Their Journey Continues

We wish that cats could talk. We also wish that they could visit our website. As we approach the two-year mark of the start of our rescue project, there is still much work to be done. Life happens, other responsibilities get in the way, some are saved, but too many are still lost. We’d really like to change that. If you are a cat and you’re reading this, know that we are trying, but that sometimes it’s overwhelming.

In the couple of years since this rescue has started, the world has changed, and so have we. In some ways, things have improved – new provincial laws bring greater protection to all animals, greater exposure to the importance of humane treatment – but in many ways, we are at a standstill. Our animals, our pets, the environment suffer, at our own hands. We try to remain optimistic, but we have become more cynical.

People. They are capable of such greatness, yet more often than not serve their own interests over and above anything or anyone else. Recent world developments have proven both sides of this human nature, but if there is an imbalance, it should be in favour of greatness, yeah? What we have realized – time and again – is that wherever there is a problem on this planet, wherever there is an injustice, there is a person or a group of people behind it. Unfailingly. Every time. People.

In regards to our rescue, we see it over and over. There is a quote attributed to Eldridge Cleaver that paraphrased says “if you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.” While complete ignorance of one’s surroundings is an obvious violation of our responsibility to our fellow creatures and environment, sometimes the best intentions are as detrimental to the situation as no intentions.

This will hurt many. Half measures don’t help:

If you’re feeding a colony so that they don’t starve, you’re providing them with enough sustenance to procreate. If all you do is feed them, you are making the situation worse. THEY REQUIRE MEDICAL TREATMENT, SPAYING/NEUTERING, VACCINATIONS.

If you have your own pets, but think that spay/neuter practices are cruel or a triviality, you are promoting the further proliferation of these animals. Your male cat will wander, get into fights and become injured or diseased – or cause it in another animal – endanger himself by crossing roads, and try to impregnate intact females.

Your female cat WILL eventually have kittens – sometimes multiple litters in a year. THERE ARE MILLIONS OF UNCARED-FOR CATS, creatures that will be born feral, never know a good life, and die too soon.

Bob Barker had it right: spay or neuter your pets.

If one of these scenarios sounds like it could be yours, please don’t be offended. Fix your situation. There IS help. If you can’t afford to take care of the problem, seek out agencies that can, that have the resources, the connections, and the knowledge to fix the problem. It’s never too late to do the right thing.

It took some serious consideration in posting this, but we believe that people want to do the right thing. When we open our wallets, there are those that ask us “why do you want to help out that guy? He doesn’t care about those cats.” The answer remains: we’re not doing it for people, we’re doing it for the ones we save; if we considered the offenders as the beneficiaries, we wouldn’t do it at all.

So… if there ARE any cats out there reading this right now, do know that we are working on it. It’s daunting, and some days the obstacles seem insurmountable. When the nice person comes from the rescue organization  with his trap, or calls you over, give it some thought, huh? You’re pretty smart, and you have a good eye for the not-nice people – we are here to help.

And there are many like us.

Stephen