Woman Shot, Killed Cat After Attack. Says Animal Chased Pit Bull, Sister

[The Straight Story]

Cops: Woman Shot, Killed Cat After Attack
Woman Says Animal Chased Pit Bull, Sister


LAKELAND, Fla. -- Authorities are charging a woman with shooting a neighborhood cat to death after it attacked her pit bull and her sister.

Lakeland police said 52-year-old Polly Boykin was charged Thursday with animal cruelty and discharging a firearm in public.

Police said a cat named Skeeter, which was owned by Boykin's neighbor, chased the dog, scratched the sister and attacked Boykin.

Boykin told the Lakeland Ledger that she shot Skeeter with her .32-caliber revolver for protection.

http://www.clickorlando.com/news/25861728/detail.html

[hlthe2b]

1. Morons with guns...

once again.... :eyes:

[DainBramaged]

18. Truth!

:fistbump:

[xchrom]

2. !?!?! Really?

That woman just wanted something.

[geckosfeet]

3. You shoot a cat. You pay.

You shoot a person. It's the castle law.

[slackmaster]

5. Shooting any animal to stop depredation or in self-defense is legal in most states, if not all

I'm sure that shooting the cat would have been legal if her description of the circumstances was accurate and complete.

I don't believe a word of it.

[geckosfeet]

9. Shooting a domestic cat in self defense. This in my mind is laughable.

You shoo a cat away. You don't shoot it. At least I am not convinced discharging a firearm was her only recourse given the circumstances that were described. The description was quite vague. I can certainly conceive of situations where shooting a cat would be justified, but this does not appear to fall into that category.

I believe the primary issue here will ultimately be discharging the firearm in public - or too close to dwellings without a justifiable threat. In other words, the potential damage of an errant bullet far outweighs the potential damage posed by a domestic pet.

The courts will decide.

[Maine-ah]

10. cats can attack

one of mine years ago attacked my mother, while the cat was staying at her house while I moved.

She had gouges, six of them down the back of her legs. She should have had stitches for a couple of them. My brother had to pull my mom out of my old bedroom, and if he hadn't been there it probably would have been worse. All she had done was gone in to check on my cat. She had a few cats of her own, and loves animals, would never hurt one. For years after that, when ever my mom came over the cat would hiss and spit at her. I would have to lock the cat up when ever she came over. My mom was deathly afraid of my 5lb kitty.

I wouldn't have been mad if someone had to have killed her to save my mom. I would have been sad at the loss of my cat, but my mom is way more important to me. My cat lived till she was 12 years old and died from diabetes.

[TBF]

11. Somehow I think that Pit bull could've defended himself against a cat. nt

[Maine-ah]

13. normally, I'm sure most dogs would

but depends on the animal. Rarely my kitties would try attacking one of our dogs,(large choco lab) and the dog would shy away from the cat, sometimes the dog would stand up for herself. Not all pit bulls are violent animals, I would think it would depend on the beastie.

[TBF]

14. Of course not all Pitts are violent - but I would think they could defend themselves

from a cat if provoked.

[Maine-ah]

15. I'm sure the pit could...but was it inclined to do so?

I would expect most dogs if provoked by a cat would defend, but some just don't have the personality, or perhaps were trained to "leave the kitty alone" by their owner. Unfortunately the story does not give a whole lot of detail.

[11 Bravo]

25. Yeah, because all Pit Bulls are ravening beasts who exist solely ...

to rend poor innocent kitties limb from limb.

[csziggy]

29. My husband's old cat beat the hell out of a pit bull

That cat weighed about 20 pounds, had claws so big they did not fully retract and his fangs hung down below his lips. A new neighbor came by to introduce himself and brought his pit bull with him. We warned him to watch the dog around that cat and he laughed, told us he was a veterinarian and would patch up the cat for free if need be.

About that time, the cat jumped the dog, who had gotten too close. He straddled the dog's head abckwards, biting at the base of the skull, ripping at his ears with the front claws and trying to kick at the dog's eyes with his back feet. Hubby got the cat off, but the dog owner did not have a good hold on the now incensed dog. The dog went after the cat, and the cat was back on the dog.

We finally got them completely separated and the owner took the dog home. I know that guy had other dogs, but we never saw another one on our property and he never mentioned how his dog fared. We all had scratches from that day and were pretty bloody at the end. Some was our blood, some the dog's but the cat had no injuries at all.

My current cat is half that size, but he makes up for it in pure bravado. He has attacked deer, stood up to foxes and stared down a half pit bull that had the gall to come on the porch. The pit bull tucked its tail and slunk off without challenging the cat.

[geckosfeet]

20. Your mothers case adds some degree of credibility to a self defense claim.

But I can't imagine trying to shoot a cat while it is in the act of clawing someone without injuring the victim. It seems like there would be an all around safer way to get the cat to break off the attack.

And once the cat breaks off its attack, shooting the cat becomes more of an act of revenge or pre-emption. Perhaps justifiable in the minds of some folks.

[customerserviceguy]

4. Did she shoot the cat in the middle of it's attack

or did she go to the neighbor's house afterwards to get some frontier justice?

If it's the former, it sounds like self-defense to me. For the cat lovers who disagree with me, would your opinion change if it were a snake or some other exotic pet?

[Xithras]

24. Yep, that's the real question.

If she shot the cat while it was in the process of attacking her or someone else, then the shooting will be found justifiable. The use of lethal force to stop an attack on our person has always been legal.

If she shot the cat as it was running away, she'll get the book thrown at her.

[customerserviceguy]

26. Those are the rules for shooting humans

I would imagine that it would be even more permissable in the case of destroying property.

[eShirl]

6. I knew one cat that would lunge and bite (deeply) people he didn't know who got too close.

This cat had been DECLAWED, which, I have no doubt, contributed greatly to his behavior.

btw, deep cat bites are NASTY and usually require antibiotics

[uppityperson]

7. File that headline under "poorly punctuated".

[rug]

8. I dare you to put this in the Lounge.

[kayakjohnny]

12. My bet is that they'll find out the cat was rabid.

And if so, she'll be off the hook.

Just my guess.

[RamboLiberal]

16. More on the story - judge for yourself

Though personally I don't think I'd have taken my gun to this kind of cat fight. Better would be a pair of heavy gloves.

On Tuesday a cat named Skeeter went into Polly Boykin's yard and was chased by her pit bull, Zeva. Zeva chased Skeeter out of the yard and under a mobile home next to Boykin's property, where neighbors tried to coax out the two animals, reports The Ledger in Lakeland.

When Boykin's sister, Brenda Barley, tried to remove Skeeter, the cat attacked the two women. So Boykin got her .32-caliber revolver for protection. When Skeeter attacked Boykin a second time, she shot the cat, reports The Ledger.

The cat's owner, neighbor Judy Steele, was talking to neighbors across the street at the time of the shooting.

Barley now makes visits every other day to Lakeland Regional Medical Center's emergency room for antibiotic treatments for her infected hand, she told The Ledger. And she's scheduled to meet with a hand surgeon soon.

http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/specials/weirdflorida/blog/2010/11/woman_faces_charges_of_shootin_1.html

Boykin says on Tuesday Skeeter jumped into Zeva's fenced yard while the dog was loose. Boykin says Skeeter scratched Zeva's face and nose and bit her ears.

"The dog is trying to chew the cat. Yeah, it's going to defend itself," says Steele.

When the cat jumped the fence, so did Zeva. They both ran underneath a trailer home next door. Boykin says when she ran over, she saw her dog cornered.

When Boykin's sister tried grabbing Zeva, the cat attacked. "I counted 11 puncture wounds on my hand," says Brenda Barley, Boykin's sister. Barley says she's getting antibiotic treatments every other day and will need hand surgery for damaged tendons.

Boykin says that's when she grabbed her .32 caliber gun. Boykin claims self defense.

http://www.wtsp.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=157353&catid=58

LAKELAND | A Lakeland woman was charged with shooting a neighborhood cat to death Tuesday after it attacked her, her pit bull and her sister, according to the Lakeland Police Department.

-----

(cat owner)Steele was cited for not having proper documentation of vaccinations and for having an animal on the loose, she said.

While it's not common for a cat owner to be cited by the Polk County Sheriff's Office's Animal Control unit, it does happen, said Donna Wood, a PCSO spokeswoman. "It's not as frequent as dogs. A lot of people won't claim a cat."

Cats roaming the neighborhood are a problem, Boykin said, and she's complained to her neighbors.

http://www.theledger.com/article/20101119/NEWS/11195045/1410?Title=Lakeland-Woman-Faces-Charges-of-Shooting-Cat-in-Self-Defense

[TBF]

19. Why didn't that stupid woman just leave the cat alone?

It was obviously hiding under the mobile home because it was scared. I hope she is charged with animal cruelty.

[DeltaLitProf]

21. A cat really can do a LOT of harm

Many dogs eyes protrude and a lot of cats have hot tempers. I have one cat who is very sweet tempered, but when a dog he doesn't know appears near him, he goes straight for the eyes. Extremely dangerous for the dog.

[customerserviceguy]

28. Ah, fun in the trailer park

It's hard to root for anybody in these situations. I lived in one six years ago with my last ex-wife, her mother used to get a charge out of seeing which trailer was being busted by the cops for being a meth lab.

[Ezlivin]

17. That's why my cats are always armed

Thank god for the Texas Animal Right To Carry laws.

[Duer 157099]

22. Bet this was the cat who chased those gators away n/t

[madinmaryland]

23. Now if it had been two dark complected young men running away, you would

have had a whole bunch of DU'ers defending the woman, but god forbid if it is an animal...

:wtf:

[Withywindle]

30. Regardless of skin color, humans can do a lot more damage than a cat.

Hell, my cat "attacks" me every frickin' day. That's how she plays. It's rough, that's why she was a "hard case" at the shelter. Yes, she breaks the skin, yes, she draws blood.

But when it comes down to it, she weighs 10 lbs and I weigh 120. I have thumbs, she does not. I know what spray bottles and antibiotics are (she doesn't), and I'm not afraid to use 'em.

Shooting in the case of a small animal is ridiculous overkill; you can be pretty sure the animal is not carrying a gun or able to overpower you. If it was an aggressive dog, I would have more sympathy (a TRULY aggressive dog, not just one that is scared or defending its territory)--there are lots of cases of dogs killing people. I've never ever heard of a cat killing a person.*





*I mean, I'm sure it's theoretically possible. You can probably find me a link somewhere if you really look.

[madinmaryland]

34. I am owned by three cats, my wife, and daughter, so I do speak

from experience.

My point was that there was more sympathy on DU for the guy who shot two guys in the back as they ran away than someone who shot a dog (it happened in the Baltimore area recently) who was attacking his wife and dog.

It just really bothers me.

[jmowreader]

27. How big was this cat?

We're either dealing with someone keeping a bobcat at home, or the wimpiest pit bull in the history of civilization.

[benEzra]

32. Snort! (n/t)

[Roon]

31. I knew someone who had a cat that had kittens

The alley cats were always howling at the windows trying to get to her. One night my friend and a couple of people entered the dark apartment and this little kitty ATTACKED. Three people got hurt, one went to the hospital,the cat bit completely though her owners thumb. In through the bottom out the top. It got infected of course.

One guy witnessed the attack and compared her to the tasmanian devil.

[petronius]

33. A cat that really wants to attack can do a lot of damage - but I think it would be extremely

difficult to shoot one in the midst of a real attack. I'm guessing she shot the cat while it was still, not to ward off an active attack. (If she really had the firearms skill to do what she says she did, then she should also have the experience to know that this wasn't a 'run and get your gun' situation.)

From all the description, I'd say she was very unjustified in shooting, and should be convicted. She saw a chance to get revenge on an animal (and neighbor) that was annoying to her, and she took it...

[TBF]

35. That is what I see as well -

I'm sure her feelings towards that cat (and perhaps owner) pre-date this incident.