Sugar the Cat

About five years ago a distraught woman knocked on our door carrying a cat wrapped in some sort of cloth.  She said she had stopped to check on a cat beside the road.  The cat had badly mangled hindquarters and had been hit by a car.  She asked me if I could “put it down.”  I suppose she thought a guy who lived in the country probably had a gun.

I looked at the cat, which was obviously in pain, and told her I would do it.  She asked me not to shoot it until she drove away.  Somewhat annoyed at being put in this spot, I nonetheless agreed.  I felt really bad.  I dislike feral cats for the damage they do to the environment, but when it comes to shooting one, I feel queasy.

I thought about this whole sorry episode today when I read about a North Catasauqua officer who was charged by D.A. John Morganelli, the D.A. of Northampton County who never met a headline he didn’t like.

The officer, responding to a 911 call, found a cat dragging its hind legs and leaving a trail of blood.  He shot the cat.  Perhaps I should say, “He put the cat to sleep,” which may be more acceptable.  100,000 people called for the officer’s termination.  By the way, the cat, named Sugar, was not wearing a collar.  The cat clawed and hissed at a neighbor.  The cat showed “signs of mange.”  The owner had not called in to report his cat missing.  Northampton County has no facility that will take injured cats.

Here’s what I know about Morganelli.  He was running for A.G. of PA.  There are thousands of cat lovers.  He saw this as a way to gain votes.  He did not give a hoot about Sugar, but he did care about winning the A.G. race.  He came in third (i.e., last), probably because any one who knows his record voted against him.  

I stand with the officer on this one.  I’ve been in the same boat.  It isn’t pleasant, but you do what you think is the best thing under the circumstances.