Spate of Cat Killings Nationwide Prompts New PETA Campaign Featuring It Actor Jaeden Martell

For Immediate Release:
September 3, 2024

Contact:
Moira Colley 202-483-7382

Shocking reports of attacks on cats have recently made headlines across the country, prompting a new PETA video campaign featuring Jaeden Martell, the star of It: Chapter Two and Arcadian, that illustrates the fates that can await cats who are allowed to roam outside unsupervised. In a series of videos that depict just four examples of real-life cat killings—setting them on fire and poisoning, shooting, or bludgeoning them—PETA andMartell urge everyone to keep their cats safe by keeping them indoors.

The following are only a few of the cruelty cases that have been reported in just the last two months:

• A Blaine, Minnesota, landlord was charged with cruelty to animals after poisoning cats who were being fed by a tenant.
• A cat in Lebanon, Oregon, sustained multiple gunshot wounds that shattered several of his bones.

• A cat in Pequea Township, Pennsylvania, was shot in the head with a metal arrow.
• A man in El Paso, Texas, was arrested after stabbing a cat to death with a screwdriver.
• A kitten in Dayton, Ohio, was intentionally set on fire.
• Residents of the San Pedro neighborhood of Los Angeles accused a man of being a serial cat killer and shooting multiple homeless cats with a crossbow.

Many more cases are detailed on PETA’s website.

“PETA gets calls about cats being poisoned, burned, beaten every single day, so keep your cats indoors. Keep an eye on ’em, just like you would a dog or a child,” Martell says in the video. “We talk about cats being ‘outdoor cats,’ but they’re dependents. And they’re dependent on you, so take care of ’em.”

“The great outdoors is simply not great for cats, who can be perceived as a nuisance and harmed in heartbreaking and horrific ways,” says PETA Senior Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch. “PETA encourages all guardians to provide their cats with a happy and interesting indoor life safe from predators, speeding cars, and the many other dangers of the outdoor world.”

PETA notes that cats kept indoors need to be physically and mentally stimulated with a view, toys, climbing structures, scratching posts, cat TV, and other enrichment. The group offers a catio-building guide as well as a “cat guardian’s bible” written by PETA President Ingrid Newkirk that’s full of tips and available for purchase here.

PETA’s new video campaign will air nationwide, including in Dayton, Ohio; El Paso, Texas; Lancaster, Pennsylvania; Lebanon, Oregon; Los Angeles; and Minneapolis.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on X, Facebook, or Instagram.