Divorce is a very stressful experience and people going through a divorce can often do things that come back to haunt them. A Wisconsin man is now facing charges of felony mistreatment of animals after allegedly shooting the pet cats he shared with his ex-wife while their divorce was pending.

His ex-wife had filed for divorce in January 2009, but the couple continued to live together for about five more months. In June 2009 she moved away from the family residence when the home environment became hostile. According to the criminal complaint, when she returned to the marital home and asked about the pet cats, her ex-husband told her he shot the cats and buried them in a compost pile.

The couple’s divorce became final in December 2009. The ex-wife did not report the killings until March 2010. Even thought over a year has elapsed since the alleged cat shootings; the ex-husband is now facing charges that carry a maximum of three years, six months in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Divorce is a very trying time for all parties involved and emotions can get the best of any of us. In this case, the ex-husband had expressed doubt about paying the bills, and did not think he had money to pay for feeding the cats. He also stated he had problems sleeping because of the noise the cats were making. He was experiencing true problems in this divorce, but he reacted to the problems in a way that has caused serious legal consequences.

When a divorce is pending, everything that the couple does is eventually going to be viewed under the magnifying glass of the law. Couples should avoid impulsive and hasty actions like destroying something the other spouse wants in the divorce. When the parties have legitimate concerns while a divorce is pending, they are usually better served by bringing the issues to the attention of their attorneys and the family law court, not by taking matters into their own hands.

Source: The Janesville Gazette: Janesville man suspected of killing pet cats; Ted Sullivan, 10/26/2010