Cat's protection 'domestic abuse' campaign...

[BlessedKali]

This came up on my Facebook feed and I'm feeling a bit pissed off about it. Cat's protection must think they've come up with an emotive campaign to get people donating, but I think to compare animal cruelty to domestic abuse is pretty Insulting to the women survivors.

It feels like by using the term for cats, it undermines the gravity of the situation for women. It's hard enough for most people to understand how impactful domestic abuse can be, without now making out cats go through it too.

I'm thoroughly annoyed, I think I'll send an email tomorrow....

what do you think?

Well animals can be silent victims too, abused in place of the woman
Do many DV shelters allow pets?

In my opinion you couldn't be more wrong. HTH.

No glue here and that's not how I read it. To me, it's saying the cats have been abused.

I can't quite get my head round how much you have twisted this in your brain to be offended.

Should pets not be given a chance at a happy, safe and loving home? If you foster a cat for a women trying to flee DV you could be saving her life. Do you really not get that?

Same could be said for the children then.

Gosh do people really get offended and complain about this kind of thing? Animal or human no one should suffer domestic abuse who cares if it means the cat or the owner surely the message is the same!

I'm going to ignore your insults and continue in a respectful manner...

Is that what it.means? because I didn't read it like that, I read it as if the cats themselves are victims of domestic abuse... which I perso ally don't think they can be Victims' of animal.cruelty - yes. Domestic abuse, no.

I'm going to have a delve and see what they mean...

Oh OP, you're not really wrong, in that it's a very badly written ad. But posters are correct - it's about encouraging fostering so women can leave safely with their pet temporarily taken care of. Refuges don't take animals and pets are often cited as reasons not to leave, because no-one wants to leave their loved pet with an abuser.

The writing could be a LOT clearer though.

If the campaign is for cats involved in situations where their owner is a victim of domestic abuse - then I have the wrong end of the stick and it is just a poorly worded advert.

If they mean the cat is a victim of domestic abuse, I stick by my initial words and think it is insulting to women who have lived through actual domestic abuse -
psychological abuse, coercive control, feeling trapped because of money and children, gaslighting, narcissism, sexual assault....
Cat's don't go through that

Yes agreed, it does mean cats from families fleeing domestic abuse.

Thank you everyone for saving me an awkward email!.....

Abuse is abuse. Cruelty or violence to any living creature is abhorrent. It's not a competition.

We may value an animal victim less than we value a human victim. But the abuse remains abuse and they are still victims. Arguably it may even be worse as they have no agency over their lives.

Pets deserve to live in safe homes the same as we do. All living things deserve kindness. Its just a sad fact that we overlook animal suffering because we deem their suffering as lesser than ours, out of sight out of mind or, somehow necessary for us (Meat and dairy industries for example).

Although it is not relevant, now that I understand they do not mean the cat themselves, but the complaint would have been that using the term 'domestic abuse' for cats undermines the gravity of that term, one which needs to be taken more seriously by society, for the sake of women. It's an in appropriate use of the word

BUT it's now clear that it is just a poorly worded advert....

it's not crystal clear if it needs to be googled though is it

No probs. This is why copywriters are important.

(NB Am copywriter)

I definitely prioritise the suffering of a human baby over a cat. Both are terrible but in my mind one is worse.

The thing is though, we don't need to prioritise the suffering of a baby over a cat. Because that's not the scenario. It's not like if you save cats, babies suffer.

All abuse is bad.

In addition- yes, providing a fostering service for the pets of women and children fleeing domestic abuse is really important
but - abusive men will also deliberately target pets and intentionally hurt them/cause them to suffer as a way of hurting the woman/children- so in a sense the pet really is a victim of DA

It does make it sound like this is for cats who've run away from home. It could definitely be better. The Dogs Trust currently has posters - I saw one in the women's loos at a service station - which are about their fostering scheme for dogs belonging to people fleeing domestic abuse. They were perfectly clear.

www.dogstrustfreedomproject.org.uk

People having to leave their home due to abuse (which they shouldn’t have to) often have to leave their pets behind. It can actually mean people put up with the abuse rather than abandon a beloved animal.
Don't be too hard on the OP - they just didn’t put two and two together which ti be fair any of us can!

Yes if an abuser knew a woman loved her cat and fled the home to escape her abuser I can imagine the abuser might take out his anger on the cat, knowing it would hurt the woman who had escaped.

People often react more sympathetically to animal causes, so it may actually help women by the association. People are less sympathetic to humans as the vast majority of DV is bidirectional.

it is just a poorly worded advert.

It isn't. You apparently just lack the ability to think beyond the words on the ad - to the realities of a domestic abuse situation.

Pets are a huge obstacle to domestic abuse victims leaving - the pets are often a target (or even just the threat of them being a target) if they are left behind. But it's not easy to run and bring your pets.

Yes they do. Quite a lot of rescue cats are not keen on men for this reason. Domestic abuse is all about scaring those weaker than you, women, children and often family pets.