Could be the case, but it's water under the bridge now, take what you have learned and run with it.

As for the pet issue, the only things I will shoot at other than deer are possums, groundhogs and coyotes. If it's close to PTDT (prime time deer time) I won't even do that.Lots of people let their cats out to "play", it's one of those things that give hunters a bad rap... and that's not cool.

Glad you made the right decision not to shoot Kitty.