Accidental animal crueltyI once invented a brilliant game - I'd sit at the top of the stairs and throw cat biscuits to the bottom. My cat would eat them, then I'd shake the box, and he would run up the stairs for more biscuits. Then - of course - I'd throw a biscuit back down to the bottom. I kept this going for about half an hour, amused at my little game, and all was fine until the cat vomited. I felt absolutely dreadful.
Have you accidentally been cruel to an animal?
This question has been revived from way, way, way back on the b3ta messageboard when it was all fields round here.
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rob, Thu 6 Dec 2007, 11:13)
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I use 'accidentally' because it was in an age of innocenceWhen we were kids (back in the 80's) and the best pixelated entertainment we had was a ZX spectrum 48k.. he had to make our own fun..
Now, when I tell this story it generates the horror and disgusted looks of onlookers.. I still seem to tell the story regularly, possibly trying to convince myself and the listeners that it was all done with innocence and we weren't aware of any consequences. One day I may even believe myself.
We used to buy tiny mice from the pet shop for 50p each (I expect they were to feed snakes.. so in retrospect, they probably had more fun with us than the snakes, +1 for my conscience).
We would go back to my mates house with pockets full of mice, this mate had a very long front room with a joined on dining room.. so nearly 20 metres of length from front to back. The back patio windows had full length curtains.
I don't know how we discovered this.. but closing the curtains and throwing the mice from the front window, to the back window "usually" resulted in the mice sticking (with claws) to the curtains at the other end.
Eventually the mice would either miss the curtains or have some kind of mid-air heart-attack and cark it. The one mouse remaining was crowned king of the mice and got to live like royalty in my mates disused hamster cage, it had food, wheels and everything*
Anyway, maybe if I tell this story one more time, the guilt will subside and I can move on with my life.. until then I will verbally apologize for my sins to every mouse which crosses my path.
*regardless of these luxuries, the 'king' mouse generally only lived for a day or two afterwards
Apologies for loosely swinging around the term "accidentally", I was young and I didn't know what to do with it.
(, Mon 10 Dec 2007, 13:50, 2 replies)
yepthat's the general reaction i get.. laughter, then silence.. then once the realisation of how cruel it was, i get the looks of disapproval
oh the shame... and humour... but mostly shame
(, Wed 12 Dec 2007, 12:08, closed)
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