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No one knows how many cats or dogs suffer or die each year because of abuse. "A teenager who graffitis a wall can show up on juvenile national crime records, but if that same teen bludgeons a cat to death, no records are kept," says Frank Ascione, Ph.D., a psychology professor at Utah State University in Logan. Nor do we know how many victims of domestic violence have family pets that have also suffered …

…programs that accept women and their pets. Although no national statistics on the incidence of cruelty toward cats exists, experts suspect cats suffer more abuse than dogs. "Cats have this image of vulnerability and are often associated with women, which makes them attractive to people trying to exert power and control over others," Ascione explains. Peer pressure, gang initiation requirements and reactions to physical or sexual abuse can motivate teens to abuse animals, Ascione says.