"Boy Charged for Meowing at Neighbor Lady"

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

Boy Charged For Meowing At Neighbor Lady
Family Gave Cat Away After Neighbor's Complaints
POSTED: 2:26 pm EDT August 23, 2006
JEANNETTE, Pa. -- Meow. A Pennsylvania judge is being asked to decide whether that word is a harmless taunt or grounds for misdemeanor harassment.
Police have charged a 14-year-old boy with that crime. Michael Loughner is accused of meowing whenever he sees his 78-year-old neighbor, Alexandria Carasia.
The boy's family got rid of their cat after Carasia complained that it was using her flower garden as a litter box. Now, she said, the boy makes meowing sounds every time he sees her.
He said he's only meowed at her twice.

<snip>
http://www.wftv.com/news/9725203/detail.html

As far as I'm concerned, this neighbor is a bitchy old bat, who should be ashamed of herself for tying up the courts and just being a general bitch. If I was the kid, I'd meow at her, too.

[_testify_]

1. I'd do worse if she made my family get rid of a pet.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

4. I couldn't imagine having a neighbor making me to get rid of a pet.

I had a downstairs neighbor that filed a bunch of noise violations against me and my cats, but fortunately my landlord realized she was an annoying loon, so my kitties & I never got in any trouble.

[ThomCat]

13. Oh hell, yes. Meowing at her is the least she should expect.

There is no way I'd get rid of a pet without a court order, no matter how mean a neighbor got about it.

[zanne]

2. I'd put catnip on her doorstep. nt

[LeftyMom]

3. Somebody's got a guilty concience.

I'd meow at the nasty old bat too. The whole town should.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

6. Yeah, to me, she's the one who is doing the harassing, not the kid.

[LeftyMom]

10. No kidding.

Can you imagine calling the cops because a kid meowed at you? Somebody needs a little drama in her life. Jesus, can't she just watch soap operas or something?

[Misunderestimator]

5. I don't blame him for meowing... but his parents are HORRID to get rid

of the cat... instead of just keeping it indoors or just ignoring the old bat entirely.

On edit... ok, they aren't exactly horrid, since they gave the cat to other family members, but still...

[petronius]

8. Yeah - the one thing I am sure of is that there won't

be any Parent of the Year awards handed out at that household...

[petronius]

7. If the lady's story is accurate, then both the kid and his parents

need to be walloped. However, if he really only did it once or twice and there has been no other harrassment, then the lady needs to quit whining...

:shrug: No way to know who's telling the truth...

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

9. I think if you harass someone into giving up their family pet then...

you should be bitch enough to handle getting meowed at. He's not doing anything destructive to her, but it sounds like she definitely hurt him, when he had to give up his cat.

[petronius]

15. Making a lot of assumptions here, but I don't think it's necessarily

fair to say that she harassed the family into giving up their pet. She had every right to complain about a planter full of poop, and if the parents couldn't come up with a solution other than exiling the cat, then I'd say they screwed up. It seems likely to me that they just didn't want to make any effort, and got rid of the cat to make the neighbor the villain.

Going on minimal info, my best guess is that we have a feeble parents and an undisciplined child. The neighbor lady may be cranky, but if she's telling the truth about constant meowing, then I'd say she's in the right...

[LeftyMom]

16. We'd have to know more about the cat

Is it primarily an outside cat, either because of incompatibility with other animals or because it's a recovered feral or something? If that's the case, there's no reasonable way to keep it inside and out of the planters. Though in that case there are relatively easy ways to keep a cat out of a planter, usually involving plants they dislike or surfaces they won't scratch in.

On the other hand, if it's a cat that could easily have been kept inside, the parents are wrong in not trying that prior to rehoming the animal.

[petronius]

20. Right - we actually know next to nothing about this story,

but that certainly isn't going to stop us all from developing strong opinions, moral outrage, and perhaps even flinging around some insults! :)

I'm sure we've all had both kinds of neighbors - the perpetually angry on the one hand, and the lazy indulgent parents of spoiled brats on the other. There's no way to know which is the case here.

What I do find interesting about this thread is the proportion of people who are willing to assume that the woman is a 'crazy old bat' - it seems like we have a majority who are immediately going in that direction. Does it mean we really love cats, or do we just not like old ladies? :shrug:

[LeftyMom]

21. Well, she called the police because the neighbor kid meowed at her

Considering that that's pretty mild as child behavior goes I think saying that she's over-reacting isn't a huge stretch.

[petronius]

23. But the question is, did he do it "once or twice" or

"every time he sees her"? If the former, then it's normal kid behavior; if the latter, then it's harrassment that warrants a police call if the parents refuse to address it...

[LeftyMom]

26. maybe it's because I've got a little boy myself

I can't see meowing as harassment. Seriously, unless he's following her around everyplace she goes, who cares? Kids have short attention spans, the best thing to do when they're being annoying is to ignore them. The worst option is to make a battle of it, because little boys are astonishingly stubborn in that circumstance.

You'd think a person would have a thicker skin by that age. :wtf:

[petronius]

34. I disagree...

If it is true that he is making noises at her every time he sees her, deliberately attempting to annoy her, that is harrassment. The parents have a responsibility to curtail that behavior, and if they refuse to then it is reasonable to call the police. Really, I see it more as calling the police on the parents than on the kid...

[LeftyMom]

35. it's an astonishing waste of police and court time

People need to settle these minor issues themselves. Cops aren't daycare providers, and it isn't thier job to break up such minor squabbles while real criminal behavior is unaddressed.

[petronius]

36. And when people refuse to settle the issue themselves?

If a child is incessantly taunting an elderly neighbor, and the parents refuse to behave responsibly, it is absolutely an appropriate matter for police and courts. Assuming the woman has complained to the parents, and they have not controlled their child, how would you have her settle the issue? A cat-poop catapult? A gun?

[LeftyMom]

38. A quick visit to the nursery, some screen and a few cat repellant plants

would have fixed the issue to begin with. As for the meowing, by doing what we'd expect any child to do in the face of such mild teasing, and pretending not to hear it at all.

Perhaps I'm being unreasonable in expecting an adult to act like one, but I really don't think so.

[petronius]

39. The adult who needs to act like an adult is the boy's parent

It was their responsibility to control the cat, and their responsibility to control the child. Frankly, the 'just ignore him, the precious little darling' prescription is just so much bullshit...

(Again, of course, we don't know whos version of this particular story is correct.)

[LeftyMom]

41. As I said above, it may not have been possible to keep the cat indoors

The fact that it was rehomed rather than brought inside suggests to me that this was the case. Outdoor cats poop outoors, and since they like to bury thier poo, they find garden soil tempting. It's just in the nature of cats and something gardeners have to work around, just as they do forraging deer, bright sunlight and dry weather.

As for the boy, he's meowed at the lady, perhaps only twice. Hardly a behavior that suggests that he's out of control, let alone merits a police complaint.

[petronius]

42. OK, I've composed two long replies and the site failed to post both times

So, here's the Cliff Notes:

1) Cats are not a natural hazard for gardeners, and pet owners are responsible for controlling them. They have many options, but they do need to find something that works.
2) If it was only once or twice, the woman is wrong.
3) If the boy is in fact making a concerted effort to annoy his neighbor, then he is in the wrong. "Just ignore it" is not a valid response to inappropriate and antisocial behavior.
4) If #3 is true, and the parents have failed to control their child, then calling the police was justified.

[Kickoutthejams23]

31. A little of both.

One of my two cats is an indoor feral cat (actually had to sign a pledge not to let her outside after a rough couple of weeks she is my sweetheart) Most of us have had a cranky mean old bat neighbors. (When repugs age) and I know I can relate to the smart ass kid. :silly: It's is the perfect story of an Innocent childhood taunt being attacked by the mean old woman. Practically a fairy tale (Read the story again and try not to picture the old lady as Margret Hamilton) Lets not let facts get in the way of a good yarn. (And either way calling the cops is still silly)

[Haole Girl]

11. People like that old bat should just live on the moon. n/t

[Sequoia]

12. Roar Li-i-ions let your voice be heard!

[deucemagnet]

14. I think he should stop meowing and start saying, "Ni!"

That way, if she wants to file another lawsuit, she'll have to say that he was saying such things as "Ni!", "Peng!", "Ni-wom!" and "Ecky, Ecky, Ecky, P'tang, Zoo Boing! Goodem-zoo-owli-zhiv." That'll learn her. That'll learn her good, by gum!

[nini]

17. She's a bitch? Why couldn't they just keep the cat in the house?

Or offer to clean up her flower beds?

As a homeowner I don't want other people's pet crapping all over my yard. Expecting a neighbor to control their pets is not out of line.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

18. Not all cats can be kept indoors.

Offering to clean up the flower beds is a good idea, but would probably just result in destroying her flower beds. Cats bury their feces, unlike dogs.

[nini]

19. Have you ever gardened?

If you have you'd know how absolutely fun it is to have cat shit all over the place. Not to mention the lingering smell of feces and urine. Not fun.

I have 2 cats. They never go out doors. The feral I adopted years ago got used to being indoors.

Ultimately is an issue that those people violated her space. Maybe she is a neighborhood pain in the butt, that doesn't take away an owner's repsonsibility of their pets.


Calling her a bitch was too much.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

22. I call them as I see them.

I don't garden. My parents do though. Two indoor cats and two mostly outdoor cats. I never heard them complain and the yard doesn't have a lingering smell.

[Kajsa]

27. I have a small garden, now,

but use to have a large one when I had a backyard.

My cats would bury their feces, there was no smell,
no flies, and no problems.

BUT- My flowers and plants would grow like crazy!
Cat fertilizer did the trick.

;-)

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

28. Yeah, it does seem to work quite well. nt

[nini]

46. Sorry. but having a cat other than your own crap in your yard..

..isn't right and violates property rights.

We had two cats around here that loved my flower bed. It was disgusting - the fact YOU don't have a problem as bad doesn't give you the ability to CALL anything for other people :eyes:

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

49. Well, I was referring to her being a bitch in my opinion.

I think she's a bitch. I called her a bitch. Therefore, I call them as I see them.

Also, as LeftyMom pointed out above, there are ways this woman could have discouraged the cat (and other animals) from crapping in her yard. You may want to check them out to help you avoid the disgusting problem.

[nini]

54. You still don't get the point - do you?

A pet owner has a responsibility to look after the pet. A homeowner has a right to expect a neighbor to control their pets. If an animal is allowed to run the neighborhood the owners of the pet are not living up to their responsibility.


There's not enough information in the article to know who is the worse neighbor here and you are judging without enough facts.

So, when you call them...you're not SEEING enough to make that judgment to call anyone a bitch.


Actually, using the word bitch has its own issues and is offensive to many posters here but there's DU flamewar that is best left alone.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

55. I think the fact that she's basing her "harassment" claim on some

kid "meowing" at her allows one to guess that the neighbors with the cat, weren't harassing her in other ways. If you have a real case for harassment, then why not file a charge over that and not some kid meowing?

As for the "bitch" flamewar. Yeah, I've seen them. Personally, I think they're stupid. It's just a word that some people make a lame attempt at politicizing. It's just PC bullshit.

[Kajsa]

29. What is fertilizer?

Poop, right?

[nini]

47. yes it's poop and it's applied in controlled amounts

good try :eyes:

[Kajsa]

56. OK- let's try my other post here.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=105&topic_id=5541836&mesg_id=5542084

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

33. I'll say.

Did you read the story? First this cranky old bitch makes the neighbor kid get rid of his cat. And you won't believe the next part- then she calls the cops on the kid for making fun of her.

What a rotten excuse for a neighbor.



Where's a pack of gremlins when you need one?

[nini]

50. I read the story and I've got to say I'm surprised at the responses here

There's no way in hell anyone can determine how the family acted during all this from this story.
They don't sound completely innocent to me to be honest with you.


Why didn't they keep the cat in the house?

Why didn't they just offer to clean up after the cat like dog owners have started doing?

How do you know these people who are being so tortured aren't assholes and she's the one being bothered?

uh.. you don't know - because the story doesn't give enough info.

So I'm saying calling her a bitch multiple times with the limited info in this story is not warranted.

[KamaAina]

24. I do extremely realistic meows

I have, on occasion, fooled people -- cat people -- into thinking they were the real thing.

One wonders if the ASPCA or Cat Fancy Ass'n or someone would wish to bring me to Jeannette and, ah, introduce me to the cat-hater... Meow! Meow! Meeeooowww!

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

25. I hold cat conversations with Midnight.

We meow back and forth at each other. The other cats don't respond to my meows.

[bridgit]

30. i say she's a bitchy old CAT, and so understood the 'language' of...

"Meow!" just as it was more, or less, intended; but in either event the utterance does not rise imo to a chargeable offense :rofl:

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

32. Woah, that cat is freaky. nt

[MrScorpio]

37. Meow!

Meow!

[FedUpWithIt All]

40. Personally, i think the boy is clever...

WTF is this in court for. He is not threatening her. He is not insulting her. He is not damaging her property.

The boy is obviously frustrated over the events that he most likely had no say in. Let him express it in this incredibly harmless way.

[Broken_Hero]

43. how incredibly

absurd...my word....gives other old batty women a bad name!

[chaska]

44. The macro and the micro....

Micro: Fuck that bitch. You can't control a cat, and if you do it's animal abuse, IMO. I hate assholes that hate animals and don't respect their natures.

Macro: I blame this idiotic society (specifically developers) and the system that dictates these tiny-ass yards that force everybody constantly up each others butt, and into each others affairs. Jefferson's America would have made us much happier human animals.

Why do I hate America? There's a shitload to hate, lemme tell ya; this one being fairly low on the list.

[Dont_Bogart_the_Pretzel]

45. Time for the boy to ask for a puppy..

A LOUD BARKING PUPPY. Like maybe a chihuahua!

[RevCheesehead]

48. Was her name Elvira Gulch?

She always was a wicked old witch.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

51. I don't know but...

I think we have a couple Elvira Gulch's here.

[rug]

52. Did Elvira garden?

[RevCheesehead]

53. There's an Elvira in every community...

in every organization, and especially in every church. That's why Dana Carvey did the Church Lady. Fuckin' know-it-alls who think they run the world.

I wish I knew how to handle 'em. But I don't. :shrug: