Actor Joseph Petcka Killed His Girlfriend's Cat, NY Post Author Andrea Peyser Says Kitty "Deserved Every Blow"
This has my blood boiling. Not much makes me this angry, but violence against a child, animal, or an elderly person does.
Some actor guy named Joseph Petcka (anybody ever heard of him before now?) killed his girlfriend's cat and claimed self-defense:
A man accused of slaughtering his girlfriend's cat was so obsessed with the tiny tabby that he wrote about it in his diary, the tearful woman testified yesterday at his bizarre feline-bludgeoning trial. In the weeks before lay-about actor Joseph Petcka admittedly kicked cat Norman to death, he was already oddly fixated with earning the skittish orange and white cat's affection, Lisa Altobelli told a Manhattan jury. [...] Petcka loved his successful girlfriend, writing her love poems and tenderly drawing her portrait. But Altobelli saw the relationship as "casual," she told jurors, even as she lavished her love on Norman. She let the cat sleep at the foot of her bed, and called him "my little buddy," and "my little fluffball." Norman, as well, wasn't feeling the love for the boyfriend. "When Joe would come into the room, he would start hissing," Altobelli told jurors. "He was visibly terrified," she said of Norman. "He would run to the other side of the apartment."That should have been the first sign right there to get this sorry sack of fetid fecal matter outta her life. Animals are excellent at gauging people, I have found. And he wrote about the cat in his diary? Did it have a tiny little lock and gold embossed letters that said "My Diary" on the front? Was it pink with little yellow daisies? I thought men kept journals, not "diaries". After incidents such as coming home to find the cat wet and shivering and her "boyfriend" offering no explanation, things came to a head:
Things spun wildly out of control on the last day of their six-week affair, March 27, 2007, Altobelli testified. Petcka ransacked her liquor cabinet, guzzling whiskey, wine and cider. He threatened to put Norman in the microwave and nuke him, insisting the cat had bit him on the hand. Altobelli then left, hoping Petcka would cool down. She knew something was terribly wrong, she told jurors, when she returned home at 5 a.m. and Norman didn't come running to the door. The cat's food, fur and feces were everywhere, she said. She found Norman's body in his "special spot," she said - the space under her bedside nightstand where he hid when scared. "He was dead," she said, sobbing. "I put my hand there and he was just cold and stiff. I pulled him out." Then she stopped, unable to continue.Hell would have frozen over before I would have left my beloved pet alone with a drunken mouthbreather who threatened to put it in the microwave. Either pet and I would have left together or jerkface would have found himself on his sorry behind outside on the sidewalk. Anybody who threatens to microwave my cat is going to be feasting on their own microwaved testicles. However, I'm not going to beat up this girl any more than I am sure she already is doing to herself. I feel for anyone who has to go through something like this, but she certainly showed poor judgement...I'm sure she knows that now, though. But now we have another NY Post writer chiming in on the subject...Andrea Peyser writes that the little eight-pound kitty "deserved every blow":
THE stupid cat had it coming. Forgive me, all you animal- rights nuts, you freaky lovers of things furry, fierce and woefully incontinent. I've got something to say to all assorted people who've got nothing better to do with their days than stick their noses in another man's litter box. The dead cat at the center of a whacked-out catricide trial now eating up precious court time and tax dollars in downtown Manhattan is no innocent wittle victim. Norman the Cat, who was pummeled to death last year at the age of 8 by an inarguably hot, allegedly drunk, former Met minor leaguer and bit-part actor named Joseph Petcka, had serious issues. The first of which may have been his name. Owner Lisa Altobelli testified yesterday that she named Norman after the zhlubby character Norm from "Cheers" - "my favorite show." Norman Bates sounds more accurate. No one likes to see a little frisky drowning in a pool of his own blood. Well, not many. But Petcka had grown tragically fixated on the idea of getting along with the pet pussy that Altobelli called "my little buddy." He wrote in his diary that he'd made "progress" getting the pea-brained flea bag to allow Petcka to pet him. Early on March 27, 2007, Altobelli testified, Petcka had too much to drink. She said he chanted, in a weird, sing-songy voice, "Nor-man. Nor-man!" So Altobelli did what anyone overly attached to a neurotic hairball would do when danger was afoot: She left Petcka alone in her apartment with her beloved cat. Hours later, Altobelli returned. She found the puss under a table. "He was cold," she said, crying crocodile tears and hanging her head petulantly. Petcka claims the thing sank his teeth into his hand. So he had to violently knock him away. Innocent victim? Or kitty provocateur? Why can't we just ask Petcka to clean a few hundred litter boxes, and end this fiasco?Well, I've got something to say to you, you arrogant, snotty, egotistical, contemptible, odious, sorry excuse for a so-called journalist...there's no way in the world that a loving pet ever "deserves" to be bludgeoned to death. Even if the kitty were to bite someone, that is no excuse for a grown man to kill it, especially not in such a horrific manner. Let's see...eight pound cat against grown athletic adult man. Seem like a fair fight to you? Can you even imagine the sort of fury one would have to work up to bludgeon a cat to death? Not to mention that violence against pets is often directly linked to violence against people...someone who abuses animals is much more likely to also abuse people. What if this had not been a cat, but a child? Would Little Miss Kitty-Hater be so likely to defend this jerk then? Replace "cat" in the original story above with "toddler" or "child" and see what story you can come up with. Would she have been so quick to label him a hunk then? (Oh, and this isn't the only article she's done on the subject...here's one where she talks about the trial, and here's one where she gets orgasmic about what a hunk this guy is.) Here's a few stats on the relationship between violence against pets and against people:
Even if a spouse has never been violent towards YOU, it's vital that you take even the threat of violence against a pet seriously - not only for the pet's safety, but for your own as well. Tons of research has been done on the issue of animal abuse and the relation to child abuse and spouse battering and the facts are in: threats or actions against your pet are a very strong indicator that violence is on the way for you or your children. Of 50 shelters surveyed about women and children escaping from domestic violence, 85% said that women in their shelter talked about pet abuse, 63% of children talked about pet abuse, and 83% said that they had observed the coexistence of domestic violence and pet abuse. [...] Further research indicates that 70% to 75% of women reporting domestic violence also reported that their partner had threatened and/or actually hurt or killed one or more of their pets. Actual (as distinct from threatened) harm to pets represented the majority (57%) of reports.Chances are, if someone says they are going to hurt your pet, they will...just like if they say they are going to hurt you, they will. At the first sign of threatening behavior towards her cat, this woman should have thrown this guy out on his brains. Look, I have two cats, littermates, and they don't always behave like angels. One in particular is very sensitive to changes in emotional atmosphere, and if my husband or either of my kids is arguing with me, he is very likely to sit and 'holler' at us (in kittyese, of course), and sometimes he has even smacked or tried to bite the other person, but only in the heat of the moment. Otherwise, he is a very loving cat. He thinks of me as his momma, so in his little kitty brain I guess he is protecting me, even though these people are people he lives with and loves on every other occasion. There are tactics I can use if I feel either kitty is getting out of hand to bring them back into line that calms them down, but neither cat will put up with anyone being "mean" to me. Perhaps Norman had picked up on this guy's personality and was trying to warn his owner, using the only communication that he had at his disposal, that this jerk was a loser. Our pets communicate with us, we just don't always recognize it. I am an animal lover. I bottlefed my cats when they were orphaned at three weeks old. I ran into a burning house, saved one cat, and had to help the firefighters pick through the dark, wet, smoldering ashes to find the other cat (alive and well, albeit wet and dirty, thank God). If you love your animals as much as I do, let the NYP know this will not be tolerated. I don't normally do this, but if this sorry excuse for a woman is going to advocate violence against animals then I feel there is no other choice. I urge you to write the NYP and demand that Ms. Peyser be removed from her duties at the NYP, such as they are, at least temporarily. If she can't grasp that a person being violent to an animal is not only a horrible thing in and of itself, but a sign of worse things to come, then she needs to keep her sorry opinions to herself. According to the NY Post's own TOS regarding their forums:
You agree that you will not submit Messages to Forums that:I realize columnists are not posting in forums, but why have one set of guidelines for one area and not for another? If someone in the forums made a post like that, it would be removed...so why allow it from a columnist? I urge you to contact the NYP...but by all means, be respectful, do not threaten, do not do or say anything stupid, do not act like a jerk yourself, behave appropriately, but let them know this is outrageous:NYP reserves the right to immediately terminate your use of, or access to, this Site at any time if NYP decides at its sole discretion that you have breached this Agreement or any relevant law, rule or regulation or you have engaged in conduct that NYP considers to be inappropriate or unacceptable
- are unlawful, threatening, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane or indecent including any communication that constitutes (or encourages conduct that would constitute) a criminal offense, gives rise to civil liability or otherwise violates any local, state, national or international law; [...]
Online Editorial and News: Erle Norton Letters to the Editor: letters@nypost.com Editorials, Columnists: letters@nypost.com New York Post 1211 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10036-8790 (212) 930-8000Disclaimer: No, I do not advocate nor do I wish actual physical harm to come to Mr. Petcka or Ms. Peyser. I was just using colorful language to express my complete, utter, and total disgust of their revolting behavior. And I was holding back.
