SEOUL, Oct. 14 (Korea Bizwire) – Recently, conflicts between ‘Cat Moms’ and local residents are causing controversy.
‘Cat Moms’ are animal lovers who feed stray cats. They sometimes provide them with a place to rest. However, residents nearby are often not happy about these Cat Moms, as the cats can be loud and unsanitary.
An individual known as ‘A’ shot their second floor neighbors, who were feeding stray cats, with a water gun. Upset at the attack, the second floor resident ‘B’ went to talk to ‘A’ and knocked on the door. However, ‘A’ did not open the door making ‘B’ even more upset, resulting in him punching and breaking the interphone. The neighbors went to court and ‘B’ was sentenced to a fine of 300,000 won for the damage done to the interphone.
Cases where neighbors go to court over a conflict regarding stray cats are not rare. Although the root of the conflict might be trivial, there seem to be great difficulties in solving problems between the two parties, forcing them to go to court in the end. Legal officials comment that the case of a Cat Mom who was killed by a brick is also the result of the same type of conflict.
In Busan, a man in his 40s hit a teenage girl for feeding stray cats, and in Seoul, a landlord and their tenant got into a fight over feeding stray cats.
There are a multitude of tips on the internet offering advice on how to bully Cat Moms and the cats they feed, and some of them are very brutal.
Of course, the matter of who is right or wrong can’t be decided in these situations. Residents who are disturbed by stray cats say that Cat Moms do not understand their suffering and just put the cats first. They are also upset that Cat Moms speak to them as people with emotional disorders when they point out the problems with feeding stray cats.
Since matters are getting worse, a way to get residents and Cat Moms as well as the cats to coexist is needed soon. Cat feeding stations, which have been established in some districts, have been mentioned as a possible solution to the current conflicts.
By Francine Jung (francine.jung@kobizmedia.co.kr)