It happened in Riddings Park in Derbyshire

A family cat
A ginger Tom
Belonging to two boys
Was found strung up and beaten
And killed the obvious joys
Of the family he had been part of
And the terror and the pain
To find this family member
It’s life it seemed in vain

Trying to imagine what goes on in
People minds
Which normal child would do this
Really all the signs
Are pointed fairly obviously
To people without care
Without thinking without linking
Not being aware

That cats belong to others
They are part of a family
And murdering them is painful
So much so to see
It happening all around the place
What actually does it say
The police are investigating
As are the RSPCA

And what might be the outcome
How old are these boys
Actually being questioned
They must have made a noise
Did nobody in a public park
See or hear for me
People doing this kind of thing
Are mental actually

They expect to get away with it
This is probably not the first
Time they have tortured an animal
It’s as if they are cursed
To catch a cat to tie it up
And to beat it with a stick
To break its ribs to break its neck
They really must be thick

But we all must look more deeply
Into why it’s happening now
Social media brings it into the open
More that’s how
But what makes young boys like this
Where is their humility
Surely their parents And teachers
Would cover this carefully

It’s having no respect at all
For anything, and to me
This stems from many angles
But in essence now we see
I put myself in that cats place
The agony of now
It’s weeping and it’s wailing
It’s reason to ask how

This kind of thing is happening
This cruelty this pain
What is wrong with society
Lives going down the drain
The hatred that they carry
The animosity
Beating a cat until it dies
It’s beyond wrong actually

Those young boys that have lost their friend
The family they will not
Ever forget this incident
It affects us all a lot
We after all are their guardians
We love them and we care
And someone outside comes along
And creates so much despair

Unfeeling irresponsible
This was a sentient soul
Every time it felt the pain
If they were on a roll
It’s cries must have been many
And still they carried on
If found the weight of the law
Must be
Exacted now upon

We have to really wonder
How these boys now feel
What’s in their hearts
In fits and starts
Perhaps that might reveal
There is no way back for the poor cat
And the family grieving too
All I can say having heard today
Is I share the pain with you

I have written many hundreds of poems
And each one
Breaks my heart for every soul
Underneath the sun
Never really came here to be beaten
To be killed
To be hanging by a bloody rope
Whilst it’s precious blood is spilled

The police and RSPCA should find these
Culprits and
Ensure they get some treatment fast
And be made to understand