Holding It All Together - by Amy McCollom - cats
Do you have a cat? Do you have two cats? Do you have 100 cats? Recently I heard on the news of a man in another state who had 100 cats and was arrested for hoarding cats. I didn't know it was a crime. That got me to thinking about a lot of things related to cats and other pets.
I can understand why the man's neighbors and local officials might be concerned with all the cats in his yard. Certainly, if not taken care of well enough, there would be the smell and the noise from crying cats. That would be real annoying. As far as I could tell, the cats were kept in his house and yard, and not allowed to roam the neighborhood. So aside from the smell and noise, what's the problem?
Well, the problem is when people don't care for their pets and then the pets are turned loose or left at over-crowded shelters. According to the Humane Society Of The United States, animal shelters care for an estimated 6-8 million dogs and cats every year in the United States, of whom approximately 3-4 million are euthanized. That's simply a tragedy.
Pet health care is expensive. Cats and other pets need vaccinations and yearly check-ups. And that's hoping they stay healthy and don't develop an illness or disease. If your pet is suffering and you don't help it, that is neglect. It's also a crime. It gets serious in a hurry.
According to the ASPCA web site, it has been estimated that there are 900 to 2,000 new cases of animal hoarding every year in the United States. "Animal hoarding is generally covered under every state’s Cruelty to Animals statute, which typically requires a caretaker to provide sufficient food and water, veterinary care and a sanitary environment. Only one state, Illinois, currently has a legal definition of animal hoarding in its cruelty statute. With guidance from ASPCA, the Illinois Companion Animal Hoarder Act was created to both delineate penalties and mandate counseling for convicted hoarders."
I have a cat named Reggie. He is a purebred Bengal. I purchased him specifically for his personality, size, and looks. I chose him. He is not a belonging, but one of the family, as far as I'm concerned. But I also understand that if I owned 100 Reggies, all of which were members of my family, then that could be a problem. We don't have the room for that many pets, not to mention funds to keep them all healthy and well-fed. I could, however, get another cat or two and not be affected too badly. Like with most things, it's a lot about using your common sense.
My husband and I used to breed exotic cats. This itself brings controversy. Why breed cats when there are millions in shelters waiting for homes? Well, because some people want a specific look and personality in their pet. Not every one can adopt a cat of unknown origins, just like not every one can adopt a child from another set of parents. It's what you personally can handle. Plus it was fun and profitable. We bred Cornish Rex, Sphynx, Pixie Bobs, and Bengals. It was quite an adventure. At one time, we had 24 cats in our house. And that wasn't too many. 18 of them were for sale at the time, and all of them were sold within six months. All of my cats were vaccinated and pest-free. They sat in windows and on door frames, and were pretty happy as far as I could tell. Then life changed for us and we started raising kids instead of cats, so we shifted our focus to our family. Now 24 cats in our house would be overwhelming, even if it were for a short time. Knowing your limits, on anything, is vital to your mental health.
So for now I'm not a crazy cat lady. But I do love cats, and think they are just about the perfect pet. There are so many breeds out there, surely there is a cat for everyone's personality. And as much as I want to fight for our rights and freedom to pursue happiness, I have to agree that having 100 cats is just too much for most people to handle.
See Mom, I was listening.
No comments:
Post a Comment