I mean he was acting irrationally and the cat probably felt threatened. If this were common behavior then yeah the cat should be punished, but if it’s a one time thing and only in this situation It’s on the kid for freaking the cat out.

Speaking on another note, people should honestly treat every animal like they’re dangerous because they can be. And I don’t think any animal should lose its life due to the ignorance of a human.

I had a very aggressive Chihuahua for a time and I would always tell my family/friends not to pet her because she was scared of strangers and would probably bite them. Mind you, she never once bit me in her entire life, and most everyone would heed my warnings and leave her be. One Thanksgiving my uncle was poking and prodding at her trying to get her worked up and got too close. She lunged and bit his cheek, sliced a little cut. He looked shocked like it was her fault, like she should have know better than to bite him. I had told this man time and time again to leave her alone or he’d get bitten. When he threatened to have her put down I just laughed and gave him a band aid.

I don’t think it’s right to blame the animal when we’re the logical beings in the relationship. That’s only my opinion though. Now had the cat attacked the boy for seemingly no reason I could see cause for concern, but it’s very obvious it was in distress due to his flailing.