Even at the time, the example was almost certainly more representative of the concept than meant to be a specific thing that happened all the time. Then as now

Even at the time, the example was almost certainly more representative of the concept than meant to be a specific thing that happened all the time. Then as now, people have animals; animals sometimes do bad things; when is the owner responsible? There are certain cats that are aggressive about expanding their territory; they'll break into other houses and attack the cats there. (Had this happen to us -- cat came in through a cat-flap a few times, until something happened that scared enough that it never came back.) The first time your cat does that sort of thing, you can say "I had no idea, it's not my fault." But if your cat has a habit of doing that, and you still let it out at night, you're no longer blameless.