Projo Offbeat Blog

Cats aren't treated like dogs in Virginia -- and that has some Virginians snarling.

Cat lovers complain that Virginia law takes dog theft far more seriously than it takes cat theft. Stealing a dog in Virginia is a felony, and dognappers can spend up to 10 years in prison. But stealing a cat is just a misdemeanor, punishable by, at most, a year in prison.

Some cat advocates want to toughen the law, but I don't know why they're griping. Isn't stealing a cat punishment enough?

And doesn't anyone who would steal a cat have an airtight insanity defense?

The debate about changing the law has raised a lot of issues in Virgnia, and not just about the equal treatment of dogs and cats. Some lawmakers now wonder how the law should treat people charged with the nearly unimaginable crime of parakeet theft.

And cow farmers worry that they could be treated as criminals. They say cats searching for a plentiful supply of milk often wander onto their farms and decide to stay. The farmers are afraid they'll be charged with catnapping and subject to stiff penalties just because they let the little nuisances stick around.

It makes me wonder if any innocent Virginia butchers have spent 10 years in the slammer for dognapping.

---