The struggling economy is causing strains in unexpected places. Busted personal budgets have led to more belt-tightening, increasing anxiety and now ... abuse of animals. In ways you might not expect.

This job requires me to review lots of police reports. Unfortunately, there are always incidents of domestic violence.

The stories are usually awful. And it's not unusual during domestic disturbances for things to be thrown. I've read reports of people throwing dishes, darts, shoes (not at former President Bush), tools (power and manual) and even cutlery. In one report a man threw a vase of roses at his true love, who, at the time, was standing a balcony away at the same apartment complex. The woman was not injured by the flying flowers, but the roses were ruined, and the vase vanished in a shower of splinters.

I've read other stories from other towns that are even worse, including a recent one about a man who smacked his babe with a burger. Twice.

Now things have really gone over the edge. According to a story in the Palmyra [New York] Democrat & Chronicle, a local man got so angry, he threw the unthinkable: a cat.

When police arrived, Paul A. Wood was charged with fourth degree criminal mischief and cruelty to animals for tossing a tabby at his old lady during a domestic dispute.

According to Lt. Bob Hetzke of the Wayne County Sheriff's Office, the action started when Wood punched a hole in the wall of the family home at Trolley Road Trailer Park.

Making new holes in the wallboard didn't make Wood feel better. So, in an effort to express himself further, Wood threw the family cat, hitting his wife smack in the back.

The cat had claws, according to the report, but it is not known if the kitty attached itself to its mistress, hoping to avoid an embarrassing and potentially harmful fall.

Apparently, the woman and cat survived largely undamaged, but this is still unacceptable. In the United States, we cherish freedom of expression, but any right-minded resident knows you draw the line at using household pets like furry Frisbees. If there's not a law against tossing animals, there should be.

With the exception of fish. In fact, aerodynamically speaking, fish are pretty good for throwing. That may be why some can fly. And it explains why a couple of towns in the Florida panhandle hold annual mullet tossing contests.

But a cat? Say it ain't so, Nemo.

It certainly won't happen at my place. Mostly because tossing one of my cats could cause serious injury to the tosser.

My boy cat, George, has slimmed down considerably in recent years, but still tips the scales at over 25 pounds. Just picking him up is a chore. Trying to throw him would likely damage muscles or internal organs I forgot I even had.

But that's not the point.

In the 1960s, before they invented the political correctness and environmental movements and hijacked the nation's universities, those formerly known as hippies were all about pushing world peace.

One of their favorite slogans was "Make love, not war."

Frankly, I would have been happy if they had just made sense. But I agree that peace certainly beats conflict, especially in domestic situations.

And that's one area where we can all improve. We, the Little People, can't bring peace to the Middle East (much less Detroit or D.C.). But for the sake of humanity, we can surely agree that the world will be a better place if we refuse to make missiles out of mammals.

(Send your e-mail comments to: alex@ newnan.com)