Cat dangling?

Question

My husband is holding the cat by its thighs and dangling it for a few seconds, he says he is playing, my previous post says he is holding it by his legs but my husband says i put the question wrong and it is not his legs but his thighs, he says dont treat him like a child as he knows all about cats, hes had them all his life and he is in his mid 50s so he had had lots of experience with owning cats and he reassures me this is doing the cat no harm.

Answer 1

He says he's "playing" with the cat. Does the cat agree? Does the cat like being dangled by the thighs? Even if it doesn't hurt the cat physically, if the cat doesn't like it, it's abuse. If he is an adult, he should understand this simple concept.

Answer 2

Here is the thing. Your husband is right if he is holding the cat correctly, the cat is not struggling, and he is only doing it for a few seconds once in a blue moon.

Cats regularly end up in situations of being suspended upside down for a few moments here and there. They climb trees, fall, and are amazing with balance. So yes, cats can be held upside down for a few seconds occasionally and it won't hurt the cat.

Here is the other thing, maybe it is because I am a women but men tend to go overboard and get too rough or too stupid with the whole thing. He can injure the cat. So you are also correct in that sense.

Cats use their inner ear for balance. If the cat is sick, if you hold it upside down for too long and are moving around the wrong way, if you are holding the cat incorrectly, then yes, you can actually hurt the cat.

They need their inner ear and tails for balance and keeping them upside down for too long too many times can cause the inner ear damage. If nature meant for cats to be upside down for twenty minutes, he would have built them differently.

Your husband is most likely "playing with the kitty" because he wants to assert dominance over the cat. Tell your husband to stop dominating the cat if he is going overboard with the behavior. Tell hubby to go pee on the car tires or something if he wants to exhibit dominant behavior.

I say this as a wife that has experience with a stubborn but lovable pain in my behind husband.

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Answer 3

How does the cat react to what he is doing? If the cat meows, hisses, growls, or when put down, runs away, the cat does not like it. Plus, I have been raised to treat all animals with tender loving care, and respect. I have not ever, before now, heard of such a thing. This sounds like abuse. Plain and simple. My ex-boyfriend, in his mid-late 50's has had at least 25 yrs. experience with cats-and has one now-and I have not EVER seen him treat any cat like that. It sounds like your husband has power and control issues-at least over cats. That is not a normal behavior for taking care of a cat or any animal for that matter. Please, tell your hasband to stop doing that-permanently. Take care.

Answer 4

Your husband says it doesnt hurt the cat...but what does the kitty think? I think thats mean. Poor kitty just want to play with a ball or something, and instead gets dangled. If someone in my family did that, i would get VERY mad at them!!

Answer 5

It does not sound safe to me either. If you don't like the looks of it, you should get him to stop...offer up a compromise. Good luck

Answer 6

Well if it's making you feel uncomfortable then tell him to stop!