State of ethology in the state of Texas

A day after the 2006 shooting of a cat that lived under the San Luis Pass toll bridge in Galveston, Tex., another cat could be seen. The prosecution and defense wrangled repeatedly about whether witnesses could accurately assess the cat’s state of mind. “He’s not qualified to know what the cat was feeling,” said Mr. Nelson, when a police officer, John P. Bertolino Sr., testified that the cat was in terrible pain when he arrived at the crime scene. The cat died en route to a Humane Society facility.

NYTimes