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New Member
Member Since Oct 2017
Location: USA
Posts: 2
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Oct 05, 2017 at 10:20 PM
#1
My niece is a young girl who enjoys physically abusing animals and her older brother. In recent weeks, I caught her kicking her cat. Today, I caught her taping my dog's nose and mouth shut, which put me into such a rage that I lost control and slapped her. (And all she did was laugh at the pain.)
What the hell do I do with her? Her parents think it's normal and refuse to take action. |
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Grand Magnate
Member Since May 2015
Location: earth
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Oct 06, 2017 at 10:09 AM
#2
Welcome to psych central
 Wow. That's really sad because in children, abusing animals, is often a sign of serious psychological issues. __________________  Eat a live frog for breakfast every morning and nothing worse can happen to you that day! "Ask yourself whether the dream of heaven and greatness should be left waiting for us in our graves - or whether it should be ours here and now and on this earth.” Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged Bipolar type 2 rapid cycling DX 2013 - Seroquel 100 Celexa 20 mg Xanax .5 mg prn Modafanil 100 mg 
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Grand Poohbah
Member Since Sep 2013
Location: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
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Oct 06, 2017 at 01:50 PM
#3
How old is she? It seems like she does not understand the seriousness of her actions.
__________________ Mags Depression diagnosed March 1996 PTSD diagnosed January 2000 BPD diagnosed September 2013 |
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Perpetually Pondering
Community Liaison
Member Since Apr 2013
Location: New England
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Oct 06, 2017 at 04:39 PM
#4
If her parents aren't going to encourage her to change her behavior, it would seem in some ways you are powerless to effect change in her.
Are you able to keep your dog away from her, going forward? |
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Oct 07, 2017 at 03:03 AM
#5
It depends very much on the age of the child. Very young children often do not understand that animals have feelings, they have to be taught this.
You could try saying to her "How do you think cat feels when you do that?" See what comes back, listen to her responses and gauge her understanding. If she doesn't seem to understand then "How would you feel if someone much bigger did that to you?" I think working with her is likely to be more helpful than just telling her off. It does depend very much on her age however, whether she is 3 or 13, there is a big difference in how you approach this. |
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Poohbah
Member Since Sep 2017
Location: A Growlery in the UK
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Oct 07, 2017 at 03:20 AM
#6
It sounds like she is in a bad place, this isn't about 'behaviour' or discipline, it's about love.
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Magnate
Member Since Apr 2010
Location: USA
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Oct 07, 2017 at 10:08 PM
#7
If she is abusing the cat, then her parents need to find a safe new home for the cat. It's not okay to allow an animal to be abused. If her parents won't do anything, then you need to call animal control.
In terms of how to help your niece, as others have said, it depends on her age. How old is she? |
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 *Laurie*
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