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

in #society7 years ago

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.

dog-2817391_1280.jpg Image: Pixabay

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I have to say there are things I love and hate about this article. My family cat was exclusively an outdoor cat unless the temperature dipped well below freezing and lived happily for 18 years. And I totally agree that keeping an animal locked indoors is pretty selfish. Imagine never being able to leave an apartment for your entire life (and having to poop in a sandbox no less)
However I don't believe that using natural remedies is a bad thing and generaly feel that avoiding the medical industry as much as possible is a smart move since they only make money when people/pets are sick. Thats not very good incentive to keep people/pets healthy. Not that I havent known some good doctors/vets and I'm sure veterinary science is less geared toward keeping a population sick and enslaved than is the pharmaceutical industry in general.
I also don't see why you would be against someone standing up against racism. Personally I don't really use most social media (except STEEMIT!) because many people, and bots I suppose, tend to act like children a lot of the time. And perhaps they are actually children. But if someone is throwing bigotry around then why not do something about it? Relying on an outside source like a government or corporation to tell people that their behavior is unacceptable is like acknowledging that you have given all of you power, all of your freedom, to an outside agency that seeks to rule you. Its like being that cat trapped in a two bedroom apartment shitting a box for it's entire life "for it's own good"
Somehow that got a little ranty. I guess I should go eat breakfast...

Sorry, that quip about the homeopathic enema was meant in the sense of 'someone in the discussion group told me to do it', and not as a criticism of natural remedies as a whole. I was shooting for those people who get medical advice from other people who are as equally clueless, instead of taking the pet to someone who can diagnose and prescribe correct treatment for the correct condition. I saw a comment about a cat who was urinating all over the place suddenly, and the owner simply assumed that it was because the animal was stressed out because of a new kitten that had been recently introduced to the household. However, the urinating occurred weeks after the kitten came. There must have been fifty 'advice' comments, and only three said 'take the cat to the vet for a urine test, in case it is a urinary infection'. It appeared quite obvious that the owner was more inclined to spray Feliway around and try to 'help' the cat adjust to the new kitten, rather than test him for a UTI. I kind of noticed that there was even a tad of hostility towards those people who suggested the sound option of having the cat checked for a physical problem before assuming a behavioral one - simply because they didn't go with the mob-opinion. Same thing about rehoming another cat who was obviously terrified of the family dogs.

I am not against standing up when racism occurs. I am against running to the person's employer instead of using other simple and effective measures. Instead of applauding people who act like children, I feel that it should be pointed out that that is how they are acting, and that it isn't appropriate behavior for an adult of 30 or more years! The problem is on both sides in the case I mentioned, but two wrongs don't make a right. What happened there is exactly how things end up spiraling out of control, and causing the hate to spread. One guy did point out to the person in question that his actions in going to the employer only served to validate and more deeply entrench the other person's opinions about race, etc... . I've lived with a bizarre sort of racism all my life (you have to be here to know it), and I would never go and complain to a person's boss about it, not even in my own workplace. I'd try to change the person's opinion of me, and in doing so, make them see that 'we' are not so bad (even though a fair number of us are!).

Yeah I suppose trying to open up lines of mature conversation is the best aproach in the beginning, it's easy to let things escalate pretty quickly when the interactions are as impersonal as a tweet and miscommunications definitely happen more easily. Also, I suppose I have relatively little experience dealing specifically with racism being directed against me personally, so I have not explored how I would deal with it much.
I see your point about the catosphere. I guess I haven't owned one recently enough to have engaged in any online community of feline enthusiasts, and we were lucky to have had a very healthy cat in my youth.
I admit I'm pretty divided on the whole concept of "pets". I just spent a while in India where there were many free dogs, though I didn't see as many cats around I'm sure they were there... It seemed that they (the ones that survived anyway) were much healthier, smarter and even more well behaved in many ways than most pet dogs in the US despite living off of handouts and trash. They seem to have a really interesting relationship with other life forms there. More of a live and let live (or die) approach.

It has been a while since I have checked in on you so I thought I would come take a look and see how you are doing.
SJW's are nothing but a pain in the ass who don't know how to mind their own business in my opinion.
Good to see you are still around and speaking common sense.

Yeah, it has been a while, hasn't it. I've really not been on Steemit too often lately. Kind of lost interest a bit. Got to check out your food posts when I have time. I always enjoyed them.
I was having fun watching a British food-aversion show, and you wouldn't believe how many people they has on who could only eat french fries! Lo and behold, in almost every case, the psychologist discovered that the problem was with stunted emotional grow when it comes to food! Their parents caved in when they threw tantrums as children and let them get away with eating only the things they like. Or one parent did when the other tried to get them to eat a more mature diet. So their reaction to food was a childish one. Thankfully some of these people grew up and realized they had a problem, sought help, and ended up enjoying curry, chicken, and salad! They were embarrassed by their childish attitude towards food. I think you will appreciate how this relates to SJWs in general.
Thanks for stopping by!

I only do food on my daily dose on the 15th of each month, those are my "Will Eat BBQ 4 U" Texas BBQ restaurant reviews so mark your calendar at come visit. The June edition I plan on reviewing the oldest continually running BBQ joint in the USA, which is here in Texas of course.

Hmm, well that's an interesting anecdote.

Back in the 1960's, when I was a boy, my grandparents had a cat, a spayed female, who was an avid hunter. She was sweet as can be with us, but when she went outside she was death incarnate.

Her particular prey of choice was gophers. We had a vacant lot across the street from my grandparents' suburban home, and that was her stalking ground. She would drag home dead gophers as big as she was on a regular basis, and often came back with her front paws bitten bloody. I guess she must have been fishing down the hole when they wouldn't come out to play.

So we would take her to the vet to be patched up, and she would limp around on bandaged paws for a week or two. But as soon as the bandages came off, she was Diana the Huntress again.

My grandfather cursed the expense of the vet, and my grandmother worried about her beloved pet, (in spite of regular rabies vaccinations), but it never even occurred to them that keeping the cat indoors was an option. Their view was that an animal had to have access to the outdoors, and that was that.

I suppose the only point of this story is that attitudes have changed enormously in the last 50 years, and not entirely for the better.

That cat had a good and happy life. Back then, people understood that you can't have fun when you're isolated from everything that is fun. It is sad how the world is changing, and not for the better, as you pointed out. Thanks for reading and commenting!

Oh hey, my pleasure. You have a new follower ;)

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