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By three years of age he should be able to tell when the animal is in pain and what he is doing is wrong. I didn't label him a serial killer, I said his mind is like modeling clay and this kind of behavior should be nipped in the bud before the clay sets. I would never say the kid is a serial killer, or even a serial killer in the making. What I did say, however, is that cruel behaviors are learned early and if left unchecked, they will most likely continue from there.

My best friend Jonathan was torturing his pets when we were very young, and he is now serving life in prison for excecuting 3 men at one time.

Why not? sooner or later we will find in the news, kids as young as 3 being handcuffed by the police from nurseries, it has already happened with 8 year olds, it's just a matter of time


and the possibility of becoming a serial killing in the future is there, it could be that the kid might become a sociopath, (the cat's ears is something to take in mind) in any case, counselling is suppose to bring an answer to that.

Three years old is right after the terrible twos...and those can be rough on parents. That's why I wonder about discipline in the home, what it consists of. I am not sure what is going on here. He could have been trying to give the cat a hair cut, or maybe he saw someone crop a dog's ears, it sounds like the same sort of thing. It's why you have to be careful what kids see. Sometimes they will imitate stuff without really understanding.
I read a manual at Barnes and Noble bookstore, in the psychology section, I believe. It was about children and animal cruelty and it said there is a direct link between children who abuse animals and domestic violence in the home.

I don't know the entire story here...is this a one time thing, chronic problem, is there a number of stressful days? Or is it a one time event?
Family counselling might be a good idea.

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Last edited by FrogGirl on 22 Jan 2009, 7:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Last edited by FrogGirl on 22 Jan 2009, 7:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I'm sorry that a lot of people are hassling you and likening your child to a serial killer.

People: Please try to post less destructive criticism. We know you care about animals - so do the parents of children that harm them. We want to find a workable solution, not turn away members who are asking for help.

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My son was very similar and we recently had an incident with our dog. We moved the dog offsite for a long period of time and have only recently brought it back onboard. (It hasn't been back for more than a week).

Our son is older (he's five) and his behaviour hasn't improved a great deal. He's now under strict orders relating to the dog and any attempt at harmful behaviour now results in 2 x the same/similar behaviour to him. (we wouldn't cut his ears off though). We've decided that he needs to associate causing pain to the dog with receiving pain himself. Thus far it seems to be working but we're constantly on guard. If we see him kick out at the dog, he receives a sharp kick/hit if he misses and two if he connects.

I don't like the idea of using violence to control violence but at that stage of development, children often don't see reason. We don't have any problems with our older son (8).

We've also removed any objects which he could use to cause harm. I'm sorry, but you'll have to re-organise your bathroom to get scissors etc safely out of reach.

Those that can't say anything appropriate, then say NOTHING!! !! !! !! !! !! !! !!

Last edited by FrogGirl on 22 Jan 2009, 7:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.

THANK YOU !

Last edited by FrogGirl on 22 Jan 2009, 7:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.

And when Tayler kills the cat and dissects it? Will you be proud you did nothing to stop him?

You're right. 3 year-old boys shall not be denied the pleasure of torturing and disfiguring the animal of their choice. Animal shelters are full of potential victims. And after animals, the victims can be obtained at homeless shelters, bus-stations, places from which human beings who don't matter can disappear without being missed.

Why discipline when you can enable?

You really need to calm down. Not everything is black, and white, and there's no need to be so extreme.

He will have to eat it.

Ok... So... what do they do then?
1. Get rid of a cat that has been in their family for a long time. It's too old to go to a shelter and it would be put down. That's what they do when those shelters get full.
2. Get rid of the child (no... that's not really an option).
3. Get advice on how to make the child-cat relationship a more harmonious one.... and if that includes disciplining the child, then great... the child needs to learn.

Most of the time, I would agree with you. But not this time.

And I am probably the only person on this site who understands about things not being black or white.

I think this is probably not unusual behaviour for any three year old with access to scissors and a cat. I know it's really difficult, especially with an older child around, but basically you need to work out a way of keeping scissors away from a three year old. A child that age should never have unsupervised access to scissors as they could really hurt themselves. (I used to work in the field of Home Safety/Accident Prevention - hence "the talk" )

And when I was maybe about the same age as your son I cut our cat's whiskers off and painted his face green with a permanent marker.

I have no recollection of doing this, but I have been reminded of it repeatedly over the years by my family.

Am I the only person here who has never mutilated a household pet?