2005-07-13 - 10:10 a.m.
It's not a toy.
There's a little wild cat living in our apartment complex; we occasionally see it, like last night. Bob thinks it's feral; I think it's been abandoned. It won't let anyone near it, but if you call to it, it sits and watches you, rather than running, and that's what makes me think it once knew what home felt like. It's got little bald patches, and it probably has a bunch of parasites by now; I don't know how long it's been a stray. I hate people that abandon animals, I really do. Especially loving animals. I coaxed a little stray cat to come near me once; it took about 15 minutes of staying still and cooing at it, until it came to me, brushed its head once against my outstretched hand, and ran away again. It so *clearly* wanted to be loved, but was also clearly afraid of people. This breaks my heart. Bob says I have a way with animals; I can often get strays to come to me, and my friends' animals seem to like me. It's not magic; it's being a still quiet thing in a scary world of high-pitched squeaking, and a gentle touch in a crowd of people who play rough. Especially for cats; you can't treat a cat like a dog. Cats need a gentle hand and no sudden movements. I would like to take every person who has abandoned an animal to fend for itself and leave them stranded in the woods for a week with no food, shelter, or way of getting out and see how they like it. Preferably in nothing but their underwear. I accept the neccessity of shelters and animal control; I know that sometimes the only humane thing you can do for an animal is euthanize it. I think that option is kinder than abandonment. It's not like the shelter charges you a fortune for bringing in an animal that you don't want anymore. (Though they will say very nasty things about you behind your back, and you deserve it; an animal is not a toy to be discarded when you get bored.) Pound animals, by the way, are the most affectionate animals if you treat them right; they know what bad is, and can recognize when they have it good. The most affectionate cat I ever had was a pound animal - she was traumatized, she flinched if you moved too fast, but when you were gentle with her, she'd love you and love you, and love you. (I'd meant to go and get a kitten, but she flung herself against the bars of her cage, and leapt into my arms when I asked to see her, and I couldn't let her go back in the cage after that.) I don't think I can catch our little stray - she's too wary of people now. But it makes me so angry to know that cats like her are abandoned every day. Pets cannot "fend for themselves". Into the woods, these people should go. No clothes, no food, and no means of getting some save their bare hands (and turning out a declawed cat? Those people get their hands cut off first). Preferably in the middle of winter. Grrr.
Dorsal - Ventral
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