Some background on this comic:

Transcript:

More than a few people misunderstood and subsequently complained about this cartoon. Apparently (and I sort of understand this), they interpreted the drawing to mean that the cat had been tied up as “bait” for the dog. That wasn’t my intent.

I was trying to create a little story here: This family owns a dog, they recently introduced a new cat to this home, and during the night the dog sent them a message, that the cat’s not wanted. The did this to the cat. The dog! The dog! The dog!

“I was deeply saddened when The Far Side cartoon depicted a trussed cat hanging by its tail appeared in our local newspaper. I shuddered to think of the children, who, looking at the comic page, might be prompted to carry out this act.” —Reader, Ohio

“This cartoon today smacks of the idea of using cats/kittens/puppies to train fighting dogs. It is immoral and disgusting.” —Reader, California

“I was astonished at the enclosed cartoon which depicts a cat subjected to anguish, tied up and suspended.” —Reader, New York

“I have enjoyed your comic panel The Far Side for years. . . . All this has changed now, thanks to one shockingly awful panel I saw a few weeks ago. . . . The cruelty and sickness of this ‘cartoon’ was too deep to easily forget —or forgive. . . . A depiction of a person ‘hanging’ a cat and offering it to a dog is not impossible. I lost two of my cats in similar situations.” —Reader, California

“My letter protested what I saw as a sadistic and pointless Gary Larson cartoon depicting a trussed and hanging cat left to be devoured by a dog.” —Reader, Oregon