I like cats and have one called Dusty (picture) who shares the house and garden accepting the food on offer in a "well, if it's here I'll eat it" kind of way which doesn't compromise her independence.
Like many pet owners I imagine Dusty having views on matters (a delusion known as the "pathetic fallacy") and in recent days I have believed she might agree with me that the prosecution of a lady called Mary Bale for popping a cat into a wheelie bin in a moment of madness was disproportionate and actually cruel, bringing shame on the authorities for their lack of compassion and slavery to mob rule (the internet was alive with death threats and other vile commentary). The cat was unharmed; the lady was in a bad place with her father seriously ill - he has died since; she had suffered terribly already from the heartless press maelstrom; and, little wonder, she is now suffering from depression.
Of course she did wrong but a wigging from the police would have sufficed surely. I couldn't help but feel distaste hearing on the radio the sanctimonious expression of "satisfaction" with the verdict and sentence from the RSPCA man, presumably wearing that special uniform they have (what's that all about?).
