A Social Media Cat Story That is an Allegory Outlining a Greater Problem

There is a guy in my neighborhood who takes his cat out for walks. If the cat was on the end of a cat-leash, it would be remarkable enough, but this guy has trained the cat to walk alongside him without a leash of any sort. The cat sometimes stops to investigate something it finds interesting, and the guy has to call his pet back to heel in the same way a dog-owner would.

Now, if I posted this story on social media, what sort of a response would it get? A lot of people would certainly find it amusing. A few people would view it as a real eye-opener, an example of how a cat - an animal known for having its own mind - can be trained to behave by the right person, under the right conditions. To them, it would open vistas and encourage further research into cat behavioral training. But the loudest, and cruelest voices would belong to the fanatics screaming for this man's blood as compensation for letting his cat go outside, where it isn't safe for cats to go. These people are, of course, the 'animal advocate' version of social justice warriors, out to denigrate, beat down, and close discussion on any topic if the discussion veers off in a direction beyond what they know of from their own social media sounding boards. These are the people who would choose to stick a homeopathic remedy up their pet's arse, rather than taking the animal to a vet, based on the 'advice' they received from their internet community.

I chose the example above to shame these people because veterinary research is solidly on this man's side. The facts are, cats who are kept exclusively indoors have way higher stress levels than those who are allowed outside, and cat-leashes induce stress in your beloved pets by restricting their innate urge to explore. Veterinarians seem to be evenly split on the issue of keeping a cat indoors and safe, as opposed to allowing them access to the outdoors. However, what the man in the example above has proven, is that the old belief that 'you can't train a cat' is nothing more than a popular myth. Thinking outside of the box can provide a cat with the best of both worlds.

Now, I will say that yesterday I was the object of much vitriol-spewing when I spoke on social media about re-homing a cat to a place where he had access to the outside. The case was simple: his previous owners had let him go out, and now he refused to be kept exclusively indoors. My own vet acknowledges the fact that a cat who has developed the taste for the outside will often have a hard time accepting an exclusively indoors environment. She even had a stunning personal case where she helped an abandoned cat to find a new home, only to have him returned because he urinated on mattresses and acted out in other ways. When her brother saw the cat and fell in love with it, he happily took the cat home and, lo and behold, this adoption was a success! The difference was that the brother lived in an area where the cat could go outside - and this cat wanted to go outside with a vengeance. If kept inside for even a few minutes longer -in than he likes, there is hell to pay!

In the case that I was attacked for, the cat is let outside, in a fenced-in backyard, and kept under supervision. All the cats in that household have been trained not to wander off-territory, and the neighborhood is cat-friendly. BUT, did any of my attackers even ask about that before attacking? No, like a pack of brainwashed zombies, they simply attacked blindly and without thought or reason. Even when the circumstances were explained, the continued their attacks, with one stupid woman even likening letting the cat go out to letting your children 'play in traffic'!

'Ignorant cunts!' I thought to myself, as I went on to point out that they were putting their virtue-signalling above the happiness and best interests of their pets. And that is what it all boils down to: virtue signalling and selfish self-interest.

You see, I don't let my cats go outside, not even on my apartment balcony. I live in the heart of the city, where it is unsafe to do so. I am also terrified that something might happen to my beloved cats, and it is that fear that rules me. I don't lie to myself about why I keep my pets indoors. It's all about me. It's about my peace of mind more than it is about my pets' happiness and safety. Yes, they are safer inside, but are they happier? If one of them were to escape, it would be a disaster for both myself and the pet. I've seen a number of dogs who've slipped their leashes, or escaped from their homes, dashing headlong into traffic, completely oblivious to the danger of oncoming cars. This happens because pets crave stimulation, and the chance to stretch their legs and get some real exercise out of doors. Unfortunately, their owners have not equipped them with the knowledge of how to safely conduct themselves when they are outside. Both cats and dogs can be trained to enjoy going outside in a safe manner that doesn't annoy the neighbors. Unfortunately, it takes effort on the part of their humans, and the willingness to supervise their pets' activities. It also takes sense enough to know what a safe environment is, and if you are living in one. As I said, I live in the city, where there is high traffic, and I don't know my neighbors from f*ck (and don't want to know them). Yet, even in this neighborhood, I meet people who know what cat or dogs belong to what person in the area.

There are several points that I raised in this post which pertain to society in general, and our children in particular. The current fashion is to lock up our kids in the same way we do our pets. The end result? Well, we are seeing that in the universities and in the workplace. The need for 'safe places', the inability to tolerate and viewpoints that are not in line with their own, etc... . The pouring of vitriol on anyone who doesn't advocate 'safe', or who dares suggest an 'unsafe' alternative to a problem that can't be solved with a 'safe' environment. Worst of all, the way people seal themselves off into communities that are echo chambers eternally repeating the same 'safe' messages. 'Safe' is more important than happy. Living six months longer is more important than enjoying life. Living longer, living longer.... fearing death, fearing injury... discarding science that proves living with reasonable risk is better for both people and animals than living in a box... .

Well, all I can say is 'stupid, ignorant, selfish cunts!'. You're ruining not only your own world, but even that of your pets with your cries of 'safe, safe, safe'!

As a footnote to this sad tale, I want to mention something that happened on Twitter a few days back. One of the people I was (am no longer) following received a rather hateful, racist comment. So, what did he do? Did he block the person who sent it? Report it to Twitter? No. He went into the other guy's account, found out who his employer is, and contacted the guy's employer to complain about it! This is the type of people I mentioned above; people who can't handle life because their parents insisted on 'safe, safe, safe'. So you see, my cat story, although completely true, is an allegory outlining a greater problem.

Image: Pixabay