The Lost Cat Society: A Series (2)

For the most part, the community has been amazing. In the eight years, I’ve lived in this slice of Central Brooklyn, I’ve never experienced such kindness and compassion from neighbors, some of whom I had never spoken to before.

So why are the haters, the one or two surly strangers who remove signs immediately after you painstakingly post them, or the disgruntled neighbor who complains about an unsolicited sign because they wouldn’t come to the door, why are they getting under my skin?

Two months later, and to be honest, I still don’t know the answer to that question.

In the case of finding Kai, I found myself unwittingly subjected to bullying from scammers online. In one instance, an attempt at extortion from a would-be animal rescuer who insisted that they had not only seen but trapped Kai. The catch, of course, included a ‘ransom request’ before they would happily reunite us.

Nearly 40% of Internet users in the U.S. have experienced some form of online harassment, with 75% of those experiences occurring on social media.

For the record, online harassment is considered abuse, and its umbrella includes stalking, interstate threats, harassment via telecommunications, hacking, and identity theft.

The level of deception by the 1% put me in such a tailspin that I had PTSD, disbelieving even the most feasible leads.

Whether they populate the Internet or live next door, it seems that trolls and haters are simply waiting for an opportune time to extoll their wrath or bullying tendencies on an unsuspecting citizen.

Resources: How To Deal with Trolls and Haters (The Atlantic); How to Avoid Lost Pet Scams (LoveLost)