Funny you should post this now... I was at the bar today for a little bit while waiting for a coat of paint to dry on the hood of the little John Deere I'm giving to my son. I got to talking to this guy I've known for a long, long time here, and I can't recall how we actually got on the topic, might have been a comment I made, but he showed me a couple scares on the inside on his left wrist and he said that they were from a cat that had attacked a prized rooster he had, and he picked up the cat and choked it to death. I tried not to react how I was really feeling, I really wanted to choke his ass to death. I pictured my little black and white campfire cat being strangled to death by this guy, and that just about made my blood boil.
I think, I'm alone here, no wife, no kids, and this little cat of mine is alone too, no one to look after her but me. So I do my best to take care of that little critter and make her feel as safe and loved as I possibly can, and ya know, animals respond to that. They develop into a real character, and that makes them an awesome little pet, a partner, they're like your kid.
I've read and heard in several different places over the years that SERIAL KILLERS often start abusing animals first... so that's really something to think about.