Seeker Magazine

Open for Debate

Pets and Responsibility

by: MrsBadgerr@aol.com

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We have just acquired a new cat. She was originally owned by the tenant in the apartment below us, but it seems he "forgot" to take her when he moved. She was pregnant when he left, and by the time she showed up half-starved in the parking lot, it seemed she had lost her kittens. Most likely this was due to malnutrition. He hadn't bothered to have her nuetered, and when she became an inconvenience, he simply abandoned her.

Try as I might, I can't understand some people's attitudes about pets. I have witnessed people who are otherwise responsible, loving and socially concerned simply "drop off" or leave behind a once loved and now unwanted animal. How can this be justified? Are they harboring some self delusion that the animal has a better chance of surviving off on it's own? Is it more soothing to the conscience to never know a pet's fate than to bear the guilt or responsibility of dealing with it? Sure, this particular cat lucked out, but for every 10 abandoned animals I would lay odds that more than half die baffled, unloved and in misery.

It seems to me that if you're going to make the decision to keep an animal to begin with, the least you can do is take responsibility for it. Not just for as long as it's convenient, but for the entire projected life span of the beast!

Domestic animals are not adapted to feral life. Contrary to what some people may think, a cat or dog is rarely able to adapt to sudden homelessness. I find it hard to understand that people can actually believe that an animal that has been fed from a bowl from weaning will instantly fathom how and where to feed themselves once abandoned! Not to mention the immediate, confusing new dangers found on roads or in the yards of people who don't care to be bothered with animals at all. I often wonder if these same people would abandon their children as quickly. Would little Susie be dropped off across town, or left in an apartment because their caretaker's new place didn't accept children? Of course not!

I realize that it is harder than ever to find places to keep pets. And there is nothing harder to resist than a playful puppy or a fluffy bundle of kitten, but these babies remain dependent, so if you're not willing to provide for them for an entire span of cat or dog years,do them and the world a favor...

DON'T KEEP PETS!!


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