It's been a while since I had a tortureshell, and after I've written this, you'll see why I wouldn't mind it being another long while until the next one. Yes, friends, you read that correctly. Perhaps I'm becoming soft with all the holiday spirit still around, but Tortureshells haven't been on my mind for a while! This one isn't even of my doing. It's a people Tortureshell. Allow me to elaborate.
The human has a massive peoples family, and when I say massive, I mean it. on the HGG's side alone, there are 16 cousins of the human, and already 6 second cousins who are all still kittens, with another one on the way! The human great grandad's side is massive too, and one of those peoples on his side has two cats. Good for her, I hear you say, and indeed, I thought so too, until last night.
The human saw a post on the dreaded Facebook that mentioned that the relation was "getting rid of the cats". What? Getting rid of a trainer? It really galls me when peoples think they can do this. Sure, they have thumbs and have control of the stinky goodness, but that doesn't make them lord of all they survey. Perhaps they're of the opinion that they're through with training and don't need us any more, but the least they could do is give us the contracted notice period so that we can find another home, preferably with that old lady down the street who feeds you nice food because she thinks you don't have any other home to go to (mancats, I trust you know what I mean). I mean, it's a pretty poor way for them to show their gratitude for all of our hard work when they simply turf us out onto the street, or, in this case, into PTUs.
The reason for "getting rid" as she called it was because her trainers had decided they were going to do a bit of what I call inappropriate scratching, which is to say, sharpening one's claws on various things: items of furniture, walls, carpets, the occasional bit of soft, yielding human flesh. I fail to see why this causes a problem bearing in mind that usually, we are simply trying to teach the peoples that they wouldn't need to cut their finger nails if they would only scratch as we do. This people didn't get the hint though, and decided enough was enough.
The human got on top of it as soon as she saw the dreaded message of doom and gave the people lots of advice. She even told her about Soft Claws, and offered to give her some spare that we have. The people was going on about how much she loved her cats and how there'd be "tears all round" when they went, but said she'd look into Soft Claws as she "really didn't want to get rid of them". The human went to bed happy that she'd at least saved two cats from going to the Cat's Protection shelter.
Midway through the day today, she saw this message. "My wee cats are gone. Tears all round." um, what? People, what do you think you're doing! The human helped! The human was gobsmacked, and the heart went out of her. She wrote back to the people, saying sharply that she thought she'd said she loved the cats and would look into things, but she's got no answer. It's left her rather upset, and she's not the only one.
The more I've thought about this today, the madder I've gotten. I don't know where peoples get the idea that we are disposable. They allow us into their lives, con us into thinking that they will feed and care for us forever in return for their training, then break all trust and contracts by throwing us out on our ear for the smallest infraction. I think they sometimes forget that we are intelligent and have feelings and might actually care about it. They see us as nothing more than a ball of fluff to be cuddled and manhandled and cooed over, no more than an animated teddy bear that can be put away in a box when you're finished playing with it. Well, guess what? We're not! If I wasn't more secure with my human, this would make me wonder if she'd do the same to me, but when I confronted her with it, she just laughed, tickled my tummy, and assured me that I am the best trainer for her. Sure, she might add a kitten or two to our family, but it doesn't change the fact that that's what we are; a family. And you don't throw your family members out for inappropriate behaviour. You feed them tuna instead! Right, human?
Working on the peoples idea that they choose us rather than the other way around (I know it's not true, but it serves my purposes to pretend so for one paragraph), a pet is for life, not just for Christmas or Birthday or playing with or for the good times. We're in it for better or for worse. When you pick up that cute puppy or kitten in a pet shop or at someone's home, you should be saying your marriage vows to us. Are you ready for a commitment of that magnitude? Are you ready for the till death do us part portion of it? Because, you selfish peoples who think you can just dump a pet when you're done with your toy, we certainly make that commitment. In most cases, we actually mean it too. Sure, we think you're cute, we think you need our help, we think you're fun to play with, but you know what? When that wears off, when the novelty of having you around goes away, the love, the caring still remains. Where's your portion of that? Where di dyour love go, human's relation? It certainly didn't go with those two cats in their PTUs on the way to the shelter.
At least in the UK, we have no kill shelters, but if pets are dumped in the states or Canada, often they end up at horrible places of death. Beth, a rescuer from Canada, does wonderful work with a local shelter that practices euthanasia, saving cats from the twice weekly death day and placing them in foster homes for adoption. She's so passionate about it that she's even started her own rescue.
She also regularly blogs about the horrific conditions she saves cats from
Just think, she wouldn't need to if peoples weren't so thoughtless, selfish and inconsiderate of our wants and needs. Grrrrr!
Ok, rant over now, I promise. Now that I've got it out of my system, I am going to go prepare for the human's Birthday. It's only tomorrow, and I'm excited! The catnip crew gave me a great idea for a present...
4 comments:
Was that 'person' one of Carly's large, large family? If so, that might make for an awkward family reunion.
What really bothers us is that 'Tears all around' comment. If the kitties mean that much to you, you KEEP them. Or you find them good homes. You don't just dump them when they get a little inconvenient. GACK!
Poor kitties. I just don't understand the humans sometimes!
Oh this just makes my blood boil. With 13 kitties, we have our share of pee and barf and scratching...but that's all part of LIFE! Pets are like CHILDREN, and you just don't dump them! Thank goodness there are no "kill" places in the UK and those two will get another shot at a good home.
What's wrong with a little scratching now and then? We need sharp claws, don't we? I suppose humans might get fed up with a lot of it, but even still...
I wish people were like cats. If we don't like you, we'll growl and spit, our hair will get all bushed out and we might even bite you. Sometimes we're a little more subtle than that, but we don't ever lie about it...not unless we're old and crazy like Michael - I'll tell you a little about him later, since he's a cat I met when I was younger who's definitely not normal - or unless we have other more deep-rooted problems. It seems that humans sometimes find it necessary to say things they don't mean, to say they like you even when they don't. They often call it "being polite" but I think lying is always more rude than telling the truth, even if the truth isn't very nice or friendly. There is, after all, a difference between telling the truth and rubbing someone's face in it. In any case, someone who says they want to keep their cats because they love them, then gets rid of them with only a token effort to fix the problem in the first place...well, that's a foolish human. Knowing me, I'd probably still take some stroking from her if she had a mind to give it, but that doesn't mean I think she's wise like me...it just means I'm opportunistic about affection and will take whatever I can get.
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