NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — After News 2 shared multiple stories about people’s cats being killed, the animal rights group PETA has created an educational video. The goal is to keep people’s pets safe as the organization has reported higher rates of intentional harm to cats.
The video includes reenactments based on real events. It shows real cases, real killings and what PETA says is the real problem happening across the United States.
“We’re seeing more cruelty cases involving cats being shot, beaten to death, poisoned [or] set on fire, so we decided to create this spot highlighting what is happening to outdoor cats,” Rachel Bellis, PETA’s director of local affairs, said.
PETA released the reenactments after a cat was found shot by an arrow in Hendersonville.
“Well, I just saw him laying there, meowing,” the cat’s owner, Foster Phillips, told News 2 in an interview earlier this month. “It looked very uncomfortable. He had an arrow sticking through him. He was twisted and lying on the ground. He was definitely in some pain.”
Soon after finding the cat, police arrested 61-year-old Richard Coomes, who lives right next door to the Phillips family.
The Hendersonville case isn’t the only instance of violence towards cats that has happened. PETA tracked at least 19 cases across 12 states since Dec. 2024. Each case made headlines, each case involved a cat left outside, and in many cases, the cat was killed.
“These are obviously just the cases we’re hearing about that are making the news, but of course, there are so many cases that don’t make it to the headlines,” Bellis said. “It should be very concerning for the community because we know that people who hurt animals don’t do it once and that they could very well go on to hurting humans.”
Last week, in Maury County, someone used a BB gun to shoot and kill a family’s cat. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) reported animal cruelty cases have risen by almost 40 percent within two years.
“This is really just to draw attention and really get people thinking about it, and not letting their cats roam outside,” Bellis said.
PETA encourages people to keep their cats indoors. They understand many cats like to roam outside, but it is better to be safe than sorry.
