Duggar Family Cheers as Dad-to-Be Derick Dillard Tries to Run Over a Cat With His Sled—Watch Now

In the past, 19 Kids and Counting stars showed love and compassion to animals, which is why this troubling incident has some fans upset

By Rebecca Macatee Mar 03, 2015 2:24 PMTags

Sledding with friends and family at the Duggar home :-) #smallestsled

A video posted by Derick Dillard (@derickdillard) on

Derick Dillard sure won't be winning over the cat-loving community with this one...

On Sunday, the 19 Kids and Counting star, whose wife Jill Duggar is expecting the couple's first child, Instagrammed a video showing him "sledding with friends and family at the Duggar home." The clip shows the 25-year-old dad-to-be be getting a push down the hill from brother-in-law Ben Seewald. Innocent enough, right?

Unfortunately, there's an orange cat sitting right in the path of Derick's sled. Although he calls out, "Move, cat," he chuckles as Ben's push sends him downhill directly towards the animal. As varying Duggar family members cheer and laugh, Derick collides with the cat, who bounces off his sled and slides down the hill.

The animal didn't appear to be hurt by the impact, but needless to say, the incident didn't set well with many 19 Kids and Counting fans. "Not sure why you thought it would be funny to hit a cat and then post it on Instagram," wrote one commenter.

"How is this even funny?" asked another Instagram user. "I would think you would have some respect for all God's creatures. What a shame."

It's unclear whether this particular cat belonged to the Duggars or someone else. The family has taken on a litter before, though (literally). In August 2012, family matriarch Michelle Duggar wrote on her TLC blog about the kids discovering kittens trapped under an insulation wall in their home.

"The building was going to be secured before we left so we knew that the mother cat wouldn't be able to get back in, and we didn't want to leave the kittens out in the open because there are wild animals near the woods that might've eaten them," she wrote. "And even if they did survive we were pretty sure that they would become feral. So we decided to bring them home where we have two older kittens."

"The kittens were just a week old, so at first I stayed up through the night feeding them," wrote Michelle. "At that point they were so small that we had to keep the youngest kids away. Jeremiah, Jedidiah, Justin, Joy-Anna, James, and Jason all researched what the kittens needed—like how much stimulation to give them and how often they needed to be fed. Finally after sleep deprivation started to set in after all the night-time feedings I told the kids I needed them to help with the day feedings."

Under the careful supervision of big sis Jessa Duggar, the younger Duggars bottle-fed the kittens and did their best to provide them a safe, loving home. "It's just really great when you see your older children encouraging their brothers and sisters in life," Michelle wrote, "helping them to understand what it is to be responsible and caring."

Maybe Derick just needs a little reminder on that.

19 Kids and Counting airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET on TLC.