Is This Unethical?

LadyWench

Well-known member
I have a dilemma and I'm just wanting some objective opinions.

My boyfriend Chris' parents live a few houses away from this rotten family. The dad is this Native alcoholic that's always in and out of jail. He married a white trash woman who is also an alcholic. They have three kids - two girls and one boy. The oldest girl is about 17 years old and she's slept with probably over 25 different guys. No exaggeration. You can kind of get an idea of how this family is. Chris' youngest sister used to be friends with the youngest girl of that family, who is 9 years old. The boy is 12 and their dad always lets him drink and smoke pot with him. Even on his MySpace profile, he's got pictures of him getting drunk with his dad, and then another where he's smoking weed out of a hookah.

Anyway, since Cheyenne was friends with their youngest daughter, she'd go over to their house a lot. They aren't friends anymore and haven't been for a while, but I know things about them. They are just bad people. They have a pitbull and a kitten. They really neglect and abuse their pets. The dog never has any food, water or shelter, and it can never go inside. Same with the kitten. I don't know why, but they just don't let their animals in the house, no matter the weather.

Cheyenne told me that she has seen the family literally kick the kitten out of the house. It would try to get in, and they would just kick it hard back outside. They've also gotten buckets of water and just poured it on the kitten, as well as using the hose and spraying it down like crazy. For no reason at all. Just because they think it's funny. Like I said, they also don't give it food, water or shelter.

Well, Cheyenne and I were going for a walk the other day and we saw the pitbull harassing the kitten in their front yard that is fenced in. The kitten was terrified and kept trying to get away. No matter what, though, the dog would find it and start biting at it and such. We decided we had to do something. We were trying to think of a way to get in their yard without them noticing, and take the kitten away from the dog. Cheyenne got the guts to open the gate, walk up to where the kitten was, and grab it. We ran off back to her house and stood outside, unsure of what to do from there. I told her I would take it home, and they would never have to know. She said that her mom probably wouldn't let me do that. It isn't up to her mother, but she'd be giving Chris and I a ride home that night. She could have just said she isn't taking us home, and then we'd be screwed. I decided to just let the kitten go back home and figure something out later.

So, here I am. It's later, and I just can't NOT do something about this. I really want to go back over there without them knowing, and steal the kitten. I would call the humane society, but they are awful in this town. They don't ever respond unless there's a dog attack or something. They suck a lot of ass. If I want to do something about this, I'm just gonna have to take matters into my own hands. I'm wondering if you guys think it's unethical and/or immoral to do this. Am I a thief? Am I a bad person for wanting to save this kitten from its awful life?

Sorry this is long, I'm just wanting some input. Thanks.
 

market.garden

Well-known member
Definitely not immoral. If anything it would be unethical to turn a blind eye to it.
I'd take the kitten in an instant if it was me.

If the animal protection services are bad in your area, are they any better in nearby towns/cities. Because if you felt like it, you could always drive somewhere quite far out and hand her in somewhere else, say you found it wandering alone or something.

Keep us updated on what you do though.
 

LadyWench

Well-known member
Thanks, market.garden. I appreciate your input. There is an animal shelter about an hour away that's not too bad, but I don't have a vehicle or any money for gas. I've considered all my options, believe me. I don't want to go to jail for theft if they do find out and call the cops. If that happens, I figure I'll do one of two things: either tell them the truth. That the cat was being abused and I felt like I had to rescue it. OR, I found it wandering around outside the area and saw that it looked ill and hungry. I'm hoping to get over to that house soon, though, and hopefully no one will be home. They're really oblivious and ignorant. That will definitely work in my favor, haha.
 

market.garden

Well-known member
Well make sure you're careful when you go over. I think because its exceptional circumstances, it's the right thing to do, as long as you're not putting yourself in any danger.

Is there anyone who could give you a ride over to the animal shelter? Someone who'd understand and want to help?
 

LadyWench

Well-known member
Yeah, me and my sister are going to go over there sometime soon. I'll have to get into an in-depth conversation with her about it. We need to make set plans. As long as the family doesn't know it was me that took the kitten, and they just think it ran away, I should be fine. The worst that could happen is that I'll just have to give it back to them. They've had plenty of cats run away. Smart animals, eh?!

Most people I know that have vehicles (like my sister and boyfriend's parents) don't have the gas to go out of town. Especially for something that isn't THAT big of a deal to them. It doesn't affect their lives or anything. My sister is willing to help me go grab the kitty, though, so that's enough from her.
 

Tiercel

Well-known member
Even if the humane society sucks "a lot of ass," I'd still give them a call before doing anything yourself. And be sure to mention that they seem to have a pattern of abuse when it comes to their animals. And if nothing happens, call them again. And if nothing happens again, perhaps an honest editorial to your local newspaper will help get their butts in gear.

Or if they don't respond to your first call, your second one could be a bit more forceful. You know, ask them what good an SPCA is that won't help animals in need. Maybe threaten to do something yourself if they're so inept. Of course, this might make you a prime suspect if they decide to follow up should any animals disappear....

And if you settle on taking action yourself, talking about it on the internet probably wouldn't be the smartest thing to do....

As far as I care, saving the kitten is the right thing to do. But one man's rescued kitty is another man's stolen property. So weigh your options carefully, and do what you think and feel is for the best.

Or you could always let the dog attack you when you go to grab the kitten. That would bring the authorities, right?

:D
 

Iseesky

Well-known member
That is so sad. :(

Hmmm...If I was in your situation, I think I'd take the kitten. Of course it's wrong! But, it's also wrong to abuse the poor thing in the first place!

It would be a better (and smarter) idea to contact the animal shelter and let them know. However, if they're as bad as you say they are and they check on the animals and don't do anything from there...The family might get even more abusive to them. =|

My family had an issue similar to this one. A family lived near us and they had a dog and a cat. They took good care (or good enough at least!) of the dog, but they basically let the cat fend for herself. She was very young and had already had multiple litters of kittens. When the family moved, they just left her there. No food...No water...My mom started putting food out for her and slowly she'd put it closer to our front door. Eventually she was living in our house and was basically our cat. I don't know why she'd bother, but she phoned the original owners and asked them if she could keep her. They reluctantly said yes (like they cared...pffft). She didn't get along with my female cat, so we gave her to my Gran. She's such a great cat!

Anyway, I'd wait until nobody's around the house and take her. Have food/kitty litter bought in advance and keep her in your laundry room or kitchen. Give her a box or something to hide in, because she'll probably be really nervous and scared thanks to being abused. Do you live with your boyfriend's family? Or do you have your own home? Do you plan on keeping the cat yourself? Obviously you won't be able to let her outside if you live near the original owners! You should start looking for people (perhaps an elderly couple?) who wouldn't mind taking the kitten in if you can't keep her.

Good luck! Hopefully there's a happy ending to this story!

After you take the kitten, I suggest you wait awhile and phone the animal shelter for the dog. :)
 

Tangent

Banned
I have a dilemma and I'm just wanting some objective opinions.

My boyfriend Chris' parents live a few houses away from this rotten family. The dad is this Native alcoholic that's always in and out of jail. He married a white trash woman who is also an alcholic.

In my objective opinion, this just doesn't seem right. The OP could've made her point perfectly clear without dragging ethnicities into it. And "white trash"?!? Are we even allowed to refer to people in that way around here? :eek:
 

LadyWench

Well-known member
That is so sad. :(

Hmmm...If I was in your situation, I think I'd take the kitten. Of course it's wrong! But, it's also wrong to abuse the poor thing in the first place!

It would be a better (and smarter) idea to contact the animal shelter and let them know. However, if they're as bad as you say they are and they check on the animals and don't do anything from there...The family might get even more abusive to them. =|

My family had an issue similar to this one. A family lived near us and they had a dog and a cat. They took good care (or good enough at least!) of the dog, but they basically let the cat fend for herself. She was very young and had already had multiple litters of kittens. When the family moved, they just left her there. No food...No water...My mom started putting food out for her and slowly she'd put it closer to our front door. Eventually she was living in our house and was basically our cat. I don't know why she'd bother, but she phoned the original owners and asked them if she could keep her. They reluctantly said yes (like they cared...pffft). She didn't get along with my female cat, so we gave her to my Gran. She's such a great cat!

Anyway, I'd wait until nobody's around the house and take her. Have food/kitty litter bought in advance and keep her in your laundry room or kitchen. Give her a box or something to hide in, because she'll probably be really nervous and scared thanks to being abused. Do you live with your boyfriend's family? Or do you have your own home? Do you plan on keeping the cat yourself? Obviously you won't be able to let her outside if you live near the original owners! You should start looking for people (perhaps an elderly couple?) who wouldn't mind taking the kitten in if you can't keep her.

Good luck! Hopefully there's a happy ending to this story!

After you take the kitten, I suggest you wait awhile and phone the animal shelter for the dog. :)

Thanks for your input. I really appreciate it. There have been a few people on this thread so far that have pissed me off.

I don't know what I'm going to do about the kitten. I might just leave the situation as it is. People seem to be so against me taking it, so I may not even bother. According to a handful of people, stealing the kitten is worse than letting the abuse continue.

Anyway, if I did decide to go through with it, I would keep it for myself. I have four other cats, so I of course have kitty food and kitty litter boxes and stuff. I love my animals dearly and I don't let them outside. I know it seems harsh, but I refuse to let my cats be outdoor animals because I've lost way too many that way. I've taken them out on leashes (lol) and they surprisingly seem to enjoy that. I just don't walk them, lol. I keep them around the yard and stuff.

Thanks again for your advice!

And to the poster above me, I'm white. I referred to the woman that owns that cat as "white trash" because that's exactly what she is. You don't know this family, so you really have no say in my opinions toward them. I also live in Arizona, which is full of nothing but Navajo Indians, which is what the husband/father is in that family. I'm not even going to get into a discussion about that.
 

market.garden

Well-known member
I don't know what I'm going to do about the kitten. I might just leave the situation as it is. People seem to be so against me taking it, so I may not even bother. According to a handful of people, stealing the kitten is worse than letting the abuse continue.

It doesn't matter if people are against it, you know the situation better than anyone else, so go with what you feel is right. I know I wouldn't sit there and be okay with it, knowing what was going on, I'd feel too guilty.

And if you think you can give it a loving home, all the more better for the kitten :)
 

LadyWench

Well-known member
It doesn't matter if people are against it, you know the situation better than anyone else, so go with what you feel is right. I know I wouldn't sit there and be okay with it, knowing what was going on, I'd feel too guilty.

And if you think you can give it a loving home, all the more better for the kitten :)

Thank you. Your response was rather helpful. I just need to find a way back into town to get to the house and take the kitty. My sister is working a lot now so she doesn't have a lot of time on her hands. I'll see what I can do, though.
 
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