I meant,” said Ipslore bitterly, “what is there in this world that truly makes living worthwhile?” Death thought about it. CATS, he said eventually. CATS ARE NICE.

~Terry Pratchett

This post is dedicated to our Furfriends & Abandoned Dogs and Cats – who so often get mistaken for having no feelings at all. Science has finally discovered they do have feelings…. Amazing, isn’t it. Anyone who sees intelligence knows intelligence. Sadly, we do not believe our own eyes and hearts. Science needs to tell us it is so. Read more about it from National Geographic here.

The dogs, as an example, are at the level of a young child, with similar emotional intelligence. How do you treat fur-friends? The same way you treat children – we do know how to take care of children…. we do, I sincerely hope so. After all, we certainly can no longer say ‘I had no idea’ – the digital world is fully loaded with ‘how-to-take-care-of-…’ content!

The interview is loosely based on actual events:

An interview with a runaway cat

(The Cat prefers to stay anonymous. She is happy with her current humans and wishes to keep in private as she holds no grudge over her previous carers.)

Q1 M: You look like a healthy, active kitty – what’s your story? How did you find your pet-humans?

A1 Cat: I was selected from a litter amongst my siblings yesterday(*) by a young human girl. She is very kind to me and takes me to this huge house with lots of other buildings and land. I have a brother too. An orange one. We grow up playing around the yard and chasing mice. I bring one often to show my humans how good I am at catching them. I hunt birds too, but they are too quick for me.

(*) Note: in cat lingo, yesterday can mean any time, date, year – even over a decade ago. Future can be any time yet to come or now.

Q2 M: Sounds like you had a great, free life. Were you treated well?

A2 Cat: Yes, I am happy yesterday. I get a lot of leftovers for food, and I find what I need wandering the fields and barns. One day it all changes. There is a scary, big cat who chases me. Then I have little ones of my own. I am not sure I want them. I am young, you see. I love my freedom. But I take care of them as best as I can.

Q3 M: Hmmm. Sounds like you would have preferred to be with your sibling alone. What happened when you had your own younglings?

A3 Cat: It is nice in the beginning. But my eldest. She grows up stronger and bigger than me. One day,  she is the alfa female. She bullies me. I am scared of her. Humans do not interfere, so I run away. The young female comes back for me, sometimes the other humans. I stay for a day or two every time they come around with the big, noisy wheels. But at home, I am scared. Every now and then I have to fight. I do not like fighting. I just want to be in peace. So I run away. I stay in another big house. My new humans have no one else. They love me too. They let me be in peace, and be inside the house or outside as much as I want.

Q4 M: It must have been sad to leave your humans?

A4 Cat: I love them. Every time I hear them coming, I run to meet them. I always know when my human girl comes back to her home. She is away many meals at a time. But she no longer takes me away from my new home. She sees I am good. She pets me. And I leave when I feel she has petted me enough. One day she does not come back. I go by the big house, but there is someone else living there. I do not go back again.

Q5 M: It sounds like you were lucky to find your new home then – are you happy? What would you say to your kind and other humans looking to get a fur-friend?

 A5 Cat: I am happy. Thank you. I am the only of my kind here. My humans love me. They take good care of me. I say, always make your family happy. All family. Only have the family you can take care of.

This cat’s story had a happy ending. She found her new family by reaching out – and an elderly couple welcomed her to their home. Initially, they did not know where their fur-friend came from. They just offered kindness, and she stayed.

All of our fur-friends are not so lucky. In the U.S. alone, the figures as appalling. According to Pet Statistics, nearly 6.5 million companion animals enter U.S. animal shelters nationwide every year. Of those, approximately 3.3 million are dogs, and 3.2 million are cats. Pets are precious souls. Do not misuse them. Do not take them in if you do not plan to grow old with them. They want nothing but your care and attention. And they will give every moment of their lives to get you to accept them. If you are happy, they are happy. When you are sad, they are sad. Respect!

“Consider the situation. There you are, forehead like a set of balconies, worrying about the long-term effects of all this new ‘fire’ stuff on the environment, you’re being chased and eaten by most of the planet’s large animals, and suddenly tiny versions of one of the worst of them wanders into the cave and starts to purr.”

~ Terry Pratchett

Animal Rescue

If you have or see fur-friends who need support or are abandoned: Reach out! Hope is near. These shelters are great at taking care of fur-friends and finding new homes for them. They are also happy to find all their little buddies new pet-humans, so swing by if you are looking to be one! 

Saint Frances Animal Center – read more: here and follow from Facebook

Caroline Poodle Rescue – read more: here and follow from Facebook

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Sources:

National Geographic I Dogs Have Feelings—Here’s How We Know I https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2017/09/dog-brain-feelings-mri-gregory-berns/

ASPCA I Pet Statistics I  https://www.aspca.org/animal-homelessness/shelter-intake-and-surrender/pet-statistics

Saint Frances Animal Center I https://www.sfanimals.org & https://www.facebook.com/Saint-Frances-Animal-Center-135881810309/

Carolina Poodle Rescue I http://carolinapoodlerescue.org/ & https://www.facebook.com/CarolinaPoodleRescue/