The Dutch law is failing again...

My dad visited me yesterday and proudly told me he set a mousetrap for the neighbor's cat, and couldn't hold his laughter when he reached the point in his story of how the cat screamed when it stepped on it. He even added that he's planning on catching it a few more times until it learns to stay out of his garden.

I looked at options to file a report and police actually has a dedicated animal abuse department. But the actions they can take are limited to taking custody of an abused animal and forbid an abuser to purchase any other animals. My dad does not own a cat and doesn't want any, so that's not going to make any difference. If police take custody, that's only going to make my dad happy and hurt his neighbors unfairly.

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DarkHeaven ·

Step back for a minute. It’s not about your Da. It’s not about his neighbors. This is about the cat. Could the cat be permanently injured through no fault of its own? If the answer is yes… you know what to do. This is not about your Da or his neighbors. This is about the safety and well being of the cat.

NerdyPotato · M

@DarkHeaven that's a good point... 😔

DarkHeaven ·

@NerdyPotato You care. Don’t ever discount that. So many don’t. 🖤

Fluffybull · F

@NerdyPotato How old is he? Is this "obsession" with the cat (or other things) new in his behaviour and out of character? Could he have some sort of dementia?

NerdyPotato · M

@Fluffybull he's 67 and the behavior started a few years ago. That's when the neighbours moved in. Before that, the cat didn't live in the neighborhood yet. I have considered dementia for other reasons, but I don't know. A lot of signs are also character traits he's had for as long as I remember.

DarkHeaven ·

@NerdyPotato Dementia doesn’t exactly change who a person is… it just reduces impulse control, and makes them more them with zero filter or societal control. I really wouldn’t rule it out. I might have thoughts about being mean at times (as we all do,) but my impulse control helps me from acting on it. Without that we do might do mean things like children do. I really wouldn’t rule out dementia. 🦋