R.I.P. Slash, My Baby Duck

[EllenD]

To anyone that allows their cats to run freely all day, all throughout their neighborhoods, here's why it's selfish, disrespectful, and can be tragic.

I was outside this morning with my two 2 and a half month old Pekin ducks, IN MY OWN YARD, just walking around with them and getting some exercise. It's colder today and looks like rain, so we weren't out long before I told them we were going to go inside and they could go swimming in the tub while I cleaned out their sleeping pen. They are getting very big now, Pekin ducks are very large ducks and these two are getting huge. They still follow me single file though, just like they have since the day I first babysat them when they were a week old. I have a 7 foot wooden privacy fence around my backyard and usually they are allowed out there, but today I hadn't cleaned up the backyard yet from the dogs, so I took them out into the front and side yard, totally supervised and never out of my sight. This was a decision that I will regret for the rest of my life.

As we were walking towards the front door, out of nowhere a huge, obviously male black cat dove and just tackled Slash, the larger of my two ducks. I heard him absolutely just screaming and Axel, my other duck, ran off standing up with his wings spread across the front yard. Slash was screaming and screaming as the cat wrestled around with him, sinking his front and rear claws into him. Ducks have no teeth, pretty much no way to defend themselves except very tiny nails which do nothing. I ran full tilt at them and jumped on top of them, and tried to rip the cat off of him, but he was just rolling him all over the ground and every time I tried to grab him I got my hands ripped up. I finally just did the only thing I could think of to do, though it killed me to hurt an animal even if he was killing my pet. I stood up and as soon as the cat rolled with his back to me I did the hardest field goal kick I could do. The cat screamed and hissed, and then backed up about two feet, still hissing and growling at me now. Slash laid motionless on the ground, blood everywhere. He is white with black markings, and he was just covered in red. The cat wouldn't let me get to Slash, so I started making all kinds of noise, telling him to get out of here, inching my way towards slash. Then I heard Axel quacking, coming up over the hill from my driveway towards us. Terrified that the cat would get Axel next if he went back through the front yard, I again kicked the cat as he stood with his back hunched up, hissing at me. I kicked at him so he'd have to run away through the back yard and into the neighbor's back yard so that I could get both of my ducks into the garage. This cat would not leave, I kicked it again, but I realized that I really wasn't trying to hurt the cat, it made me sick to hurt an animal, so sick. But I couldn't wait any longer to get to Slash and Axel, so grabbed a large stick from my other neighbor's wood pile behind me and started swatting at the cat and pushing him towards the backyard. I clipped his face with the stick, very lightly but apparently enough to scare him away. He took off behind my house. I ran to Slash, scooped him up, grabbed Axel with my other arm, and ran as fast as I could into my garage and shut the door. I got a glimpse out of the window in my garage door and saw two different neighbors, both adult men that lived right across the street from me and I guess watched the entire thing but chose not to help me. I had no idea what neighbor this cat belonged to at the time, I'd never seen him before, though the neighbors directly to the left of me have 4 or 5 cats that they let run all day long, every day, and they call them in around 9:00 each night. They're very nice neighbors, they're from Russia and are both here on a grant teaching at Penn State and have been renting the house for about 4 years. I hoped to God it wasn't a new cat of theirs.

Slash was dead. He had been torn apart and most likely bled to death while I was trying to get the cat to leave. I held him and just cried and cried and cried. I managed to compose myself and cleaned Slash up as best I could so that I could show his body to Axel and let him say goodbye. These two were siblings and were both purchased by a friend of mine together, so they have never been apart for more than a minute or two at the vet. That's it. Other than that they have been together every second of every day. I don't know what to do for Axel, I showed him Slash's body and told him that Slash was gone, and Axel started making the loudest noises I've ever heard a duck make, just honking and quacking and screaming and I guess the other sound was how a duck whines or cries. I took a shower with Axel in the tub with me because we were both covered in blood, Axel had laid down on top of Slash's body and wouldn't get up.

I'm not sure what to do, I'm holding him up on the couch, wrapped up in blankets, and he goes from crying to falling asleep to waking up and just wailing again until he falls back asleep. I'm assuming he's calling for Slash, it's breaking my heart. So I'm just holding him close and scratching him, and hoping he's OK.

To make things worse I just got a phone call on my landline from the State Police, I guess one of them is coming here shortly to take a statement from me and to see "the evidence" of what the cat did, because one of my lovely neighbors called them to report that I was kicking a neighbor's cat and hitting it with a stick. This is why I told you all the story above, I know laws very by state and municipality (Yes, I'm zoned for domestic ducks, I checked that out before I committed to keeping them), but I would assume that since the cat came on to my property because it was allowed to run free by it's owner, and it killed my pet that was on my property, that I shouldn't get into any trouble here, but who knows. I love how the big neighbors just stand and watch my duck be killed and me get attacked, don't offer help at all, then call the State Police on me because I was trying to defend my only remaining live duck from also being killed. My hands, arms, and neck are a bloody mess and my face has fine scratches all over it. I think a few of the scratches on my right hand that were made by the cat's back claws need stitches, and I've got 4-5 bites as well. All I care about right now is Axel being okay and I can't even bury my dead pet because he's "evidence". I'll update after I talk to the police..


"Dance like nobody's watching..."

 

[itzjbean]

Oh my gosh, I am so heartbroken after reading this. It's just not fair!!! So so very sorry for this terrible accident and for your loss. Just horrible. And to top it all off you have to defend your case to the police over this. UGH. I'm so very sorry. Rest in peace little duck.

 

[Inger]

When the police arrive and see your "evidence" including your injuries as well as poor Slash, you should ask them to find the owner of the cat and talk to THEM about the problem. I am so sorry and so sad for you and mad at your $&@]]!! neighbors.


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[GaleriaGila]

Stay strong, dearest. You tell those cops the whole story. We're with you. Rest in peace, Slash. You went into the next world LOVED, which so many birds would covet so dearly.

 

[Kentuckienne]

This is awful. Make the cops take pictures of your arms. If you were litigious, you would have a case against the owner of the cat. It was on your property, attacking your pet. Although you might get better treatment in the eyes of the law if you refer to slash as your "livestock". There are often rules protecting livestock from predators that don't apply to pets.

 

[EllenD]

This is awful. Make the cops take pictures of your arms. If you were litigious, you would have a case against the owner of the cat. It was on your property, attacking your pet. Although you might get better treatment in the eyes of the law if you refer to slash as your "livestock". There are often rules protecting livestock from predators that don't apply to pets.

Yep, you repeated exactly what the cop just told me. I'm allowed to have a certain number of chickens, ducks, or any "egg laying" livestock as long as their main structure is in a fenced-in area. I had not even considered the fact that my development shares a border with a pig farm, it's literally right across the street from me. It's zoned differently in my area of State College for the "College Joint Authority", AKA the sewer treatment plant for State College is located behind the pig farm.

Luckily the cop hates cats that run free, he's a bird watcher! He said every jurisdiction is different in the way the laws are written and if I lived in State College Borough instead of College Township (literally a mile down the road) that I could actually be thrown in jail for felony animal abuse even though the cat was running free without a collar or tags and was on my property, if the cat's owner wanted to press charges. Here in College Township apparently cats are not allowed to run free or be off their owner's property at all unless they're on a leash. I wonder how many people aren't aware of that law, because there are cats running everywhere around here. I hate it, not because I hate cats but because I hate finding dead birds and bunnies.

I took a ton of photos of both of my arms, hands, neck, face, and unfortunately of Slash's body and the area in my yard where it happened. They found the owner, it's a husband and wife that I don't know, they live right down the street and I guess my lovely neighbor across the street knew who the cat belonged to and walked down to their house to tell them I beat the hell out of their cat "For no reason". So naturally the cat's owner freaked out, called the cat but couldn't find it, so they just called the State Police to report me. So when they got here and I opened the door it was immediately obvious that the cat had attacked me, but they asked me if the cat did this before or after I "beat the hell out of it", as my neighbor across the street had told them they saw me do. I said that I had felt awful about having to hurt the cat but I only kicked it after it killed my domestic ducks. Then I took him to my garage and showed him poor Slash, wrapped in a blanket with his little head sticking out. That cat absolutely mangled him. At least he died quickly, the entire event lasted no more than 10 minutes, probably less.

So I was standing out in my driveway talking to the police officer about what might happen next, another officer pulled up to tell him that the cat had come home and they called the police station to "definitely press charges against me" because their cat "had a bloody spot on his upper lip area". The original police officer told me to stay with the new guy while he went down the street to the cat's house to show them the photos of me and my pet ducks that had been mangled and killed by their cat. Suddenly they don't want to press charges against me and walked up here to apologize to me. When they saw me the wife started crying, but I had made sure that Slash's body was laying wrapped up in the blanket where they could see him. Honestly I think they felt very badly about what happened, though I think they are much more worried about me and/or the cop pressing every charge we can against them. The dog officer for Centre County showed up and filed about $2,000 worth of fines against them for letting the cat run free with no collar, no leash, no registration (I had no idea you had to register your cats), being on my property and causing bodily harm, and then I can press all kinds of charges for the cat attacking my "egg producing poultry" on my property. I don't know what I'm going to do, the cop is going after them for everything he can, I already told them I'm devastated about losing my duck and I'm extremely worried about my remaining duck. I told them I want them to promise to never let their cat run free again, if they want him outside they need to put it on a lead on their property, and I want them to neuter it since it's not a rare or expensive breed of cat that they are planning on breeding, and we already have hundreds of thousands of cats in shelters, rescues, and on the streets/ feral. The dog officer told me that he will personally see to the cat being neutered and tied up.

Comedic relief: In the meantime while we are all in my driveway with the cops and the dog officer, my neighbors next door, the Russian professors with 6 cats that run free, are out on their elevated deck on the back of their house calling all of the cats to come home, lol, but they always call them in Russian anyway, so the entire time I can hear her yelling "Here kitty kitty kitty! Time to come inside kitty kitty kitty!" in Russian...

"Dance like nobody's watching..."

 

[sonja]

I'm so sorry to hear about your terrible experience. You absolutely did the right thing and any damage to the cat is 110% the owners' fault. The cat's owners are the ones who should pay, and even if you just donate the $$ to an animal shelter, I would demand restitution for your duck, even if it is $10. (I don't know how much ducks cost). Just to make a point.
Cats are by far the biggest invasive species in this country and do a tremendous amount of damage to wildlife. Not to mention that the life of a cat left outdoors is not all fun and games with the risk of being eaten by a coyote or hit by a car. I sure wish people who own cats that they let outdoors would be more responsible pet owners.
Thank you for sharing your story. I hope it makes someone keep their cat indoors today.

Oh, and I highly recommend using a humane trap to catch any cats that come on to your property. Maybe a re-claim fee or two when your neighbors have to get their cats out of the animal shelter will convince them to keep them indoors or contained in their yard.

And, I hope it goes without saying, but the police did check the rabies vaccination status of the cat?

 

[SailBoat]

Very sorry for your loss! Warm hugs and prays your way!

Sorry to add to your day, but you need to contact the State Police Officer you are working with regarding the possibility that the cat having Rabies. Since, they have not bothered follow the many other requirements, it is likely that they have not followed up on assuring that the cat was vaccinated against Rabies.

Again, Very Sorry!

 

[Kentuckienne]

Oh, SailBoat makes a good point. The cat must be quarantined by The Man long enough to determine if it is healthy. The problem with rabies is you have to take the shots right away when bitten, and they are very painful. The only safe way to avoid that is to euthanize the cat to examine its brain, but that would create a bitter enmity with the neighbor.

 

[LeaKP]

So sad...thinking of you and hoping all works out well. Poor little Slash...

 

[RavensGryf]

I'm so sorry and absolutely heartbroken to read this. I feel so bad for the horror poor Slash had to endure, and now for grieving Axel, and for your painful wounds both physical and emotional . This is just terrible. I'm so, so sorry.

I am livid at your neighbor across the street . Did he not see WHY you did what you did to the cat?! Can you talk to him and set things straight just in case he was blind and didn't see Slash? Could he maybe just have thought you were doing it to get the cat out of your yard?

 

[Scott]

I am so sorry, Ellen, your loss of dear Slash is reprehensible and terribly sad. Thankfully you met with a good cop who really cared. He will be a helpful ally but can never offset the horribly careless owners and frightfully inept neighbors who chose to freeze. Your maternal instincts literally kicked in and likely saved Axel.

I am not a fan of outdoor cats as they are responsible for plundering millions of hapless birds and other small creatures yearly. Unfortunately they are a by-product of humanity, one we should have sufficient heart to better manage.

Please take care of yourself and Axel, you've both been wounded.

 

[Flboy]

This is so horrible! I have to live with such a cat that stalks JoJo every moment!

 

[Oli]

Too sick to respond fully. I'm so, so sorry.


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[OutlawedSpirit]

I am so sorry to hear this Ellen! I can't imagine how devastating it must be for you and Axel to loose Slash in such a horrible way. Especially since if you're anything like me, you still feel bad about having to injure the cat as well. Considering the cat really isn't the one at fault here, it's the owners. You can't fault the cat for doing what is natural, you can only fault the owners for not properly taking care of their pet.

Now due to their negligence, you and Axel have to suffer through such a terrible loss of Slash. I do agree with what was said, that you should go after restitution for Slash. Not for the money, because that really doesn't matter compared to his life, but for the point behind it. That maybe it will make the owners think before they let their cat outside unsupervised again. They shouldn't be allowed out to roam freely anyway, they are horribly destructive to native wildlife, not to mention it isn't good for the cat either.

Again, so sorry for your loss, you shouldn't have had to go through that, if people would learn to be more responsible pet owners.

 

[Mariar]

I'm crying right now...you poor thing..sending you love and a big feathered hug...and I hope you get justice for slash

 

[YUMgrinder]

this is awful! So sorry!

 

[EllenD]

Well it's been a very interesting two days here in "Happy Valley", Pennsylvania. I have actually had a very good experience with the State Police as well as the township and the animal control department. It's a first. And honestly after last night and this morning I don't know if I'm more upset with the owner's of the cat or my neighbor that sat and watched me giving my duck CPR for 30+ minutes, offered no help and didn't even cross the street, then physically walked two blocks down the street to the cat's owner to tell them that I "just started kicking and hitting their cat once it walked into my property", and said nothing to them about their cat attacking and killing my duck.

The police and the animal control department apparently HATE cats that run free all day long, killing birds and bunnies, getting into people's property and making a mess. They had a good point in that if I had had my ducks out in my fenced backyard it wouldn't have mattered at all because the cat could have jumped the fence anyway. The owners of the cat wanted me charged with animal abuse, assault, destruction of property, all kinds of stuff after they were charged with letting their cat run off leash off of their property, having no registration, having no rabies shot or any shots at all, along with some other things that I forget and didn't even know they could be charged with. Those charges were not up to me and were up to the animal control officer. Apparently they've been complained against before for letting the cat run, it impregnated another neighbor's female cat on their property last year. So they had to pay for the female cat's gravid spay, vet bills, and a lot of the same fines a year ago. And yet they still let the cat run free all day long, have not gotten him neutered yet, and I'm sure he's impregnated dozens of other female cats since. This is why the animal control officer was so upset, because of the number of cats in shelters being euthanized and these people just keep adding to the problem.

I decided not to press the charges I could press for the cat attacking me or killing my egg laying poultry, only because the cat would have been taken away from the owners and may not have been given back, meaning it most likely would have been euthanized. This isn't the cat's fault, it's the owner's fault. The cat was just being a cat, and even though I know I did the right thing I still felt badly about kicking it. But this morning when I spoke to the owners they actually had the nerve to tell me that a chicken or a duck is not a pet. So I told them that regardless if he wasn't a pet he was livestock or an egg laying poultry bird and the township has laws to protect them. They're really angry that I kicked their cat, and after talking to them I honestly blame my neighbor across the street because they literally told them that I just started beating their cat for no reason. I explained to them that their cat jumped on top of my duck out of nowhere and then continuously rolled him all over my yard with all 4 sets of claws sunk in and tearing him apart, so I jumped on top of them first and tried to separate them but I got ripped up, so only then did I kick their cat, and I hesitated and did not kick it hard because I love animals and it made me sick to hurt one, but he was killing my pet...They have no remorse at all, cats are supposed to run free and live outside, not inside, and it's my fault for not having my ducks inside my backyard fence (even though we were on my property). When I asked them how they would feel if their cat had jumped my fence and done the same thing they just said that that didn't happen so it doesn't matter. I asked them what if it had been my dog that the cat attacked, would I then be allowed to try and save my dog and they got really upset and told me that there is no good reason to hurt someone's pet....What about my dead pet?

And now I have to have rabies shots because these people have never had it vaccinated for anything (it's 5 years old and never been to a vet because "it's a cat"...Wtf?) Since it lives outside all day long and has for 5 years without a rabies shot the doctor at the ER recommended it, as did animal control.

So the bottom line here is that I told them I was heartbroken, my other duck is heartbroken (he screamed all night long, and when he wasn't screaming he was crying; I put a diaper on him and he slept with me holding him all night on the couch), and that I feel awful for hurting their cat but I was only defending my pet, who died a horribly painful death. All I want them to do is follow the law (and they better this time because if it happens a third time they will lose the cat and it will be euthanized without question) and keep their cat inside, or on a lead in their own yard outside. We'll see. In the meantime I'm just worried about Axel, he's so sad, I've never seen an animal actually express such sadness...They were not apart for a single minute from birth until yesterday in the almost 3 months they've been alive, so he's just lost. So I'm gonna be his duck buddy from now on...

"Dance like nobody's watching..."

 

[SailBoat]

Words just do not seem to fill the void you are facing! Know that prays are flowing your way and that Warm Feather Hugs are fully around you!

Thank-you for being you! You have shown great compassion that I confess, I would not be able to, if found in the same situation!

Thinking of you!

 

[RavensGryf]

I've been thinking about you Ellen, and Axel. This is such a nightmare to go through. At least the authorities are on your side thank goodness. Axel is a beautiful boy.

At least here, if you have a dog who bites a human with no proof of rabies vaccination, they get confiscated, euthanized, and the head gets cut off and sent to the state lab for post mortem testing of the brain for rabies. Apparently there's no way to find out while living? I used to work for a veterinary laboratory, and once found a box in my lab fridge. It was said to be a dog head to be shipped off for testing. Not sure about the law for cats.

I am so mad at your neighbors. Both the cat owner and the idiot across the street. I'm so sorry! How are your deepest scratches and bites doing today?