Conference misery::feline_v1

3343.0. "Can (will) anyone help me?" by USEM::MCQUEENEY (Managing L.E.S.S. every day.) Fri Feb 16 1990 12:54

    	Moderators, if this subject is inappropriate, please let me
    know and I will be happy to delete it.
    
    	I have a problem that I think the FELINErs can help me with,
    due to common experiences with cats.  Ever since my beloved Ruffles
    (the wonder cat) was accidentally killed in the clothes dryer, my
    ex-wife has been attempting to use that information to prove that
    I am a horrible person, and should not be allowed visitation with
    my children because of it.  The subject of Ruffles' death has been
    brought up in our custody hearings in court, and my ex-wife's attorney
    words it in such a way that it sounds like I deliberately "threw"
    my cat into the dryer and killed him.
    
    	What I would like to do is to have some documentation available
    to show the court that this is a major concern of cat owners, and
    that I am not the only person to whom an accident like this has
    happenned.  I know a number of you have had near misses, and at
    least a couple of you have actually lost their beloved furfaces
    in this manner.
    
    	I would really appreciate it if any of you would send me a mail
    message to USEM::MCQUEENEY relating your tales about these experiences,
    so that I may prove to a court that situations like this are not
    uncommon where cats are involved.  In this way, I can show that
    it was in no way a deliberate action on my part, but rather a very
    unfortunate, and not uncommon, accident.  Bear in mind that any
    mail messages you send to me will be part of a documentation package
    for legal purposes, so colorful language should be kept to a minimum.
    Oh, by the way, no one will be asked to testify in regards to this.
    These will be used simoply as documentation to back up my own
    statements.
    
    	I really appreciate any help any of you can give me in this
    matter.  Please sign any mail messages with your full legal name,
    along with a statement that you understand that these will be made
    public, and you give your permission.  This last part is simply
    to protect Digital and meet security considerations.  The name of
    the company should not be used in any way.  Many thanks for anything
    you folks can do for me.
    
    	Bob McQueeney
    

    Bob -
      Perhaps your vet can be of some help here too.  Besides having
    some of his own stories, he can point out how inquisitive cats
    are, and how they like small, enclosed, warm spaces.
    
      I hope the Moderators will leave this note here.
      
    I wish there was more I could do.  What a heart-wrenching thing
    to have to go through.
      Nancy

    Bob, could you get something from you vet?  I would think that that
    would hold some weight coming from a professional.
    
    Just an idea.
    
    Flo & Oliver
    

    
    	Good idea - get a written statement from the vet.
    
    	
    	Are your child(ren?) old enough to testify as to
    	your treatment of them? This is really sad, I'm
    	very sorry you have to go through this...
    
    	Sherry
    

    My moderator hat is now on. I will leave this note here, HOWEVER, I am
    going to set it /NOWRITE. Folks that wish to help Bob (who, incidentally,
    I think I went to college with), please communicate DIRECTLY with Bob
    in this matter.

    Deb

    P.S. I think that there was an article in one of the cat magazines
    about a year ago on "household hazards" and one of the hazards listed
    was the dryer. Perhaps one of the contributors to this conference still
    has and can find that issue of the magazine (I think it was Cat Fancy)