In Defence of Cats

I am incredibly honored to post this amazing and insightful piece on cats by Allan Goldstein, author of “The Confessions of a Catnip Junkie. I got this originally from I Have Cat who is a very nice person I follow on Twitter. It may be long but it's a very good read.

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I come before you now in defense of cats. They shouldn’t need my help, Americans have over eighty million cats, more than dogs, more than any other animal. But if the cat is much-loved, it is more misunderstood.
I have written a novel, “The Confessions of a Catnip Junkie,” to give the cat a voice.
Cats play the villain in Western culture. It starts with Looney Tunes and never lets up. Cats have a terrible image.
If you love a cat, you love something distinctly not human. People are more dogs than cats. We hunt in packs, we’re highly social animals, we crave approval. We’d lick ourselves if we could reach.
Cats are aliens, they operate by a different set of rules. They are rarely conflicted or neurotic. For every neurotic cat there are a hundred neurotic dogs, and a thousand neurotic humans. Cats have it figured out. Cats are perfected.
It’s a paradox. Cats are what cool people really want to be. That’s where the phrase “cool cat” came from. But a cat person? Far from cool. It’s some old lady whose house stinks of litter and who hasn’t had a man since the Eisenhower administration.
Which only goes to prove how misunderstood the cat is. Cats are much more than living knickknacks for lonely shut-ins. Cats are cool, efficient, predators whose love is as unexpected as it is impossible. Yet they do it and we give it back to them. Because so are we.
Falling in love with a cat is falling in love with an equal. A cat won’t guard your house, herd your sheep, guide your blind, or chase your criminals. A cat won’t work for you or anyone else. Cats don’t work. They live. And they’re very good at it. Nine times better than we are.
Sometimes cats are in, sometimes they’re out. We all know cats were deified in ancient Egypt. This enlightened attitude was a matter of indifference to ancient Egyptian cats. We are equally familiar with the burning of cats as witches by the Church in medieval times. This behavior was somewhat more concerning to middle age felines, but they survived it.
Humans, on the other hand, got rats and the plague out of the deal. That’s a pretty high transaction cost for indulging in cat genocide, especially when the genocide didn’t work.
We are all fortunate it failed. But only some of us know it. Only some of us know the extreme pleasure—I’ll come right out and say it—the sweet bliss of loving a cat and having that cat love us right back.
It’s enough to move the poet to raptures of song, to inspire great art and lovely stories; it’s more than enough. But, somehow, it hasn’t. It is the other love that dare not speak its name. The arts have failed cats.
There is something about a cat that’s hard to capture on canvas or paper. I’ve seen paintings by the Old Masters, masterpieces of portraiture, with people so real they seem to breathe, domestic scenes so cozy and perfect you want to move right in, every brush stroke a testament to enduring genius.
Then you notice the pretty lady in the velvet dress is holding a hairy handbag with a face. I think it’s supposed to be a cat. Could be a purse, though. I know they had cats in the 17th century, but they seem to have been afflicted with a horrible, disfiguring disease.
It’s pretty much the same in literature. On those rare occasions when a cat graces the pages of a book, the imagination seems to fail even the best of writers and we get dogs that meow. “She’s as devoted as a dog,” they write. “She follows me around, comes when I call, and licks my face, just like a dog!” I’ve read some version of that a dozen times.
It’s considered a compliment. But it’s not. It’s a cop-out. The arts have failed the cat, over and over again.
That is the monumental gap I want to fill. I’ve written a story about a cat as a cat, not a dog with silky fur. I do not believe my talent is so strong it can succeed in bringing a cat to life on paper where all the greats before me have failed. But I think I figured out what thwarted those artists and authors, I think I found the secret.
Artists have been trying to solve the riddle that is cat since the Sphinx. They’ve been looking from the wrong side of the fur. The cat’s story can only be told from the inside; you must let the cat speak.
“The Confessions of a Catnip Junkie” is my attempt to do that. It is written in defense of cats, by a cat, for the people who love them. If that is you, or these words have persuaded you that there is something about cats you might have missed, or you just love a roaring adventure story set all across America, take a look on Amazon.com. You can read a chapter there. The first one’s free.
But I warn you, cat love is more addictive than heroin. And your next fix will cost you $17.99.

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About the author: Allan Goldstein lives in San Francisco with his wife, Jordan and a minimum of two cats. His op-ed newspaper column, “Caught off Base,” has appeared in San Francisco West Portal Monthly for the past decade.

About the cat: Doo Doo cat lived in San Francisco with the Goldstein family. He wants you to know he was as beautiful, loving and wild as described in these pages, and continues to be so in the eternity beyond. He considers Mr. Goldstein to be his faithful literary executor and will expect his cut of the royalties when they meet again.

Cats Speaking Bird

This is a kinda "fun" post i'm doing because I recently found the fun in the web sensation Twitter! I have been twittering like crazy for the past week and that's partly why you don't see any really new stuff on the blog. No worries though! I'm still here! Anyways, I urge any cat that isn't on Twitter already to sign up! It's painless and easy. All the cats tweeting are awesome and always have something to say.
I want to shout out to @ShivaandJaya who have been so kind to me... also to all of my fantastic followers! Follow On!
Twittering cats isn't really a new thing, @sockington was the original tweeting cat and he deserves the title! That grey cat is one of the most funny creatures I've ever seen. The post's picture is of Sockington himself and his twitter page. Remember, if you want a closer look just click on the pic! After that tons of cats began to tweet and dogs too *blah! dogs* . So come join us, all you cats that yearn to speak bird, and have the ride of your life!

If you have a twitter and wish to follow me, see my twitter page @catinaseaofdogs. If you don't have a twitter yet you can still follow the link and set up a twitter page for yourself... and even if you don't want a twitter you can still read all my tweets!

Happy twittering to all!
Love,
Moi

The Top Ten... er... Eight

So, as you read in the last post CATalyst has come out with a list of the top 10 cat-friendliest cities. The image at the right is a map version of that list so please click on it to view larger. Unfortunately this is the 2009 list so I'm going to wait till the 2010 list comes out to post a text version of the list. A recent comment on the site contained a wonderful list of what they thought were the eight most cat-friendly cities. I completely agree so here it is:

• Los Angeles, 
• San Francisco, 
• Santa Monica, 
• Beverly Hills, 
• Berkeley, 
• Culver City,
• Burbank
• West Hollywood

Those eight are the cities that now have a ban on declawing. As you can see by the list California is definitely making a stand about this cruelty. Hopefully the rest of the U.S. will follow their example and ban declawing in America for good.

The Beginning-weekly update post #1

Welcome to by blog! A place where cats get exactly what they deserve: a little respect. Even though cats are America's #1 companion, there are 10 million more cats then dogs in the U.S. alone, they are under-appreciated. In fact, cats are taken to the vet less then dogs! That doesn't seem right! What are we cats to think but that the people we care for think that they can just throw us away like last night's fish! Well, I want to make a difference... oh... wait, I haven't officially introduced myself! I am The Little Black Cat, your author. Anyways, as I was saying, I want to make a difference and spread the word that things are gonna change, they have to. So soak in what I've written and maybe even join the fight. At the end of each article I include a little of my opinion on the topic. And I'm warning you now, that sometimes... well... I lose my temper a little bit. If you're wondering why this post is comming out now, after three other posts already, well let me explain. This is the "site update" post. Every week I plan to have one post that talks about what the CATalyst Council is doing and what I have put on the site in the past week. I will tend to post these at the end of each week so that I won't miss anything. This week, for example I put up a mews box where loyal readers can post little comments and get in touch with me better then with the comment system. I will also post small updates in there, these updates will also be mentioned in the weekly post. I also put up a re-tweet button. If you're on twitter and like what I've written please re-tweet me! Today's news on the CATalyst efforts is the announcement of the ten cat-friendliest cities in America. Since someone's always announcing a dog list why not do a cat one?  Just always remember: it's all about the CAT!

~the little black cat =^.^=

The Fight Against Declawing

Cats have just found a new safe haven. In Berkley California declawing your cat is now a minor crime. They are one of the growing list of cities, including San Francisco and West Hollywood, to ban this practice. Berkeley’s city council unanimously voted to ban declawing in the city. Backers say that declawing is proven to be inhumane and painful to the cats that undergo the surgery. Councilman Jesse Arreguin, who co-authored the law, says that most declawing is done to benefit the owner, not done because of an extreme situation. Veterinarian Dr. Cristianne Schelling exposes the truth of declawing, “Declawing is actually an amputation of the last joint of your cat’s toes,” she says, “A cat’s claw is not a toenail.” Declawing is actually more of an “American” thing. In countries like England, Italy, France, and Ireland declawing cats is either illegal or is considered extremely inhumane and performed under the most extreme circumstances. Cats, unlike most mammals that walk on the soles of their paws or feet, walk on their toes. All of their muscles, tendons, joints, ligaments, and nerves are specially designed to support and distribute the cat’s weight across its toes as it goes about its daily duties. A cat’s claws are essential to their lives. Claws are used for exercising, balance, and for stretching in their back, shoulders, legs, and paws. As  Dr. Cristianne Schelling explained before, a cat’s claw is not at all like the human fingernail, it is the last bone in the cat’s toe. In order to be declawed a cat must go through 10 separate, painful amputations. Why? Because, in order to remove the claw you must remove the bone, nerve, collateral ligaments, and the extensor and flexor tendons. A rather graphic comparison to this practice would be like having each of your fingers cut off at the last joint. Surprisingly, the California Veterinary Association opposes such bans against declawing, saying that the decision should be made between the owner and veterinarian. Their spokesman Carl Singer says “there are some cases where declawing is preferable to putting the animal down.”
    I firmly support the fight against declawing and I applaud the city of Berkeley for making this decision. I own two cats and I shudder to think of making them go through the pain of declawing. I know what people think when they’re scratched. I’ve been on the receiving end of many pretty serious scratches. Even so, I can’t see what these people see in declawing. Others seem to be more concerned in the health of their furniture then the health of their cats. For these cases and many more there are always happy, humane solutions. For instance, you could train your cat to scratch a scratching post instead of your new couch. You could trim the front claws, which actually doesn’t hurt at all if done properly. I utilize this method on my cats annually. One of the best solutions I’ve seen though, are Soft Paws. These little vinyl caps are glued onto the front claws. These are great for people who don’t have time to train their cats to use a scratching post or don’t trust themselves to trim properly. In the end it up to the public to make the humane decision and stop declawing today!

Sources:

• “Berkeley Bans Declawing of Cats” 11/11/09, The Mercury News, web address: http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_13763175?nclick_check=1
• Informational Website, “What You need to Know About Declawing” “Outlawed Countries” “Technical Facts”, web address: http://www.declawing.com/  

Cat Agility!

Us darn cats! We seem to be content with our eat, sleep, play with the silly little faux mouse, eat, sleep lives, but no! We secretly want to be out in the agility ring.

Whoa, whoa, whoa… hold the phone! What did you say?

An agility contest is a circus of obstacles, something cats are too lazy or just too downright uninterested to do…right?

Wrong! For years we’ve seen excited dogs of all ages and their slightly worried, but still happy owners race around and across all kinds of devices designed to trip up the dog that is running the course. But dogs aren’t the only animals interested in agility. Some cats love to run obstacle courses too. It’s actually great for the high energy cats, as well as dogs, with few places to burn it off. As you learn about cat agility you realize that it makes sense because cats practically do the same thing at home already! We spend our hard earned money on buying little Mittens crinkly tunnels, 6 story condos covered with brown and tan carpet, and fishing pole toys that encourage your cat to leap and run. The Cat Fanciers Association came up with this idea about five years ago in Oregon. “Some cats take to the course like a duck to water, and have it down pat when it comes to running through tunnels and jumping through hoops. Others, though, seem to be more curious about the course, and will thoroughly inspect each obstacle before even thinking about tackling it,” they say.
Course completion times come between a few seconds to 15 minutes depending on how curious the cat competitor is, although the maximum time to run the course without being disqualified is 3 minutes. Timed runs are scored faults first, then time. Therefore a slow, accurate run around the ring would beat a fast, sloppy run with multiple faults. The course can start with any obstacle and the time starts when the cat’s front feet touch or pass through or over the first obstacle. Time ends when the cat’s front feet touch the floor after clearing the last obstacle.  Some faults are: the handler knocking down an obstacle or jump, the cat going into or over the wrong obstacle out of course sequence, cat refusal to complete an obstacle and bypassing it, and stopping more then 10 seconds once the run has started.
Cats can also be disqualified from the competition, but that is mostly by the discretion of the Agility Official. All of the competitions are held in jumbo cages so the cats can’t escape. According to the ICAT association, the official association of International Cat Agility Tournaments, “Good agility cats have the qualities to make happy, healthy companion cats. The most successful cats in agility will love to play, have an outgoing personality, and be in excellent physical condition. An agility course is like a playground to a cat.” The ICAT association says that your cat is ready for agility if they are: self confident, motivated, athletic, trained, and at the right age. They also advise that if you really want to go into agility with your cat you should start young. Now that you know all this, do you think that your cat is ready for agility?
Cat Agility! Yes! I salute whoever decided that this week Monterey county would discover cat agility by writing an article for the Herald newspapers. I myself have known about it for a few years but have been too young to qualify as a handler. I have one very high energy cat and I regret not getting her into something like this. Personally I feel that cats are a little bit under appreciated. Every time I see the Westminster Dog Show on the TV I complain. Sometimes, I get so bad that my parents have to send me out of the room. The truth of the matter is, cats not only have cat shows but these agility competitions too! But, does the media cover them? No! Last year I went to my first cat show at the Monterey Fair Grounds, it is an experience I will never forget. One day I’ll be a competitor in one of those shows and one day I will lead my cat around an agility ring too. I will show those dog lovers what we cat lovers are made of!

Sources:

• Informational Website, ICAT,web address: http://catagility.com/about/index.html
•  “Who Knew? Cats Dig Agility Contests Too!” 1/29/10, The Orange County Register, wed address: http://ocpets.freedomblogging.com/2010/01/29/who-knew-cats-dig-agililty-contests-too/34241
• “Cat’s on course for agility competitions”, 2/2/10, The Monterey County Herald

Pet Store Ban in California

One day, any day, animal lover Lisa DeLaurentiis walks into a petstore and is sick. DeLaurentiis hates watching pet-sellers in Palm Beach County sell out-of-town puppies and kittens to new pet owners. Inside, she knows that local shelters are forced to kill hundreds of unwanted dogs and cats each year. She also knows that Pet Store owners know that too.  Recently she couldn’t bear to see this any longer and Tuesday, she called on the county commission to ban the practice.
Ms. Laurentiis was one of eight other residents who pushed the commission to ban this. “We have enough [animals] inside this country,” she says. “We don’t need the 70-plus pet store bringing in unsterilzed, sick dogs and cats from out of this state and out of this country.” Some in the group said they would support allowing pet stores to sell locally bred puppies and kittens as long as the animals were spayed or neutered.
One Commissioner, Shelly Vana, said she was working with county managers on rule changes that would require pet stores to disclose where the puppies and kittens they sell were bred. "As a community, we are judged by how we treat children, elderly and animals," Vana said. "It is on my conscience, a bad thing to know that we are allowing so many animals to be killed.... I don't want to put people out of business but at the same time we are spending a lot of money on doing the wrong thing."
At least two cities across the country recently approved banning the sale of puppies and kittens at pet stores, but county managers say those laws have yet to face legal challenges. "There are significant issues involved," County Attorney Denise Nieman said.
Despite some objection, people across the nation are coming to attention about the pet store situation and whether we like it or not, change is coming.
I agree with Ms. DeLauerntiis. Pet stores shouldn’t be bringing more animals into a state that is already over populated. As I researched I happened to glance at the comments column and here is one example of what I found:

“They should shut down the Petland on Northlake first. I went in there by accident one time, not knowing that they sold animals, and wanted to cry/throw-up/scream. The animals were all standing on wire grates, no toys, no food, no water...many were obviously sick. I had to leave before I was in either a full fledged panic attack or I threw up. It was the most awful thing I've ever seen in my life. The conditions at PBC ACC are better. I can't believe anyone would give their money to that company”
~RDC

    I applaud you RDC. I’ve been in many a pet store and what you say is true. At least 25% of stores across the country mistreat their animals. Shelters, on the other hand, don’t. I’m sure that a few, low budget and under-managed shelters do, but definitely not 25%. In fact, the SPCA near where my humans live has a “Kitty Wonderland” set up for their older cats. That’s definitely not mistreatment.

    Here’s another example:

     “So nobody can breed their own pet now that mandatory sterilization is the law, and now we take out the pet stores and allow people to buy only from breeders, whose animals WERE not mandatorily sterilized.
That's quite a breeder lobbying group you've got going on.
Sure it's just to "save the unwanted animals" or is it really all about eliminating unwanted stock so the better bred (non-mutt, pedigree, expensive $$$) animals bring more in terms of cash?
Ca-ching! And we have a winner!
"We have enough inside this county," said Lisa DeLaurentis, one of several residents who proposed the change during today's commission meeting. "We do not need the 70-plus pet stores bringing in unsterilized, sick dogs from out of this state and out of this country."
This, with Moffet's Census story, ought to be linked. Where is the passion against undocumented, often mistreated HUMANS who businesses continue to bring into this state and country to exploit them for cheap labor?
Priorities…”
~MaryG

    Look Mary G, you’re obviously delusional and/or have a mental disorder and belong in a hospital. This is an article about pet stores and how they are shipping in foreign animals, not an article talking about shutting down everything but the breeders, let alone an article about humans. Just FYI, breeders make up a pretty generous part of the pet fanciers society, especially the cats. Getting rid of them could set everything off balance. Besides, I’m not alone in this thinking:

 “Get Real!! You are crazy. Do you know how many animals are killed everyday in shelters. In Dade County alone it’s over 150 per day, due to no space. Palm Beach County isn't good either. For your undocumented workers, that’s another issue that has nothing to do with this. If they weren't here illegally in the first place, they wouldn't be mistreated. Now get busy saving innocent animals!!!!”

That’s one, here’s another:

“Mandatory sterilization is NOT a law...increased tag fees for unsterilized animals is a law in hope to get people to spay/neuter their animals. Licenses for breeders is a law. No where in this county are you forced by law to sterilize your animal. Get your facts straight before commenting. This article is about animals, not humans, go vent somewhere else.”

So, as you can see, I’m pretty “fired up” about this topic and so are others. Those exerpts are real comments and those, defiantely aren’t the only ones. It’s been bugging me for ages and I’m glad someone’s finally making a move to fix this situation. I’ve said before and I’ll say it again: Change is coming, whether you’re delusional like Mary G or not, it’s time we all stood up and fixed our pet stores.

Sources:

•  “Group calls for ban on pet store sale of dogs and cats in Palm Beach County” 3/11/10, The Palm Beach Post, web address: http://www.palmbeachpost.com/accent/pets/group-calls-for-ban-on-pet-store-sale-335298.html