General Etiquette > Life...in general

Did you just KICK my cat????

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NOVA Lady:
I am a little mad but this is what happened.

I had to have a contractor to my home and while he was walking around one of my very curious kitties (see my shameless self promotion in the off topic section for visual ;0) started sniffing around him. Well this gentlemen half scooted and half kicked my cat about 3 feet. I don't mean the cat flew up in the air or that he catopulted him across the room. More like picked him up with his shoe in the middle and tossed him a little ways.

The cat ran off but was definetly OK, the guy didn't even pause in conversation.

I asked him "Did you just kick my cat?" and he told me he was just moving him and then looked at me like I was a huge freak.

So now I am wondering if I am over reacting. If someone had kicked my animals hard That would be a problem. But is a gentle kick/scooped toss OK now?

:( I don't think I am going to hire him because if he cannot respect the animals that will be there during the project while I am standing right there I cannot even imagine what he'll do when I am not there.

So my questions are: Am I over reacting? and also When I inform him that he is not being hired I want to tell him the reason why (I don't feel comfortable with him around my animals) but is it appropriate for me to do that?

:) Thanks all

kingsrings:
It would depend on exactly what he did and whether it was hostile or not. I don't think that there is anything wrong with taking my foot and gently nudging my cats away when they get underfoot, I do it all the time! Sometimes I will pick them up with my foot a little and move them away gently. Is that what he did? Or was it an aggressive, I-hate-cats action? If the latter, then I definitely wouldn't hire him and would tell him why. But keep in mind though that it's hard for the contractors and repair people to do their work when pets are underfoot. It's also dangerous for both involved as accidents could occur. Cats are a big offender in this dept. as they are so curious and want to see what is going on in their territory.

LazzKat:
It's not OK at all for him to have done that!  And Yes, I'd tell him why he didn't get the job.

wetblanket:
If you don't feel comfortable, you definitely shouldn't hire him.  It's up to you to tell him why.

When I have people in to do work on my place, I usually shut the cat in another room so she doesn't get in the way.  I might also put her in her crate - safer and less stressful for everyone, including the cat.  While cats certainly do not like being crated, it doesn't do them any harm.

PoisonIvy:
You absolutely are not overreacting!!  Was your cat scared at all?  Even if he wasn't hurt, it sounds like a pretty rough shove if he was involuntarily moved three feet.  I would seriously consider whether I wanted this man in my home near my animals.  I wouldn't hire him, and I'd tell him why.  The fact that he wasn't even apologetic (and in fact, acted like YOU were the one with the problem) says to me that he has no idea how to treat animals.  A contractor should not only be skilled, but he should also have respect for your home and everyone in it, including the four-legged furry ones.

Although I often do a similar thing to my own kitty, I am very gentle with her and she treats it as sort of a game (like I'm giving her a ride on my foot).  But it would never be described as a "toss", definitely not as much as three feet, and I would NEVER do such a thing to someone else's cat.   Besides the obvious risk of injury, it's very frightening for the poor animal when someone acts so aggressively towards them in their own territory.

I am so furious on your (and kitty's) behalf!!

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