My roommate confessed that he took my cat to the shelter 2 hours away because he didn't like cats so I beat him to a pulp and he ended up?

no that is completely justified. honestly you should've done more. i hope you get ur cat back

Well...you obviously don't feel that you overreacted, so I'm not sure why you're asking others if they thought you did or not, unless you suspect that you might have and are seeking confirmation that how you did react was justifiable. 

It also sounds like you're acting, now, and thinking about the possible future fallout from this through hot anger only. My opinion is that you did overreact. From how you've described the situation it sounds like a murky story where both sides did something which will contribute to future problems.

The roommate obviously was in the wrong for taking your cat away in the first place. Why to a shelter two hours away? Why put so much effort into traveling that distance to commit this action? So that it'd be hard for you to trace and retrieve your cat? It seems premeditated to some degree. 

I understand and agree with how I imagine you may have felt from that betrayal and thievery of something precious to you. However the level at which you reacted, I imagine will be viewed as excessive particularly if the legal system gets involved in this. A small fight I get, but putting someone in hospital would be considered excessive force or assault, I imagine, and if you tole him you'd repeat the experience again next time then that'd be viewed as threatening behaviour. So there may be legal problems for yourself or both parties down the line, depending upon how you both settle this with each other.

But why would you put your own stuff into storage and leave? Because there's a sense of apprehension for an act of revenge when the roommate leaves the hospital?

If the situation has declined that much then there probably will be legal action taken by their side in the future. 

You were a lot nicer to your roommate than I would have been.

your lucky i would have killed the cat and thrown it at you and said next time it might be you . i hate cats and cat owners ..

well, you should not had a room mate who didnt like cats and you should find some body who really like animals and that wouldnt cause problems with you and the cat. maybe you should n't  beaten up  of your room mate . you should had just ask him why he did it and see can go get your cat back to you not too late for that. and if you own your own place then you can get a new lock to your door  to not have him come back . also i think you have some angry feelings about what you done to him. he can get you arrested for beating him up and you can loose alot of money from court. next time you see him dont hurt him just call the police on him for going on your property .well you might not be release from jail for a  long time . you may have someone to bait you out .

Well, technically thats assult........especially since hes in the hospital......BUT HE TOOK UR CAT THATS SO JUSTIFIED I HATE THAT GUY SO MUCH HOW COULD HE DO THAT??????!!!!!!!!!! im a cat owner, so I totally understand you going crazy. but......whack em in the head 50 times and kick em out and ur good! no need to go wacko......

No, this is standard behavior from some who is psychotic.  What does your Psychiatrist say?  You WON'T go to jail for a "little while," by the way.

Did you get the cat back?  Then everything is fine.  

you did the right thing....no judgement from us....did you get your cat back?  i hope so

You did.   It's just a cat.   They are a dime a dozen in shelters.   Now you'll get charges for assault, as well as a bad credit rating for abandoning your apartment.   Your roommate can also sue for your share of the rent and the cost to replace his things, as well as his medical costs