Caring For Stray Cats

PUPPY MILLS are one thing, kitten factories, another. Dogs and cats are both worthless in Proprietary America, where monetary value is king, except for pure breeds, which are bred and sold. Honestly, it doesn't seem to reflect well on American culture that dogs and cats are often treated either like sellable commodities, are cast away as worthless. A select few receive and benefit from human companionship. This stark reality can remind us that we resist truth, as Goethe said, only because we fear that we might perish if we accept it, and that also, as Nietsczhe said, "If thou gaze long into the abyss, the abyss will gaze into thee". Every dog should have either a loving human home or a healthy pack with which to live. Dogs need people more than cats need people, Stray cats seem to do pretty well, in terms of surviving and getting enough to eat, not only in the United States, but all over the world. In my small town neighborhood there is a healthy population of stray cats, and I and others feed them; none of them seem under weight or unhealthy. Although cats are solitary animals, I am told that stray cats in urban areas with a food source form large colonies, which sometimes people adopt. I admire anybody who cares for a stray cat or dog. Itis hard to imagine feeding a largecolony ofstray catstwiceaday.I'msure you'd develop a system. We Americans do love our dogs and cats. Most of us love them more than we love people, acccording to studies and surveys. Almost everybody I ask tells me that. When our beloved pets die we mourn inconsolably, as we should. It is tempting for cats lovers like myselfto mourn and lament the very existence of stray cats,and to assume that any cat which lives it life without human love and companionship is deprived of the most important thing in life, and istruly a tragic case. I tend to question that attitude. Cats, like people, can live only one life at atime, and, as we humans well know, whatever benefits you choose and experience in life, there is an entire wolrdof opportunity out there that you will never know or experience. somehow, I am unable to believe that a cat who has never known human companionship can possibly mmiss it, or even desire it, nor, for that matter even concive of it. Itseems highly unlikely that stray catslive a life of supreme unhappiness, lonely for want of human attention. Arguably cats who do not associate with humans gain some benefits. It is a common belief among cat lovers and experts that we should always keep our cats indoors, and I tend to agree with that. They live longer that way, and are exposed to far fewer dangers. What they sacrifice in return is freedom of movement, the loss of their hunting prowess, and whatever else thay might've gained from a life outside. A homeless dog is a far sadder situation than a homeless cat. Although both are incredibly affectionate and well suited tohumans, dogs are far more dependent on and ultimately perhaps compatibale with people. When I found out about teh basic attitude of Islamic culture towards cats, my love of Islamic culture was born. Moslems consider cats to be sacred animals, and treat them with love and respect. Hordes of stray cats roam Islamic cities, well cared for by everyone, and anyone who mistreats one of them or fails to help feed them is in deep, deep trouble. I have one indoor cat,and two outdoor cats, plus two more strays whom I feed every day, and have for years. Five total. All came to me as strays. They add great value to my life. It is my honor to associate with them. One of them, Mandi, is asleep in my lap,purring. Maybe, just maybe, caring for them alows me the luxury of believing, whether true or not, that what Goethe said about people in general applies somehow to me: "Noble be man, compassionate, and good."