"Gothic Kittens" Cruelty Case: Removing Cats' Testicles Good, But Piercing Ears Evil?

By: Edecio Martinez
Topics: Daily Blotter

(Personal Photo)

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. (CBS/AP) Holly Crawford thought there was nothing wrong with piercing kitty cats with a 14-gauge needle and selling them as "gothic kittens" over the Internet. But a jury thought otherwise and convicted her Wednesday of animal cruelty.

Photo: One of Holly Crawford's "gothic kittens."

Crawford was charged in December 2008 after animal welfare officers took several kittens and cats with pierced ears and necks from her home. According to UK Web site The Daily Mail, at least one of the kittens also had an elastic band tied around its tail, in attempts to stem the blood flow so that the tail could eventually fall off.

Deputy District Attorney David Pedri told jurors that Crawford inflicted constant pain on three black kittens to make money by selling them as "gothic kittens" on the Internet.

But Crawford's lawyers drew a comparison to how children are treated.

Her attorneys argued that parents allow children to get pierced ears at young ages, and it would be wrong to hold cat owners to a higher standard.

And while animal rights organizations helped bring the case to trial, most of these organizations prompt pet owners to have their animals neutered or spayed – essentially surgically removing their testicles or in the case of females, their ovaries and uteruses.

Regardless, the Pennsylvania jury wasn't buying any of it. They convicted the 35-year-old on one misdemeanor count and one summary count of animal cruelty. She was acquitted on two separate counts.

Crawford will be sentenced March 31.

WHAT DO YOU THINK? Is kitty piercing animal cruelty?

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by smokeNchill June 8, 2011 9:37 AM EDT: I know I'm really, really late on commenting on this, but I really don't think this is that cruel. Farmers tag their livestock and animal researchers tag wild and endangered species. Some breeds of dogs traditionally have their ears or tails cropped. And the pain of a piercing really doesn't last that long, the initial piercing is the worst part and it only lasts a couple seconds and the aftershock pain dulls away over a couple months. As long as the owner was responsible for making sure they healed properly, I don't see this as being as horrible as most make it out to be. I actually own a cat and I love him to pieces and I think he'd look so adorable with a little gold earring. I would take him to the vet to have it done so he can have some nitrous oxide or something to ease him. But I know this is just far too taboo so I'll just have to imagine.
But gosh, don't all people modify their pets in one way or another to please them? Don't we buy them collars and bows and bandanas and maybe even little sweaters? Don't we take them to the groomer to get all pretty? I don't see America's Funniest Home Videos or America's Funniest Animals getting any heat for showing some animals getting bumped around and exploited for comedic purposes.; Reply to this comment


by unchienne February 16, 2011 8:22 AM EST: I can't believe the author of this article actually compared this woman's actions to spaying and neutering. Show me a piercing that will eliminate certain types of cancers or prevent subsequent generations from starvation and euthanasia. In no way is the one relevant to the other, and it's just shoddy/sensationalist journalism to compare the two. As for the case, there's already a growing movement to prevent cosmetic surgeries on pets. I know several vets who will not dock tails or crop ears at their clinics. Personally, I find this behavior disgusting. To inflict immense pain on an animal for purely aesthetic reasons and not for their health or well-being is nauseating. Her attorneys mentioned parents piercing their child's ears. So what are they saying? Ma and Pa should be able to put a 14 gauge plug in their 3 month old's ears?; Reply to this comment


by Crepsley-love April 28, 2010 2:57 PM EDT: I think it could be considered animal abuse, since she was causing the cats needless pain just to make a few bucks.; Reply to this comment


by OMGRLY February 27, 2010 11:47 PM EST: While I don't think it is a great idea to pierce your cat's ears or neck or dock a dogs tail or anything like that, I find it really really hard to decide this is a clear case of cruelty, and to be SO NASTY AND RUDE to/ about this woman.
Why is it PERFECTLY OK to pierce the ears of our children, and to mutilate our human baby boys genitals not days after their birth (or any other time in their childhood, if we choose) but it is SO SO SO CRUEL to pierce an animals ears?
Also, had she put tiny stud earrings in their ears only, and not the 14guage bellybutton piercing jewelry, I can almost promise that a BUNCH of people would think it was "cute", albeit a little bit unusual. (by the way, 14 gauge is very very standard for a human body piercing.)
Oh, and also: whether she had piercings all over her body or face or not, those things don't really stand in the way of jobs, you can take them out for the day, or forever if you choose. They don't leave gaping holes or anything. (especially not at 14 gauge size); Reply to this comment


by Kitty1138 February 7, 2010 2:59 AM EST: And one more thing while I'm at it. What's with the term "Gothic"? I don't give a care for what the accused calls it, no real Goth would ever do such a thing. I have the privilege of hanging with Goths from all over the country every year and they are among the kindest, nicest people in the whole wide world.

Maybe it's "Baptist" instead--after all, it wasn't Goths who tried to steal children out of Haiti and then tried to bribe their way out. And aren't the unChristians into that impaling sort of stuff?; Reply to this comment

by Kitty1138 February 7, 2010 2:43 AM EST

You bunch of opportunistic right-wing little would-be journalists are so sleazy you'd make fun of kittens being tortured?

Of course this idiot woman needs to be arrested for animal cruelty! Let us not forget that the ONLY reason we have cruelty to children laws in this country is that the people who advocated kindness to animals got kids covered under the laws THEY got passed. AND ANYTHING A PERSON WILL DO TO AN ANIMAL, THEY WILL EVENTUALLY DO TO A CHILD...OR AN ADULT. What did you think serial killers started on, test dummies?

That you can't see that is just exactly what is wrong with this country. You and your friends in the unChristian right can take your speciescentric rhetoric and shove it right up your so-called journalistic integrity.

I'm so glad I watch MSNBC.

Reply to this comment


by OMGRLY February 27, 2010 11:34 PM EST: OMG! YOU ARE SOOO RIGHT! SOMEDAY THIS SICK WOMAN MIGHT PIERCE A CHILD'S EARS!


by OMGRLY February 27, 2010 11:45 PM EST: OMG! YOU ARE SOOO RIGHT! SOMEDAY THIS SICK WOMAN MIGHT PIERCE A CHILD'S EARS!


by erb0087 February 5, 2010 7:12 AM EST: "WHAT DO YOU THINK? Is kitty piercing animal cruelty?"

Yes it is.

The woman should have known that.; Reply to this comment

by erb0087 February 5, 2010 7:05 AM EST

"And while animal rights organizations helped bring the case to trial, most of these organizations prompt pet owners to have their animals neutered or spayed -- essentially surgically removing their testicles or in the case of females, their ovaries and uteruses."
=================================================

Whoever made that argument in court was displaying a great lack of knowledge of the issues.

FAILURE to spay and neuter cats and dogs is an act of wanton cruelty.

Spaying and neutering pets is done under anaethesia, the animal feels no pain, and their personalities are so much happier and more tranquil as a result, that when the vet explained all this to me, I joked, "Forget about the cat -- do it to ME."

Declawing a cat is cruel and unnatural, but it is mandatory that they be spayed and neutered, to save the potential unwanted kittens from short, painful and terrifying lives.

Reply to this comment


by meditating February 5, 2010 4:43 PM EST: While I appreciate the point you are trying to make regarding decreasing the population of unwanted pets, why do humans think, even in the name of animal welfare, that their perspective is justified to alter the natural condition of animals.

The argument that spaying and neutering cats is supported by their personalities being more "happy and tranquil" is the same mindset that led to women receiving hysterectomies (root word being "hysterical") in their unhappy marriages and even performing lobotomies on difficult or non-confirming persons.

While I respect your desire to care for animals as you see appropriate, your view and reasoning is species-centric, contrary to the natural order, and predicated on what is convenient for humans and their perception of the world around them and cannot be seen as in the best interest of animals unless you are looking at it through this filter.


by lizztard July 11, 2010 8:34 AM EDT: I agree with you. The person below's point of view simply won't do. Altering the animal's natural state has already occurred, thousands and thousands of years ago, when domestication first happened. The "damage" is already done, and now, these domestic animals we call pets' populations are blossoming out of hand, because people refuse to alter their pets, or just can't be bothered. The pet escapes, finds another unaltered or feral pet, makes babies with it, and lo and behold, nobody wants them. So, you set them free. They join up with other feral animals, make more and more babies... they become an invasive species. For instance, in New Zealand, the kiwi bird is severely endangered, due to predation by feral pigs, cats and dogs. All species, non native to New Zealand. These introduced animals WRECK ecosystems, and it could be prevented had they just been spayed or neutered.
I am aware that it is humanity's fault that these animals were domesticated in the first place. But what's done is done, and now only we can right the wrongs we've done to Earth.
Pyometra; have you heard of it It occurs commonly in the uterus of female dogs and cats who have not been spayed. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyometra Its where the uterus fills up with pus and can be quite deadly and painful if gone unchecked. The easiest and best way to remove this risk from your animal is to get her spayed! Would you want your beloved friend to go through that? Or how would you like all the upholstery, clothing, and carpets in your house to be scratched up and soaked with urine because your unneutered male cat is high strung and *****? I talk from experience, my apartment STILL smells like ****. You see, it simply isn't practical or safe for humans OR the animals themselves, these days. It isn't cruel and the animals don't necessarily mind it either.
And about hysterectomies; the root word is "hystera" which is Greek for "uterus." It quite literally means "removal of the uterus." I don't know where you got Hysterical, but here's the history of that word too;
"Until the seventeenth century, hysteria was regarded as of uterine origin (from the Greek ?????? "hystera" = uterus) in the Western world. Hysteria referred to a medical condition, thought to be particular to women, caused by disturbances of the uterus." -Wikipedia; before you try to prove a point, please check the facts.


by johnlopez649 February 4, 2010 8:55 PM EST: Animal cruelty all the way! Just because agricultural animals get docked and burned doesn't mean its not cruelty. Laws are being passed all over the us to stop this animal abuse. If humans want to pierce or abused their bodies they have the right but leave the animals alone!
Besides who knows what else this woman did or will do if she's allowed free rein??? Human abuse starts with animal abuse........; Reply to this comment


by Toddd-G February 4, 2010 6:05 PM EST: Agricultural animals are all regularly tagged in the ear. Those tags are significantly larger and heavier than the jewelry used on the cats.

I fail to see how it is animal cruelty for one species, but not for another species.

Try searching for "cow tag images" for examples.; Reply to this comment