Now I ask you, if you had a six week old kitten that was choking, would you email someone two thousand miles away to ask what to do? I've actually received such an email on several occasions, often written at ten o'clock at night or later. There is nothing quite so heart-rending nor so frustrating as receiving this kind of email, particularly when I know it's probably already too late. My stock answer is, "Get the kitty to a veterinarian immediately." My heart goes out to people in this kind of situation, but common sense has to surface sometimes.
Other people will send a list of symptoms and ask for a diagnosis. Sorry, but I'm not a veterinarian, and even if I was, I wouldn't try to diagnose an animal via email. Free general information is one thing, but sick cats need veterinary attention. This all ties in with Number 6 above, but it's important enough to deserve its own section.
4. The AR/Anti-AR battles.
Anti-AR people love animals. Animal Rightists love animals. There the similarity ends. There has been a long-standing hate war between the two, which is, in my opinion, one of the most destructive roadblocks to the ongoing battle against animal cruelty, the feral cat problem, and other animal welfare issues. Come on, folks! If you could channel all that energy into trying to help our cats, we could work wonders!
You'll see the flame wars on bulletin boards and mail lists, and it's always a lose-lose proposition. A pity, because the animals are the ones who suffer in the long run.
3. Failure to spay and neuter.
This is the number one cause of feral cat overpopulation, along with the spread of feline diseases that accompanies it. You say you can't afford it? Can you afford kitten food, veterinary care and shots for half a dozen kittens? (Better take a long look at Number 6.)
There are low-cost S/N clinics in almost every town and city nowadays, and there is no excuse for neglecting to spay or neuter your pets. They'll be healthier, happier, and you'll not be burdened with having to find homes for unwanted kittens.
2. Government-sponsored cruelty
It takes many forms, and exists in many countries. For example, the USDA "Wildlife Service" every year spends about 20,000 of your tax dollars killing "predators," which include coyotes, foxes, badgers, bobcats, mountain lions, black bears, and the occasional feral cat or pet who happens into one of their traps. Formerly known as "Wildlife Damage Control," this "service" is available freely to ranchers who may or may not have to foot part of the bill. Interestingly, in 1997, the "wildlife damage" to ranchers was around $7 million; the "damage control" cost was $20 million. Makes a lot of fiscal sense, eh?
More recently, Ohio State University professor Michael Podell was given a $355,000 grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, for the first year of a five-year study. His project? Injecting FIV+ cats with methamphetamine to study the effects on them, in order to learn more about HIV and drug use in people. A spokesman for AIDS Action says that establishing a control study where the results are already known is a poor use of resources, whether it involves animals or humans. This issue is a whole different article, which is covered in detail here.
And Franny's Number One pet peeve?
1. Invasive, deforming surgery that is of no benefit to the cat.
If you've been around this web site long enough you'll know I'm talking about declawing. Yep. I'm adamantly against it, because it rarely, if ever, is done to benefit the cat. "Oh no!" they'll say, "the only other alternative was to put the cat to sleep, so we've saved its life." Or, "We've had all four of our cats declawed and they're perfectly happy and never suffered at all."
If you sincerely feel comfortable with declawing, fine. But please don't be upset if I still try to reach other cat lovers who haven't yet made that decision.
If you've made it through this list, you probably have found yourself nodding your head in agreement with some of my peeves, and grabbing your keyboard in anger with others. That's perfectly natural, and quite okay with me. We're only human and each of us has our own opinions about certain issues. Although I am pretty much middle of the road in many topics about cats, I have my "hot buttons," as I'm sure you do too. I've used this format to rant about my pet peeves. I'd like to hear yours, so share them with the Cats Forum.
