Prison cats paroled

A women's farm prison in Vermont is giving the cats that hang out there the boot. The superintendent of the prison says that having the cats there interferes with the goals of the prison, one of which is have prisoners "learn to control their tempers." Some of these prisoners have been feeding and even paying for the care of these cats. I have to agree with a Humane Society worker who was quoted in the article, saying that caring for cats "teaches empathy, teaches responsibility, teaches compassion." It seems to me that all of this would be important in meeting their stated goal of the inmates learning to control their tempers. Or is it possible that punishment is the real goal of this prison, not rehabilitation?

CSI: Meowmi

If you’re a CSI fan, you’ll like this Washington Post story about a Virginia woman who used DNA evidence to confirm that a neighborhood dog killed her pet cat. Aside from this sad story of the unfortunate consequences of a pet owner who thinks it’s safe to let their cats outside—she’s since learned her lesson and keeps the rest of her cats inside—is the information about the California lab that processes animal DNA. Animal owners have used the lab in similar cases to finger cat-killing dogs, and others to confirm that Rover is indeed the roadkill they found. Ranchers have used the lab to ID stolen cattle using DNA. (This makes me wonder if ranchers are trading their branding irons for cheek swabbing kits.) And the lab helped find a murderer who had the bad luck to step in dog doo at the crime scene. I don’t know about you, but I think the CSI producers have another show here!

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An indoor cat is a safe cat

Looking over the news about cats can be really depressing because a huge percentage of stories are about cats being hurt. There's apparently a certain segment of the population who truly, inexplicably enjoys hurting, torturing and killing cats, including a few sociopathic boys in Liverpool who recently found it so amusing to have their dog tear apart a little girl's cat that they took video of it on a cell phone while laughing. And as upset as I am about this behavior, I'm just as upset by owners who think it's OK to let their cats roam the neighborhood freely knowing that all manner of dangers lurk outside waiting for them. If this cat had been kept indoors it would still be alive. Period. End of story. And, no, I don't want to hear about how unfair you think it is to keep cats locked up inside. If you want to let your cat out, modify the fence in your backyard or build an enclosure so they can hang out there without getting loose or get a leash and take your cat for a walk. They even have cat strollers, for pity's sake! The point is outdoor cats, even if they avoid crazy people, have to avoid cars, dogs, coyotes, cat fights, gopher poison, and the list goes on.

We have rescued two strays from our neighborhood in the last two weeks alone. (The pictures here are of them.) Both of them were obviously indoor cats at some point then put outside. One of them was a neutered declawed adult and lucky to have survived an attack by a dog or coyote. (The vet bill was about $300!) We found him a good home, then turned around and found a lost or abandoned kitten. The bottom line is that indoor cats live about 15 years, while outdoor cats if they are lucky live about 5 years. You do the math, and tell me if your cat's worth keeping around longer. Oh, well, I'm probably preaching to the choir. I'll get off my soap box now.