Helping Cats … or Hurting Them?

My cats Murphy and Bailey, who are sisters, when they were still kittens 15 years ago.

My sister cats, Murphy and Bailey, turned 15 years old earlier this week. Their pregnant mom was trying to survive after being dumped on my friends’ ranch. Judy rescued mom, and the pretty Persian-looking cat gave birth to seven kittens two days later. One baby died, however, the other six grew healthy and strong. I took two females, a long-haired black and white we named Murphy, and a short-haired tortoiseshell we called Bailey.

People often don’t reclaim their cats that come into shelters as lost pets. More cats than dogs are euthanized in animal shelters in the United States. Why are felines considered less valuable than canines in the adoption and reclaim arenas of our society?

Cats often get the short end of the stick when it comes to rescue and adoption. They are often abandoned or dumped on rural property, as the case of my girls’ mother. They may form communities or colonies, and city and town governments persecute them. People may find stray cats and take them to an animal shelter, where, sadly, many are euthanized. Cats are less likely to be claimed as strays than dogs, and though many are adopted, there is a high euthanasia rate for felines.

I came across a recent blog post from Best Friends Animal Society, one of the leading rescue organizations in America, and leader of the no-kill movement. If you are an animal lover, an advocate for pet rescue and adoption, and are especially attached to cats, I encourage you to read the blog post, which talks about how some of our best intentions may be killing hundreds, even thousands, of cats and kittens. Check it out here: https://bestfriends.org/blogs/2020/08/04/why-our-good-intentions-might-be-killing-more-1000-cats-and-kittens-every-day.

My cat Murphy lounges in a new chair I set up in my home office earlier this year. She and her sister Bailey were truly rescued when my friend took in their mama, who was an abandoned cat that was pregnant.

I’m grateful my friend Judy and her husband took in that mama cat 15 years ago. Murphy and Bailey and their siblings are the lucky ones — they found homes with kind, loving people, including Judy and her husband and me and my husband, who is also an animal lover and rescue supporter.

What can you do to help cats in your community?

Every year, animal shelters across the country euthanize hundreds of thousands of cats, and colonies of abandoned cats are persecuted for what humans do to them — toss them aside. Can’t we, in 2020, do better by the animals that share our enivornments?