Animal Neglect

[Miss Adventure]

Yesterday I went home with my friend after school. Her parents were taking care of her sister's kids while she was away. While I was there, I couldn't help but notice that the four-year-old girl was being very rough with a 4 week old kitten. She was holding it by the paws, stretching them apart, hitting the dogs with it like a rag doll. I became very concerned about the safety of the kitten and I asked my friend's mother to do something about it. All she did was say "Be nice to the kitty." and left it at that. And of course, the child didn't listen and kept on doing what she was doing.

But what got me really worked up is when my friend told me that her niece has killed a kitten before. Seeing as that has happened before, don't you think that they would keep a better eye on her around small animals instead of playing World of Warcraft? I don't even think that the child should be around such small animals.

It didn't stop until the man of the house got home and really made the child leave the kitten alone.

I've been thinking about writing an email to my friends mother expressing my discomfort over what I witnessed yesterday.

[TheBabyEater]

It breaks my heart to hear this happen. I know she's just a kid, but any mistake a child makes is just as much the parent's mistake. I suggest sending an email either to your friend or her parents, or just talking to them directly if you can stand it. I know it's got to be hard, but if it means a lot to you it should be worth it. Good luck =]

[Swirl]

This is awful!

Do, please, write to them. Even if a small child is unable to understand their wrong doings, their family is responsible for their acts.

I hope you can make them understand, and possibly keep the kitty from perishing.

The best of luck!

[OMFG!You'reActuallySmart!]

E-mails usually don't have as much impact as in-person confrontations. I don't mean kicking down the door and going mad, although that would leave an impression. Instead, tell the man of the house as he seems to be able to get through to the kid and has a concern for the animals, while the mother doesn't so you'd need extra effort to get through to her. An e-mail alone probably wouldn't be enough, you may need to persuade her to listen to you. Unfortunately, it probably will come down to you playing with the kid because the mother doesn't get involved enough and the father is at work. Perhaps the kid doesn't have durable toys, so you may want to get the kid some and then show the kid how to use the toys rather than the animals.

Normally if the person was much older I'd say to go after them but for this I wouldn't because it's just a kid. Granted, if the 4-year old was hurting my dogs and for whatever reason they didn't react, my dogs come first to me, a random kid comes second.