If I were to assemble the Anarchist Cat Manifesto, it would include this:
Being feral is OK. The goal is NOT "No More Feral Cats". The goal is "No More KILLING of feral cats".
[snip]
... how many feral cats are out there? Some say 60 million, others 100 million. To [TNR advocates] that's 60 million ferals who need TNR. To anti-cat zealots, that's 60 million feral cats eating birds.
[snip]
... all pet cats belong indoors. What a loony idea.
and this:
Claim: Cat licensing will help raise the status of cats.
In our view, this claim is on a par with the suggestion that licensing poor people or the homeless will help raise their "status." Of course, cat licensing proponents aren't making a comparison to people, but to dogs: if cats are licensed like dogs, they will apparently enjoy the same "status" as dogs. Unfortunately, dog licensing doesn't confer any beneficial "status" on canines: it was and is a tool for protecting livestock, enforcing rabies laws, and ridding the public streets of the perceived threat posed by unowned, free-roaming dogs. Indeed, since 1933 California dog licensing laws have explicitly authorized the impoundment of of unlicensed dogs, and millions of dogs have been impounded and killed by animal control agencies throughout the state as a result of these mandatory licensing laws.
This is the precedent to which proponents of cat licensing appeal when they claim that licensing will raise the "status" of cats. We doubt, however, whether cats would choose such a status for themselves. They might well prefer to retain the unlicensed status they now share with humans. And the dogs may want to join them.
home page for Best Friends Animal Society
t-shirt [no longer available] from don't shoot the cat
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2 comments:
I have a philosophy about keeping cats: shitting outdoors is good. My neighborhood is full of outdoor cats that all manage to live to ripe old kitty ages. They (my cat too) love to roam the little woody stream behind the houses, stalking mice and snakes (and birds probably: sorry Arch), and getting into cat fights. I see htat as a good thing.
My cat isn't all that popular among the others for some reason, but she's good about defending the back porch.
bgdip: ursa major
cat shit outdoors! i agree.
our family cats have always been *indoor/outdoor pets, shooed outside during the day, and called back in for the night or bad weather. much like my brother and i were treated... hmmm.
so far, we've all lived to be 15+ years old.
*curmudgeon cat is indoors-only, mostly because his past success at staring down large dogs and even larger cars has led him to believe that he's invincible.
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