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Woman, 78, puts D-Con in cats' "Special Salmon Dinner"

Myrtle Maly couldn't stand the thought of the neighbor's cats attacking birds in her back yard, so she killed the felines by dumping D-Con rodent killer into a can of "Special Salmon Dinner" cat food and leaving it in her back yard. HER DEFENSE: "I just probably thought they'd get sick. I don't know how that stuff works." (Madison Capital Times)

June 24, 2005 | Permalink

Comments

get this woman a membership in PETA

Posted by: | Jun 24, 2005 11:14:37 AM

WOW - possible 3 years for a CAT??? (each)
I'm a "cat person" for sure - but WOW!!

Posted by: pdb | Jun 24, 2005 11:29:44 AM

Note to self: Don't have the salmon dinner over at Myrtle Maly's house.

Posted by: mistrmind | Jun 24, 2005 11:30:50 AM

I wonder which is the better choice, this or the state where they were adding a cat season to their hunting laws?

Posted by: Matt | Jun 24, 2005 11:43:52 AM

How about baking some d-con into a plate of cookies and leaving it for her.

Posted by: SwarthyTroll | Jun 24, 2005 11:53:51 AM

actually it IS the same state (WI) where the are (considering, sure to be vetoed by governor Doyle) a cat hunting season.

Posted by: | Jun 24, 2005 11:56:05 AM

this is why I dont trust old people

Posted by: stomper | Jun 24, 2005 12:19:27 PM

I hope they throw the book at this woman. Hard, and in the face.

Posted by: Juan | Jun 24, 2005 12:19:52 PM

She obviously shouldn't have killed them, but dnam it, people shouldn't just let their cats wander free either. It's rude and irresponsible.

Posted by: 93 | Jun 24, 2005 12:42:48 PM

"She obviously shouldn't have killed them, but dnam it, people shouldn't just let their cats wander free either. It's rude and irresponsible"

Well said, 93. Let's see... (a) cats running wild, decimating the songbird population, ripping up trash bags, and providing those lovely late night serenades of fighting (or mating?),-or- (b) offing them before they breed yet more unwanted cats... I'm with Myrtle! Next time, Myrtle, make those cookies swarthytroll mentions and offer them to the irresponsible jerks who let their "pet" cats run wild.

Posted by: T Man | Jun 24, 2005 12:51:26 PM

Wisconsin will veto that but feral cats and someone’s pets are 2 totally different things. That women knew who's cats they were and instead of walking across the street and speaking w/her neighbor and coming up w/a possible solution she poisoned them.....That makes perfect sense.

Posted by: aknowsense | Jun 24, 2005 12:51:42 PM

3 Years? Shoulda been 10 years. I'm serious; laying out D-con is one thing; but buyring it in "yummy food"? What is WRONG with you, woman?

Posted by: Tony | Jun 24, 2005 1:00:43 PM

Lloyd: Excuse me, little old lady.
Lloyd: Do you have change for a dollar?
Elderly woman: Change, no I'm sorry I don't.
Lloyd: Well, can you watch my stuff while I go break a dollar?
Elderly woman: Sure.
Lloyd: You know I guess they're right, senior citizens, although slow and dangerous behind the wheel, can still serve a purpose.
Lloyd: I'll be right back, don't you go dying on me!

Posted by: mistrmind | Jun 24, 2005 1:02:29 PM

since there is no native population of feral cats in wisconsin i would argue that roaming cats = feral cats (in a generation or two, at least).

some irresponsible pet owners have a "screw you" attitude if you complain about their roaming pets. in our corner of wisconsin, letting cats roam is an offense. when we had such a problem our response was:

1) we caught the cat and returned it to the owner, politely asking it not be permitted to roam (and received the screw-you response)

2) next time we caught the cat & took it to the humane society, reporting the name and address of the owner. the humane society has the autority to fine owners when they retrieve their pets, and the fines ramp up for recidivism.

end result: the cat no longer roams into our yard and no one went to jail.

(btw, we own 2 cats that are never permitted outside the house)

Posted by: dma | Jun 24, 2005 1:05:49 PM

I hope this old ratbag suffers a terrible crash landing on her damn broom. Dithering old coont.

Posted by: squx | Jun 24, 2005 1:42:01 PM

She makes me so mad, I just want to rip off her tits and beat her with them.

Posted by: mistrmind | Jun 24, 2005 1:52:11 PM

Sane Example

1) we caught the cat and returned it to the owner, politely asking it not be permitted to roam (and received the screw-you response)

2) next time we caught the cat & took it to the humane society, reporting the name and address of the owner. the humane society has the autority to fine owners when they retrieve their pets, and the fines ramp up for recidivism.

Insane example

Myrtle Maly couldn't stand the thought of the neighbor's cats attacking birds in her back yard, so she killed the felines by dumping D-Con rodent killer into a can of "Special Salmon Dinner" cat food and leaving it in her back yard.

Birds crap all over my front porch and car but I don't fill her feeder up with poison??

Posted by: aknowsense | Jun 24, 2005 1:57:48 PM

This is just despicable. Poisoning family pets and leaving them to die in convulsions in front of the owner's children - who have probably had these cats around for most of their lives - then basically saying that she's glad they're gone because "the birds are happy."

I really hope that this woman gets the max sentence *and* a huge civil judgement against her for the hurt she's put on that family.

Posted by: Eric | Jun 24, 2005 1:58:07 PM

Hey, the birds are shitting on my car but I don't wish them dead. I just wish they'd move.

Posted by: Lou Sussler | Jun 24, 2005 2:19:00 PM

"Maly said she took the lethal measure after calling animal control about the cats, which were owned by a family that lived across the street, but nothing was done."

So, this was an escalated situation....

Posted by: dp | Jun 24, 2005 2:23:59 PM

This woman's behavior is indefensible. D-Con is an insecticide and is sure to cause a very unpleasant death for mammals. This woman should've done the responsible thing and gone to her local animal control department to procure some humane traps. The trapped animals could then be lowered into a tub full of water to peacefully solve the problem.

Posted by: Pedro | Jun 24, 2005 3:08:15 PM

I see...so instead of poisoning cats, it's better to trap them, then watch them struggle as they slowly suck water into their lungs and drown.

You may want to look up "humane" in the dictionary, Pedro. Your definition of it makes me want to smack you in the head with a really big stick.

As for the woman that poisoned those cats, I hope she dies in jail. What would she have done if kids had scared the birds away? Baked the DCon into cookies?

Posted by: pnwgal | Jun 24, 2005 3:29:35 PM

Hey Pedro...
D-con is a RAT killer. (maybe rats ARE large insects, but last I checked they were rodents..same as cats.)

Buy a big dog, that will keep the cats away.

Then everybody's happy.

Posted by: jpal | Jun 24, 2005 6:35:53 PM

Has anybody thought to check the backyard for old man Maly?

Posted by: Russ | Jun 24, 2005 8:33:55 PM

If she didn't want the cats eating birds, she should have asked the neighbor to put a small bell on the cats' collars.

DMA, Cats don't become feral in a generation or two, unless they are not neutered. Any responsible pet owner who lets a cat out should have this done well before the cat is old enough to do anything.

If a cat is allowed out, there's no way to tell it that it's not permitted to roam. The owners could build a solid 10 foot tall fence around their property, but it would not solve much. Roaming cats are not generally a problem, especially if the cat is neutered and has a bell and collar.

Posted by: H | Jun 24, 2005 9:46:13 PM

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