Woman who shot dead cat that attacked her pitbull claims self defence

On Union Drive in Lakeland, you won't find much unity between two neighbours and their animals. It's more like a turf war. Zeva is a 2-year-old red nosed pit terrier. "She's gentle and loving," says Zeva's owner, 52-year-old Polly Boykin. Skeeter is the neighbour's 1-year-old calico cat. "Doesn't harm anybody, it's a love cat," says Skeeter's owner Jesse Steele.

But the two family pets went one-on-one on Tuesday, and Skeeter lost the fight. Boykin shot and killed the cat in "self defence." "I got ahold of my dog and the cat went after me. I shot at it," explains Boykin. Steele says Boykin overreacted, "It's a cat. How is a cat going to jump out and kill you?"



Boykin usually keeps her dog leashed in the yard, but says her neighbour Jesse Steele allows his cats to roam the neighbourhood. "The cats are coming in our yard, bringing diseases, eating my animal's food I'm paying for," says Boykin. "Everyone's got cats running loose. You can't put collars on them," responds Steele.

Lakeland police officials say there are better ways of handling incidents like these. Captain Larry Giddens with Lakeland Police, "We want folks to contact trained professionals to handle these situations. That's our advice to everyone. It comes down to folks using common sense and doing the right thing." Boykin is charged with animal cruelty and discharging a firearm in public. Boykin says she will fight the charges against her.

With news video.