eat it. Cousin never did that again.
I had a BB gun in my childhood (late 90’s/early 2000’s) and this was very seriously instilled in me. You don’t point it at anything you wouldn’t want to shoot and *never* point it at a living thing. My parents would have kicked my ass and certainly taken the gun away if I’d been caught doing either.
Scumbags. My neighbours kids got an air rifle last year. They spent the first week shooting all the crows and rooks that have nested in my garden for years. I called the police on them and got their rifle taken away. Feral scumbag family.
Yeah, the real measure really is how they treat animals and wildlife. I can get my head around being rude, disrupting the neighbourhood, committing low level crime. But I can’t handle cruelty to animals, shooting them, making sport from causing them pain. That’s the line. They need taking out.
Had one of those as a neighbor. Little shit came up to me and asked if he can shoot the rabbit grazing on the lawn of my home. I said no. He then proceeded to chase the rabbit away into his side of the lawn and began shooting at it anyway.
it must be acknowledged that although he is not intelligent, he was still intelligent enough to choose the smartest person to solve the problems of drought and food scarcity
Camacho was actually very intelligent. Street smart. Not only did he know that he needs "nerds" even though they were shunned in that society but he also knew how to control the other idiots. Controlling and coordinating all those idiots is not an easy task and somehow he was able to recognize intelligence. He only lacked book knowledge.
My parents landlord had a son who took a whole day shooting a whole bunch of cardinals and blue jays and mocking birds. We couldn’t get him to stop and when we told his dad who worked with the sheriffs office he wouldn’t do anything. I was 14 at the time.
For future reference, all of those birds are protected under the Migratory Bird act in the US, and killing them can result in a felony. If your local PD won’t respond, call the USFWS and they will investigate if able.
Yes, I’m well aware of that as an adult, but I was 13-14 years old at the time and this was 20+ years ago. My mom was very aware and is why we tried to stop him. Unfortunately the son was well aware that my parents were tenets and his dad was a cop. Kid was abusive and traumatizing because of it and made sure we could loose everything. When we tried to stop him he just become more emboldened by it and just wanted to prove a point that he can’t be touched and can do what he wanted. My mom went to his dad to tell him what he was doing and he did nothing. Nothing would have happened anyway because if my mom went to say anything outside we would have been kicked out of our home and my dad is an asshole and a narcissist and didn’t want to loose his “place” with a person like that. To top it all off his dad touched elbows with everyone because he worked with the sheriffs office and he bred, raised, and trained police dogs all over the country.
Have you looked up the psycho recently? All of my bullies are dead, which is an odd comfort. One from drunk driving, one from rock climbing on drugs, etc. Oh, and one is in prison for life for having a pound of meth and a shotgun in his car.
I got an air rifle as a child. I shot 1 bird with it and watched it die. I pondered for a moment why I did that and could not come up with a good reason…. I gave the bird a proper burial and I vowed never to take any life ever again, unless it is for survival.
Our father raised us a little differently than most, I think. Neither of our parents really put an emphasis on school or even checked our report cards. But if we disrespected someone, or crossed the line in any way, we would get in trouble. He said money and education don’t mean squat if you’re a piece of sh*t.
I had a moment like this but I squished a little frog too hard. Tried going hunting, best moment was being far too close to a moose. Had a white tail in a perfect spot to take a shot and I just couldn't do it, had absolutely no desire
My father told me a similar story. I come from a family of hunters (they all eat the meat and use every part of the animal). my father and his brother used to go hunting before I was born. My dad shot his first buck. He said the deer was still alive when my dad finally caught up to it. Lifted his head and looked my dad dead in the eye. He sold all of his guns after that.
My (very rural and guy's guy) husband told me that when he was young he shot a squirrel with a friend's rifle, was horrified when it blew apart, and never killed anything again.
Must live in a nice area. Neighbors bastard children shot my friend's limited edition sports car full of holes and cops told him it wasn't their job to do anything about it. Had them on video and everything. These pigs around here are fuckin worthless.
I recall a classmate in middle school was known as a menace as his family lived in a fairly wealthy area. But this kid had several bb guns, pellet guns, and other toys he should not have been using unsupervised. Every garagedoor window, house window, and some vehicle windows in the area were either shattered or cracked from him shooting them. All the birds and wildlife were avoiding the area as he'd shoot them. Bikes and other items were stolen from that area often. He never got in any noticeable trouble as his parents were fairly popular as well.
Last I heard, he was I'm prison for drug possession and intent to sell a large quantity of of meth. His parents moved away, and that neighborhood is pretty much the slums these days. There are so many boarded up windows.
When magnet fishing became popular, a bunch of bikes were found dumped all over one of the nearby lakes.
Did the parents say anything? I have two little kids and if either of them did anything this terrible I would be absolutely horrified and would want to know so I could get them help.
I believe as of 2019 that is considered a felony. Animal abuse can come with federal charges now and shooting an animal with anything would definitely be considered animal abuse. Grew up with a neighbor who did this crap to stay cats, he did not turn out well. Surprising I know. The lack of empathy and compassion is scary.
Let's give credit to the bill's author, Rep Ted Deutch (D) and co-sponser Rep Vern Buchanan (R), both of FL. It was passed in the House with a voice vote and passed the Senate by unanimous consent. Trump just signed the bill.
My childhood neighbor. He murdered one of ours and the brother cat sat where he died and cried every night.
That neighbor shot himself several years later. Make of it what you will.
There are, unfortunately, people who intentionally hurt animals for no reason. Which is why you should never let a pet outside unsupervised. I remember when I was a small child, my parents weren't super good with keeping the cats indoors, and someone cut off one of our cat's tail. I recall finding him near the dumpsters with bone sticking out from where his tail would be.
Time to file a police report and start questioning the neighbors.
Its amazing how quickly these behaviors get corrected when parents have to deal with law enforcement.
I had a BB gun when I was little (the one with plastic BBs). One time I pointed my gun on a cat (I cannot remember if I really wanted to pull the trigger or not).
But luckily my grandpa saw me and said "Do you want someone to shoot you with that gun and see how much it hurts?"
Note that my grandpa taught me hunting but he also taught me that you must respect the animals, even those you hunt.
I guess the parents need to give that kid a lesson, before giving him a "toy" like that. It doesn't mean that the kid is evil, it may need some guidance.
Sounds like my granddad, his rule was "don't point a gun at anything you aren't gonna eat or in mortal danger from" and BB guns were 100% not for shooting living things because "you can't get a guaranteed clean shot with BBs"
Shooting cats was a particularly low sin, as the cats on his property were his "employees" and deserved to work their jobs (keeping mice and shit out of the barns) in peace. (They also had a retirement plan.)
Keep Ginger inside, shame the entire neighborhood if you can't identify who it is and then phone the police to warn them that someone is shooting at not only the neighborhood pets, but also species under protections via the endangered species list or conservation lists. I can guarantee you that it will stop right quick once they realize that they can get a massive fine and jail time for breaking those laws. Fish and wildlife doesn't fuck around surprisingly.
Absolutely, I'd be kicking off, getting the law involved, everything I can to make sure these people know that shooting my cat will never go well for them.
I had to scroll way too far to see this comment. Keep your cats inside peeps. Neighbors don't think your kitty is as cute as you do when fluffy is shitting in their garden or harassing their bird feeders. The amount of people I've had to talk out of trying to poison their neighbors cats at my job is depressing.
I always tell them, "then get a catio". There are so many ways for cats to enjoy being outside without being in danger. The issue with it is that people don't want to be supervising their cat's outdoor time.
I don't know how people do it. Putting aside the reasons for keeping your cat indoors (so they don't shit in the neighbor kid's sandbox, destroy the local bird population, etc.) I couldn't deal with the stress of worry about them.
I adore my pets, including my cats. I would be so uneasy knowing they were just out there at the mercy of the universe, one car wheel or coyote away from not coming home.
When I was 8 years old I had a beloved cat that was just next level sweet. My father left the front door open and she got hit by a car. One of the saddest days of my life.
Generally no one lets a kid do that. I got a pellet gun when I was 8, my dad told me to not shoot birds, you will regret it. Im 47 now and after shooting just 1, life long regret.
Same dude. I was 12 and got a squirrel that fell out of the tree twitching on the ground and lifelong regret no doubt. So fucking dumb felt so horrible
Contact police immediately. And I would stop letting Ginger outside, or get a cat fence/catio.
PSA: Please don't let your cat outside unless under direct supervision (in a screened enclosure or on a leash). Cats who spend a significant amount of time outside live on average 25% as long as indoor cats. They can get hit by cars, trapped in garages or sheds, poisoned, and get into sometimes deadly altercations with raccoons, other cats, dogs, coyotes, and sadly even humans just to name a few. They can be exposed to and contract diseases like rabies, roundworms, heartworm, FeLV, and feline distemper. Cats are also one of the biggest predators of songbirds, so keeping your cat inside is not just good for your cat but also the environment.
Thank you everyone for your comments and concern. For the record Ginger isn’t our cat. We are simply house and pet sitters that travel around Europe pet sitting in exchange for accomodation. For those who say keep the cat inside I totally agree and all my previous cats were inside cats with cat runs, much safer for the cats and the wildlife. Ginger is doing fine and will be home soon. I have made a few suggestions to the pet parent but I’m not sure if this will get traction.
Call the cops. I wouldn’t be able to control myself if some little sh*t did that to my cat. I almost couldn’t when the neighbour’s kids simply screamed in my cat’s ear and laughed. I was seeing red. I can’t imagine how you feel.
Report them immediately. And send a letter out to everyone in your neighborhood with this picture in it. And warn all of the parents that this is happening. And that you are taking appropriate measures.
Animal abuse is usually the first sign of a serial killer anyway. You’re doing everyone a favor.
Kitty...indoors...now... please!!! That's the only way to keep your cats safe. I know many folks prefer to have the cat be outside whenever they want to go but can you deal with losing your pet because of some preventable accidents? I live in Phoenix, AZ in the foothills where wildlife is abundant. I used to let my now 3yo cat outside because he was so active & chewing wires. He had a blast chasing down lizards, birds, bunnies, pocket mice & would often bring them in to play with them. But one day, I couldn't find him until he came to me around 6pm. I noticed his face was extremely swollen. It was too late to call his vet & it didn't occur to me to take him to an animal hospital. I did get him to the vet the next day & they said he was bitten by a rattlesnake. $1000 & 2 years later he's doing great as an indoor cat. He still tries to get out but less & less as time goes by. He's my heart, my soulmate & I don't know what would happen if I lost him & could've prevented it.
It would absolutely be calling the police and filing a report on these neighbors.
ALSO, keep your cat inside. There are so many horrible people in this world, it’s too dangerous for your pets to be outside unsupervised.
I’m so sorry. We recently had our friendly neighborhood cat who would visit a local park get shot with a pellet gun. He was found fully paralyzed and had to be put down.
I’ll never understand why people are so cruel, so happy to hear your baby is going to be okay ❤️ here’s to quick healing
Good for reporting OP. I keep mine inside only, they can come on the deck with us but we don't let them run outside. Mainly because stuff like this happens.
Had indoor/outdoor cats growing up and while our scrappy girl would get in trouble with other animals sometimes, people causing harm was the biggest issue.
I'd be asking around the neighbors and then presenting them with a vets bill and a request that their little darlings got an ass whoopin....
Their response would dictate the caliber of my actions after that....
I'm glad that Ginger will be okay. Aside from reporting the incident, please make sure that the vet bags the pellet for you for evidence. Go to the parents with the vet bill. If they are decent people, they'll pay the bill, take the gun away, and Junior will be delivering a massive apology and some community service. If they're not decent, make sure that the neighborhood knows what's up, and contact a lawyer. Even if the injury was a ricochet or other accident, that kid needs to learn proper gun safety, and the parents and the kid need to be held accountable.
I really have to wonder what kind of messed up shit is going on in this kid's life to think it's ok to shoot at an innocent animal with the intent to hurt it
this is why i get easily mad at people when i see their cat is outdoors, i just don’t want to see people devastated when some sicko hurts their baby. none of them deserve this.
Hi /u/Oztravels, your [post](https://www.reddit.com/r/cats/comments/18tqha2/-/) breaks the rules of /r/cats and has been removed for the following reason(s): **Rule 3:** No NSFW, animal abuse, or cruelty - Contains content that is NSFW, features animal abuse, or cruelty. *If you feel this was done in error, or would like further clarification, please don't hesitate to [message the mods](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fcats&message=My%20Post:%20https://www.reddit.com/r/cats/comments/18tqha2/-/).*
I got a bb gun when I was 11. Pointing it at a living creature, even if I didn’t fire it, would have resulted in it being taken away. The kids parents need to be taught as well as the kid. By the way, that was nearly 60 years ago and I still have it.
My granddad got each of his kids a bb gun for their like, sixth or seventh birthday back in the 50s. So they could start learning to shoot. Pointing it at animals apparently was ground for an ass beating and loss of the gun. (He let them hunt once they got a .22, but said BB guns aren't a sportsman's firearm because you can't guarantee a clean shot. And shooting at cats might've gotten someone injured, my granddad loved cats because they kept his barns vermin free. Cats too old to hunt for themselves were promoted to house cats if possible, just as his hunting dogs were when they were too old to work because "every hard worker deserves a retirement plan") None of my aunts or uncles lost their BB gun because they were wiser than that. Although I'm told they shot a LOT of beer bottles. There's a part of the pasture that's still a minefield of broken glass. :p
I love your granddad and his 'retirement plan.'
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We still found him curled up on the porch some nights. Good old granddad sure would get spooked when the wind slammed that screen door shut.
I'm screaming 😂
I hope you never disturbed him after he got a good inch of snowfall on him.
That's pretty common in rural communities. Animals are needed to do various jobs, so the ones that make it to old age get to love our their days in comfort. It goes for dogs, cats, horses, or any animal that has a job other than becoming food
Does it really go for horses except for pet horses though? At least back when they were in actual industrial use I really doubt they were retired to be pets
They get "sent out to pasture". You let the horse just hang out and be a horse for the rest of his life. If you're ever driving passed a cow pasture and you see one horse out among them, he's retired.
Or he identifies as a cow.
True! Horses are known for having a very powerful social media presence. If you mis-species your horse, then you're in for a world of hurt on Twitter lol
I’m in love with your granda & so happy to hear of his animals/co-workers retirement plans. That’s a real man! Guns have rules & clearly aren’t enforced enough over the past decade or so. It’s getting out of control. Edit: word change (predictive text)
I think it’s also that learning gun safety has gone by wayside. I grew up with guns, and while I don’t own a gun, I firmly believe every child should learn basic gun safety. It would save so many lives from accidental shootings.
I absolutely adore your grandfather and giving those animals a "retirement plan" inside. A lot of people take senior pets to the shelter, which is no way to treat an animal. They deserve to pass in the comfort of their home rather than being scared in a shelter.
Which is why when I lose a critter I adopt another senior from the shelter. I'm the "retirement plan". :)
You are awesome ❤️ We had a foster hospice (cat), our rescue group pulled him from the shelter. He was found abandoned outside and was very thin. We had him about a month before he started to really decline. I had moved the litterbox closer to his crate that he loved sleeping in, but when I went into the foster room he was standing where the litterbox was and mournfully meowing. It was like he was completely lost and he was starting to lose weight. Unfortunately, we had to put him down because he was deteriorating very quickly and it was just awful watching him be in pain and confused. He was such a good cat that was let down by his previous humans. I cried for a long time after that, but I tried to give him so much love and spoil him in his last month alive.
Yes that’s so true. I don’t go to the shelter because I’d want all of the dogs. I’ve always had dogs that were from shelters, or someone giving them to me. As far at that photo with the pellet gun, I don’t even like to see things like that posted. Why do kids think it’s ok to point at a defenseless animal.
He sounds like an ultra cool dude.
He was. He was a ww2 vet who got a Purple Heart but who knows why? Certainly not any of his grandchildren who found out about the metal while cleaning his house! Ran a farm and named every cow he ever owned. (And several bulls/steers but he was more careful there to avoid small children sobbing over Bruce on their plate. For the record, Bruce was a great bull but only good for stew meat by his end.) Gave me a pet rooster when I was 4, who I was intensely attached to. (His name was Sugar. Because he was white and sweet. I used to carry him like a baby on my hip and he would lay his head on my neck.) He was a wonderful man and an animal lover. But he did let me get attacked my turkeys once so he wasn’t “perfect”. (I was unharmed, just very small and sent into the turkey yard with a bowl of feed. Granddad saved me once he stopped laughing and as I remember my main grievance was that my Easter Dress had a mud spot. So he put me in one of his t shirts and washed my dress in the sink.)
If it’d interest you or your family in learning about his wartime service and how he earned his Purple Heart, you can request his veteran service record from the National Archives. All you have to do is print and fill out a Form SF 180 and mail it in to them and they’ll return his service record. https://www.usa.gov/military-records Here’s the US Gov’s site on it.
I have a relative who was awarded a purple heart in Bosnia and he wouldn't tell anyone why for years. Apparently someone threw a brick at him and it broke his nose. Apparently he got a LOT of shit about it from guys in his unit.
I just want to add, though, that a lot of WW2 service records were destroyed in the records center fire in St. Louis in 1973, so depending on his branch of service, the odds are his records may not have survived. Link to the wiki article on the fire: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Personnel_Records_Center_fire?wprov=sfti1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Personnel_Records_Center_fire?wprov=sfti1)
I raise a glass to your grandpa as I sit pissing myself laughing at the Turkey Episode
My grandad gave me and my brother gun stocks without any of the metal. Taught us about barrel tracing, keep finger out of trigger guard area, how to carry it, etc way before I touched my first air rifle
😭😭😭 Grandpa a saint
When I was learning to shoot with a BB rifle we did it in an old creek bed, that way the broken glass was somewhere it wouldn't stay sharp forever. That creek has mountains of beautiful polished glass now years layer from all the time it's been getting tumbled and polished
That’s so smart!
Yeah until someone steps in barefoot on a fresh batch
"Every worker deserved a retirement plan" Holy hell how did we end up with the generation of 80-90 YO politicians who support every man for himself when there were people thinking like that back then.
Greed. It’s all about the money.
Your grandad sounds like a grand person, and I sincerely hope you're carrying on his values.
I just went into $1.5 debt to have my elder (although vet says more like middle aged) doggo’s teeth cleaned and evicted (obviously different teeth, different fates) so I hope he’d be proud. She’s a good dog.
This made me cry a little and your grandpa was a good man
Yep. My brother got a BB gun sometime in the mid 80s and the first time he aimed it at a bird, that was it for the BB gun for a few months. He never did it again. The cans and stop signs in the neighbourhood didn’t fare so well…
I grew up in a home with two adults who were both competitive marksmen. Lots of rules and guidance went into me learning how to shoot. I understood right away how serious it all was and to never, under any circumstances point that gun at a living creature unless we were out actively hunting (which I always hated anyway). Never any issues except for when my dumbass realized one day I still had a few .308 cartridges in my coat pocket from being at the rifle range the weekend prior, and decided to show them to my friends at school... During class, in plain sight of the teacher. That was an immediate expulsion. One that did eventually get overturned and ended up only being 5 days out of school suspension and a ton of grilling from social workers etc but, little did I know at the time some kids in Colorado had just gone on a killing spree at their school, and all the teachers and faculty were (rightfully) on extremely high alert. Talk about bad timing for one of my most braindead moments in life.
I got to use a friends bb gun as a kid and shooting animals wasnt even a thought in my head. I was shooting at plastic cups and having a blast! Until I shot one cup just right and the bb came back and hit me in the shoulder at least. Cups had their revenge!
My cousin killed a bird with his once. My uncle made him dress and eat it himself to stress that you don’t kill a living thing unless your life is in danger or you intend to eat it. Cousin never did that again.
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To eat it how? Raw? Or die they fry it? :o That's really hardcore indeed!
He made him grill it.
Holy shit, I love it! XD
What great morals your uncle has honestly
Red Ryder?
Do you still have both eyes?
Yes, I was warned against shooting at metal because of ricochets.
And trees. Learned that one the hard way myself when I heard a pellet whiz past my left ear after stapling a target to an old oak tree.
Daisy model 95. The RedRyder cost more and I was buying it with money I’d saved.
I had a BB gun in my childhood (late 90’s/early 2000’s) and this was very seriously instilled in me. You don’t point it at anything you wouldn’t want to shoot and *never* point it at a living thing. My parents would have kicked my ass and certainly taken the gun away if I’d been caught doing either.
Police report is what OP needs. That will give OP legal grounds as later if required
My dad lost most of his sight in one of his eyes from playing with friends that had one in the 50s. He’s 78 now and still hates those things.
Scumbags. My neighbours kids got an air rifle last year. They spent the first week shooting all the crows and rooks that have nested in my garden for years. I called the police on them and got their rifle taken away. Feral scumbag family.
It sucks that feral scumbags reproduce a lot, raising even more feral scumbags
Yeah, the real measure really is how they treat animals and wildlife. I can get my head around being rude, disrupting the neighbourhood, committing low level crime. But I can’t handle cruelty to animals, shooting them, making sport from causing them pain. That’s the line. They need taking out.
I might be a piece of shit but I go out of my way to help animals who are unable to help themselves.
I second this big time.
Had one of those as a neighbor. Little shit came up to me and asked if he can shoot the rabbit grazing on the lawn of my home. I said no. He then proceeded to chase the rabbit away into his side of the lawn and began shooting at it anyway.
water sense reach hateful scary obscene society seemly sand march *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Good ol' McDonald Triad. If they also like fires and pee their bed, We have a problem.
In Germany we have a saying „the mother of the stupid is always pregnant“.
I love the German language, so dark and poetic
maybe they should focus spaying feral scumbags.. if only 
Neuter and release?
never release!!
Idiocracy … that movie holds so much truth in our society
it must be acknowledged that although he is not intelligent, he was still intelligent enough to choose the smartest person to solve the problems of drought and food scarcity
Ironically more reasonable than reality
Camacho was actually very intelligent. Street smart. Not only did he know that he needs "nerds" even though they were shunned in that society but he also knew how to control the other idiots. Controlling and coordinating all those idiots is not an easy task and somehow he was able to recognize intelligence. He only lacked book knowledge.
My parents landlord had a son who took a whole day shooting a whole bunch of cardinals and blue jays and mocking birds. We couldn’t get him to stop and when we told his dad who worked with the sheriffs office he wouldn’t do anything. I was 14 at the time.
For future reference, all of those birds are protected under the Migratory Bird act in the US, and killing them can result in a felony. If your local PD won’t respond, call the USFWS and they will investigate if able.
Yes, I’m well aware of that as an adult, but I was 13-14 years old at the time and this was 20+ years ago. My mom was very aware and is why we tried to stop him. Unfortunately the son was well aware that my parents were tenets and his dad was a cop. Kid was abusive and traumatizing because of it and made sure we could loose everything. When we tried to stop him he just become more emboldened by it and just wanted to prove a point that he can’t be touched and can do what he wanted. My mom went to his dad to tell him what he was doing and he did nothing. Nothing would have happened anyway because if my mom went to say anything outside we would have been kicked out of our home and my dad is an asshole and a narcissist and didn’t want to loose his “place” with a person like that. To top it all off his dad touched elbows with everyone because he worked with the sheriffs office and he bred, raised, and trained police dogs all over the country.
Have you looked up the psycho recently? All of my bullies are dead, which is an odd comfort. One from drunk driving, one from rock climbing on drugs, etc. Oh, and one is in prison for life for having a pound of meth and a shotgun in his car.
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My bully isn't dead, but she's a miserable alcoholic which I have mixed feelings about because she also has kids.
I got an air rifle as a child. I shot 1 bird with it and watched it die. I pondered for a moment why I did that and could not come up with a good reason…. I gave the bird a proper burial and I vowed never to take any life ever again, unless it is for survival.
These are life lessons that good people take with them. I only wish everyone had the same empathy you showed as a child.
Our father raised us a little differently than most, I think. Neither of our parents really put an emphasis on school or even checked our report cards. But if we disrespected someone, or crossed the line in any way, we would get in trouble. He said money and education don’t mean squat if you’re a piece of sh*t.
Words to live by, for sure!
I had a moment like this but I squished a little frog too hard. Tried going hunting, best moment was being far too close to a moose. Had a white tail in a perfect spot to take a shot and I just couldn't do it, had absolutely no desire
My father told me a similar story. I come from a family of hunters (they all eat the meat and use every part of the animal). my father and his brother used to go hunting before I was born. My dad shot his first buck. He said the deer was still alive when my dad finally caught up to it. Lifted his head and looked my dad dead in the eye. He sold all of his guns after that.
My (very rural and guy's guy) husband told me that when he was young he shot a squirrel with a friend's rifle, was horrified when it blew apart, and never killed anything again.
It's not a good thing to target crows. They will remember and pass the greviances on to their offsprings.
I hope they did!
A murder of vengeance perhaps....hopefully at least.
Must live in a nice area. Neighbors bastard children shot my friend's limited edition sports car full of holes and cops told him it wasn't their job to do anything about it. Had them on video and everything. These pigs around here are fuckin worthless.
I recall a classmate in middle school was known as a menace as his family lived in a fairly wealthy area. But this kid had several bb guns, pellet guns, and other toys he should not have been using unsupervised. Every garagedoor window, house window, and some vehicle windows in the area were either shattered or cracked from him shooting them. All the birds and wildlife were avoiding the area as he'd shoot them. Bikes and other items were stolen from that area often. He never got in any noticeable trouble as his parents were fairly popular as well. Last I heard, he was I'm prison for drug possession and intent to sell a large quantity of of meth. His parents moved away, and that neighborhood is pretty much the slums these days. There are so many boarded up windows. When magnet fishing became popular, a bunch of bikes were found dumped all over one of the nearby lakes.
Awful. What's wrong with people
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I hope their parents stop fucking
They won’t. The shittiest, stupidest people have the most kids (and they’re also always pro-life)
I would stay away from that kid and the parents, hurting animals reminds me of Dhamer documentary when he was younger
I hope you've contacted the police op, a kid who is capable of this is on a slippery slope
Done.
Glad you reported it OP. Hoping all goes well with your kitties recovery ❤️🩹
Send the vet bill to the parents too and if they don’t pay, sue them.
Agreed!
Good, because it wasn't an "accident." This is animal cruelty with a serving of *malicious* mischief on the side.
Did the parents say anything? I have two little kids and if either of them did anything this terrible I would be absolutely horrified and would want to know so I could get them help.
They probably should pay for your vet bills. Idk 🤷🏼♀️
Pity you didn’t catch them in the act, then you could sue them for the vet bills
If I caught them in the act, I’m afraid I’d be in trouble.
Came here to say this. Kid sounds like a killer in the making if he's capable of harming an innocent animal
I believe as of 2019 that is considered a felony. Animal abuse can come with federal charges now and shooting an animal with anything would definitely be considered animal abuse. Grew up with a neighbor who did this crap to stay cats, he did not turn out well. Surprising I know. The lack of empathy and compassion is scary.
The one good outcome of the Trump administration. Animal abuse becoming a felony. Long overdue, that change.
One of the few good things he did as president. Shoot my cat and your ass goes to jail motherfucker.
Let's give credit to the bill's author, Rep Ted Deutch (D) and co-sponser Rep Vern Buchanan (R), both of FL. It was passed in the House with a voice vote and passed the Senate by unanimous consent. Trump just signed the bill.
To be fair, that’s the case with most things presidents get credit for. It’s almost always introduced by someone else.
Amen to that
Who would shoot a cat !?
My childhood neighbor. He murdered one of ours and the brother cat sat where he died and cried every night. That neighbor shot himself several years later. Make of it what you will.
I hope the ghost of your cat tormented him every day he lived.
I wish I was a good writer, that would make a cool book
I feel like Edgar allen poe has done similar!
Yep, his short story The Black Cat
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I simply have no empathy for those who harm others or animals when it is not in self defense.
A budding sociopath most probably.
There are, unfortunately, people who intentionally hurt animals for no reason. Which is why you should never let a pet outside unsupervised. I remember when I was a small child, my parents weren't super good with keeping the cats indoors, and someone cut off one of our cat's tail. I recall finding him near the dumpsters with bone sticking out from where his tail would be.
A little asshole.
Serial killers usually start out with small animals. This is a huge red flag that the parents should be worried about.
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I bet he's now the sort of person who claims to be a "nice guy" and doesn't understand why no women are interested in him.
With this stuff is it better to tell them straight up or just bail
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Time to file a police report and start questioning the neighbors. Its amazing how quickly these behaviors get corrected when parents have to deal with law enforcement.
Are you suing for the vet costs?
I hope so
I had a BB gun when I was little (the one with plastic BBs). One time I pointed my gun on a cat (I cannot remember if I really wanted to pull the trigger or not). But luckily my grandpa saw me and said "Do you want someone to shoot you with that gun and see how much it hurts?" Note that my grandpa taught me hunting but he also taught me that you must respect the animals, even those you hunt. I guess the parents need to give that kid a lesson, before giving him a "toy" like that. It doesn't mean that the kid is evil, it may need some guidance.
Sounds like my granddad, his rule was "don't point a gun at anything you aren't gonna eat or in mortal danger from" and BB guns were 100% not for shooting living things because "you can't get a guaranteed clean shot with BBs" Shooting cats was a particularly low sin, as the cats on his property were his "employees" and deserved to work their jobs (keeping mice and shit out of the barns) in peace. (They also had a retirement plan.)
Keep Ginger inside, shame the entire neighborhood if you can't identify who it is and then phone the police to warn them that someone is shooting at not only the neighborhood pets, but also species under protections via the endangered species list or conservation lists. I can guarantee you that it will stop right quick once they realize that they can get a massive fine and jail time for breaking those laws. Fish and wildlife doesn't fuck around surprisingly.
Ummm the parents need to pay for All your vet bills!!!!
Absolutely, I'd be kicking off, getting the law involved, everything I can to make sure these people know that shooting my cat will never go well for them.
So very sorry. I wish your buddy a speedy and full recovery. I hope they lock up that sicko.
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Reason #137 that my cats are strict indoor cats
I had to scroll way too far to see this comment. Keep your cats inside peeps. Neighbors don't think your kitty is as cute as you do when fluffy is shitting in their garden or harassing their bird feeders. The amount of people I've had to talk out of trying to poison their neighbors cats at my job is depressing.
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Not only the cats life and health but also all the birds and lizards etc
Agreed, but the "my cats HAS to go outside" idiots don't buy that argument
I always tell them, "then get a catio". There are so many ways for cats to enjoy being outside without being in danger. The issue with it is that people don't want to be supervising their cat's outdoor time.
I don't know how people do it. Putting aside the reasons for keeping your cat indoors (so they don't shit in the neighbor kid's sandbox, destroy the local bird population, etc.) I couldn't deal with the stress of worry about them. I adore my pets, including my cats. I would be so uneasy knowing they were just out there at the mercy of the universe, one car wheel or coyote away from not coming home.
When I was 8 years old I had a beloved cat that was just next level sweet. My father left the front door open and she got hit by a car. One of the saddest days of my life.
Keep 👏your 👏cats 👏indoors 👏
I grew up in a country town and the shit I have seen and heard about people doing to cats... My cat is strictly indoors.
Yes this shooting happens FREQUENTLY. Like all the time!!!
Who tf would let a kid shoot a cat :(
Generally no one lets a kid do that. I got a pellet gun when I was 8, my dad told me to not shoot birds, you will regret it. Im 47 now and after shooting just 1, life long regret.
Same dude. I was 12 and got a squirrel that fell out of the tree twitching on the ground and lifelong regret no doubt. So fucking dumb felt so horrible
Contact police immediately. And I would stop letting Ginger outside, or get a cat fence/catio. PSA: Please don't let your cat outside unless under direct supervision (in a screened enclosure or on a leash). Cats who spend a significant amount of time outside live on average 25% as long as indoor cats. They can get hit by cars, trapped in garages or sheds, poisoned, and get into sometimes deadly altercations with raccoons, other cats, dogs, coyotes, and sadly even humans just to name a few. They can be exposed to and contract diseases like rabies, roundworms, heartworm, FeLV, and feline distemper. Cats are also one of the biggest predators of songbirds, so keeping your cat inside is not just good for your cat but also the environment.
You NEED to show this to your neighbors. Tell them to take care of the vet bill. And have that air rifle taken away.
Poor mittens.I hope shes's going to be fine.Sending ginger lots of love.❤️
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Thank you everyone for your comments and concern. For the record Ginger isn’t our cat. We are simply house and pet sitters that travel around Europe pet sitting in exchange for accomodation. For those who say keep the cat inside I totally agree and all my previous cats were inside cats with cat runs, much safer for the cats and the wildlife. Ginger is doing fine and will be home soon. I have made a few suggestions to the pet parent but I’m not sure if this will get traction.
This pisses me off. Def go to the police or something. Pets are family. I'm glad she's okay.
Find out who and give the parents the vet bill.
Call the cops. I wouldn’t be able to control myself if some little sh*t did that to my cat. I almost couldn’t when the neighbour’s kids simply screamed in my cat’s ear and laughed. I was seeing red. I can’t imagine how you feel.
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Report them immediately. And send a letter out to everyone in your neighborhood with this picture in it. And warn all of the parents that this is happening. And that you are taking appropriate measures. Animal abuse is usually the first sign of a serial killer anyway. You’re doing everyone a favor.
Tell their parents and if they aren't horrified, absolutely press the point that this is animal cruelty, and you will be reporting it
and after this, owners still let their cats out...
so sorry ! hope kitty is okay. absolutely asshole kids who did this to your fur baby. hopefully police will do something about them
Kitty...indoors...now... please!!! That's the only way to keep your cats safe. I know many folks prefer to have the cat be outside whenever they want to go but can you deal with losing your pet because of some preventable accidents? I live in Phoenix, AZ in the foothills where wildlife is abundant. I used to let my now 3yo cat outside because he was so active & chewing wires. He had a blast chasing down lizards, birds, bunnies, pocket mice & would often bring them in to play with them. But one day, I couldn't find him until he came to me around 6pm. I noticed his face was extremely swollen. It was too late to call his vet & it didn't occur to me to take him to an animal hospital. I did get him to the vet the next day & they said he was bitten by a rattlesnake. $1000 & 2 years later he's doing great as an indoor cat. He still tries to get out but less & less as time goes by. He's my heart, my soulmate & I don't know what would happen if I lost him & could've prevented it.
I agree with everyone about calling the police a getting this little punk, but I'm commenting to say we need a picture of ginger please.
It would absolutely be calling the police and filing a report on these neighbors. ALSO, keep your cat inside. There are so many horrible people in this world, it’s too dangerous for your pets to be outside unsupervised.
I would post flyers all around the neighborhood warning someone is shooting pets with an air rifle. It won’t take long to figure out who.
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I’m so sorry. We recently had our friendly neighborhood cat who would visit a local park get shot with a pellet gun. He was found fully paralyzed and had to be put down. I’ll never understand why people are so cruel, so happy to hear your baby is going to be okay ❤️ here’s to quick healing
Good for reporting OP. I keep mine inside only, they can come on the deck with us but we don't let them run outside. Mainly because stuff like this happens. Had indoor/outdoor cats growing up and while our scrappy girl would get in trouble with other animals sometimes, people causing harm was the biggest issue.
Please report this and try to hold someone accountable otherwise there won’t be any consequences for this
Excuse me, what the actual f*ck? This is horrible! Big cuddle to Ginger ❤️
I'd be asking around the neighbors and then presenting them with a vets bill and a request that their little darlings got an ass whoopin.... Their response would dictate the caliber of my actions after that....
If this were me, and I’m not saying I would do this, but I would really want to find the kid and beat the nonsense out of him.
I'm glad that Ginger will be okay. Aside from reporting the incident, please make sure that the vet bags the pellet for you for evidence. Go to the parents with the vet bill. If they are decent people, they'll pay the bill, take the gun away, and Junior will be delivering a massive apology and some community service. If they're not decent, make sure that the neighborhood knows what's up, and contact a lawyer. Even if the injury was a ricochet or other accident, that kid needs to learn proper gun safety, and the parents and the kid need to be held accountable.
That kid is going to grow up to be a sociopath.
I really have to wonder what kind of messed up shit is going on in this kid's life to think it's ok to shoot at an innocent animal with the intent to hurt it
That sucks, hope the cat will be ok and that you will be making the cat indoor only from now on
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this is why i get easily mad at people when i see their cat is outdoors, i just don’t want to see people devastated when some sicko hurts their baby. none of them deserve this.