Michelle, I understand where you're coming from, but my experience here
in the San Francisco Bay Area is worlds different from what you're
experiencing. Can you say generally where it is, geographically, that
you see this kind of attitude?

Here, there are plenty of people with bad intent toward cats. They
justify their animosity with all kinds of reasons, but I believe it's
just a basic antipathy for the animal. But there are far more people
around here who not only like cats, but view colony caretakers as
heroic.

I'm willing to bet that location plays a large part in peoples'
attitudes toward cats, especially ferals and strays. I know it
predominates in determining cultural mores and values, with undeniably
basic points of view resulting therefrom. Not only about cats, but
animals in general and a whole host of other routine interactions.

This doesn't just apply internationally, either; any given individual
in rural Alabama would likely feel and behave much differently toward
animals than any given individual in downtown Seattle, for instance.

The hatred and fear you experience from others (toward any animal, not
just cats--reptiles are another mistreated example) is almost always
learned behavior in adults. In children, it's usually the result of
ignorance and lack of experience.

I don't know how to deal with it when it comes to adults, but I've had
some experience with kids and critters, which is to let them _grow_
into the great rewards of kindness toward animals. For all the kids
I've met who were initially cruel toward the cats I care for, once they
got a first glimpse of the benefits of compassion, the internal doors
that opened...well, they were hooked.

Although it's a natural reaction to cruelty, you can't teach compassion
with rage and fury.

Michelle, it may be as simple as: hitting a normal-sized dog at x
miles per hour could likely damage the vehicle while running over a
cat would most probably not cause any damage; or running over a dog
causes more mess than a running over a cat. Yes, it's sickening.