Monday, August 21, 2006

Venting about cats

I was reading a blog post that talked of their dislike for cats, and especially feral cats. They talked as if cat owners had invented this species…and turned them loose to pester those who hated cats. Why blame ALL cat owners for the problem. At least we neuter and spay the cats we come into contact with…and we do it with our own money.

I haven’t gone to a pet store and bought a kitten. I haven’t gone anywhere and gotten a free kitten. How did cats get on this earth anyway? Well, I don’t know…I guess the same way bears, deer & spiders got here.

The cats that have appeared at our door have appeared in the same way as the skunks, raccoons & opossums have, except for one. One kitten was a very tiny sick little kitten that a neighbor found under their porch, and brought it to us. We in turn took it to the vet, nursed it back to health and had it spayed at 5 months. She is our housecat, Jybow…but she is allowed in & out. She is not a prisoner.

Don’t believe everything you read about feral cats…they can become tamed after a time. But that’s never been our intention, to tame the cats that come to our yard though. There are 7 cats and they all have been fixed & vaccinated at our expense. Four remain somewhat feral and three are tamed enough to be allowed indoors. Jybow & HopAlong are the only cats who are truly lap cats, but HopAlong is still somewhat feral. The grandchildren refer to HopAlong as “Catzilla.” Then there is Daisy who doesn’t allow herself to be petted, at all, but will NOT scratch you if you pick her up to give her a few cat kisses.

The cats do what they did before they arrived…they hunt. The only difference is now they CANNOT reproduce. Just because we had them fixed doesn’t make me their owner. They were free when they arrived here and they are still free to go…except for Jybow because Jimmy would go into a depression if something happened to that cat. *LOL*

We have several out-door feeders for any animal which cares to dine here and Jimmy & I often refer to our back yard jokingly as the Garden of Eden…for animals. Our backyard is fenced, so I guess the cats feel somewhat protected from the stray dogs that run loose…Or the dogs who are released, by their owners, after being locked or chained up all day for a romp around the neighborhood. That’s fine with us…we like dogs too. The only reason we don’t have one is because she died in 2004 after 15 years of being a loving pet.

Well, now that I’ve said my piece, I feel better.

7 comments:

tomlaureld@yahoo.com said...

Cats and dogs have been living with human beings for a very long time.They provide a sevice for us they clean up the mess we leave behind.
Wild animals have been removed from Kentucky by the farmers and the law because they endangered human beings and live stock.

Cher said...

I think it's great that you went to all that trouble to spay/neuter and vacinate those kitties-way to go in doing your part for being kind to animals.

Carole Burant said...

I agree with everything you said on this post Sandy!! If only more people would be as responsible as you and Jimmy are where cats or any other animal is concerned! Very well said!

Sandy Hatcher-Wallace said...

Dennis...did I tell you that we have black bears in our town now? I guess they have taken up residence in the Berea College Forests.

doubleknot said...

I agree with you all the way about the cats. That is why our cat is free to come and go.
Now I wouldn't try to start a spay and neuter program on the black bears LOL just take care with garbage once bears learn they can get a free meal they will keep coming back and may do damage.

Anonymous said...

I hope I am not too late to reply to this one. I'm with you about the Feral cats.
The city of St. Petersburg had a program underway to try to capture the feral cats, neuter and spay them and then release them again.
The reason? they're natural born rodent hunters! They helped keep the rodent population down in some of the downtown areas here. I am not sure if this program is still in place, as I read about it many years ago.

And I believe i've heard of other cities in Florida doing the same thing, but I can't remember which cities at the moment. I think Gainesville had a program like that also.

Kerri said...

From one cat lover to another - good for you and Jimmy! Most creatures will respond to a bit of affection...especially a cat or dog! A dairy farm can accomodate quite a few cats (and they earn their keep by keeping the rodent population down) but since we sold our dairy herd, it's not very sensible to have as many as we do. We love them all, and have a hard time giving them away! However, we're willing to part with them when we can find good homes to take them.