8 Pet Cats Drowned by Owner

According to the BBC, 43 year-old Julie Carter, a resident of Herald Way in Oxfordshire, told magistrates that when housing officials ordered her to remove eight cats from her home, she didn't have enough money to even call the RSPCA to help rescue them. Instead, she took it upon herself to drown each of her cats, one at a time, over a period of a week. This, I cannot imagine. Fortunately, three cats were discovered alive and were rehomed. And as punishment for this insidious crime, Carter is now in jail, serving a sentence of only 12 weeks imprisonment and is banned for life from ever owning another animal. As far as I am concerned, the punishment certainly doesn't fit the crime. According to the RSPCA inspector who visited her property, Carter first lied to him, telling him a veterinarian had euthanized the cats. She later changed her story and said that since she could not afford the phone calls in order to contact rescue groups or animal charities for assistance, she just drowned them in a baby bath. The RSPCA added that she told the Inspector, "she felt she did not have any other choice." Commenting on the case, Doug Davidson, an RSPCA inspector said, "The callous and brutal drowning of her eight pet cats is not acceptable in the 21st Century. She did not even attempt to seek help to rehome the animals, and instead caused them unnecessary suffering by drowning them." What I want to know is how anyone can resort to such heinous acts of cruelty like this one, no matter under what pressure they are under. Just how desperate did Carter feel? After all, the moment we adopt a pet, exactly the same moment we make the choice of our lifelong commitment to responsibly care for them. Do you also find yourself at a loss in understanding what prompted her drown her cats? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment. Image Source: Flickr user j-pocztarski