Cat haters: a dwindling minority

Which is more important: a cat being swung by its tail by a teenage thug, or the possibility of France and Germany setting up an exclusive “club” within the eurozone?  If the number of comments posted by Daily Telegraph readers are an indication of their priorities in current affairs, there’s an interesting comparison on this morning’s front page: “Cat attack”: 235 comments. “France plots eurozone breakaway group”: 233 comments.

This might give the impression that the readership is made up of outraged animal lovers; in fact, if you read the “cat” comments, the truth is very different. The only reason that the subject has generated so much online discussion is that a significant number of those commenting are cat haters who see nothing wrong with the cruelty caught on camera. Their casual indifference to the physical abuse inflicted on the cat has then generated a torrent of comments in defence of the animal.

If the only comments posted had been along the lines of “Unspeakably cruel”, there would have been no more than a scattering of posts. But when someone makes statements like “How do you know that the animal didn't actually enjoy it?” and “It's only a cat”, there’s an understandable strong reaction.

Cats have become the most popular pet in the UK, but they evoke a much stronger love or hate reaction than their canine cousins. To an ailurophile, a cat is a small furry person, with likes, dislikes and idiosyncrasies like any human being. To a cat-hater, that same creature is little monster, creating mayhem by killing wildlife and defecating in other people’s gardens. The unfortunate Mowgli, the victim of the tail swinging, seems to have sparked an online civil war between the two camps.

The good news for cats is that the tide is flowing in their favour: 400 years ago, cats were burnt at the stake with owners who’d been accused of being witches. Today, it’s front-page news when they’re physically abused.

There will always be a vocal minority who choose to ignore the sentience of cats, classifying them as vermin and subjecting them to inhumane treatment. But thankfully, this minority is dwindling: there’s probably never been a better time or place to be a cat than the UK today.