Dogs and Dames

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It’s easy for me to get angry about the way cats are treated. Whether people are abandoning unwanted cats on farms, refusing to adopt cats because of their special needs or the color of their fur, or encouraging people to poison ferals, there’s a lot for a cat lover like me to get hissed off about. But then something awesome happens, and I get to jump for joy and share the love with you.

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Abandoned cats by Shutterstock

Recently the Greater Androscoggin Humane Society in Lewiston, ME, posted on its Facebook page, “Big Mews: Usually by the month of April our intake for cats and kittens is increasing. In past years, we’ve get in dozens of pregnant cats, moms with nursing kittens, and/or newborn motherless kittens. … [this year] for the month of April, we saw a 47 percent decrease in kittens coming into the shelter and a 30 percent decrease in adult cats coming into the shelter.”

Why did this happen? The Greater Androscoggin Humane Society gave people a chance to do the right thing, and people did. Last fall, GAHS offered free spay/neuter services to the cats of the Lewiston-Auburn area, where the organization is located. And guess what? It’s working!

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Image from the Greater Anndroscoggin Humane Society Facebook page

You don’t have to work at a shelter or be an animal rescue insider to understand how important this is. If you’re even slightly conscious, you know that thousands, if not millions, of unwanted cats are dumped to fend for themselves — and a lot of that is because people don’t have access to the money or transportation needed to get their kitties fixed.

But when an organization offers spaying and neutering for free, people step up.

That tells me the community at large is aware of the need to spay or neuter their cats. They want to do it. But there are “barriers to access,” which is how some folks in the nonprofit world (where I spend 40 hours or so a week) describe things like poverty, lack of transportation, or even the perception of being unwelcome to participate. When those barriers are removed, people will gladly open the door, step inside, and do what they need to do.

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Cats in a shelter by Shutterstock

If you want to be part of the homeless cat solution instead of sitting back and wailing about the problem or being cruelly judgmental of the people who don’t get their cats fixed, encourage your local shelter to offer free spay/neuter services and offer to assist them to get a program started.

The “offering to assist” part is especially important. A lot of us are willing to say “somebody should” or “you should,” but few people move past that to “we should” or “this is important and I want to help.”

Telling people or organizations what they should do doesn’t help anyone. Taking action does.

I’ve said time and time again that when given the chance, people will do the right thing by their cats. The Greater Androscoggin Humane Society has proven it.

About JaneA Kelley: Punk-rock cat mom, science nerd, animal shelter volunteer, and all-around geek with a passion for bad puns, intelligent conversation, and role-play adventure games. She gratefully and gracefully accepts her status as chief cat slave for her family of feline bloggers, who have been writing their cat advice column, Paws and Effect, since 2003. JaneA dreams of making a great living out of her love for cats.

More about kitten season and spay/neuter:

• The SF SPCA Launches Giggle-Worthy “Kitten Season” Campaign
• The Top 5 Reasons to Spay or Neuter Your Cat Early
• Is It Always the Right Thing to Spay or Neuter a Cat?
• The 10 Lamest Excuses for Not Spaying or Neutering Your Cat 

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When I took my calico cat, Phoenix, to the vet in March, I received some unsurprising news regarding her health.

“Your cat is too fat,” the vet said, while Phoenix (“Fifi”) cowered on the scale. “Ideally, this cat should weigh nine pounds, at most.”

The scale read closer to 13. I had noticed Fifi’s belly growing rounder, like a balloon swelling beneath her skin, which swayed from side to side as she walked — no, she was starting to waddle because of this obesity.

Her interest in play had also waned. She used to perform stunning acrobatics, twisting and contorting her body in midair to capture the feather toy between her teeth. Now she would barely swat at the ersatz bird before plopping down on the floor and grumbling, Marge Simpson-style, as though annoyed and exhausted by the mere notion that I would try to interact with her in a manner that did not involve putting food in a dish.

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I love my fat cat.

Yep — my cat was too fat; that much I knew. Aside from related consequences like diabetes and arthritis, the vet mentioned one complication I hadn’t considered.

“How’s she doing with cleaning herself?” the vet asked, as she lifted Fifi’s tail to inspect her behind.

“Um, fine?” I said, unaware that I needed to be monitoring my cat’s bum so closely.

The vet confirmed that Fifi was, in fact, doing a better-than-expected job at keeping her backside tidy. She did, however, warn that inadequate grooming was something I’d need to look out for, as poor cleaning habits can cause urinary tract infections — not to mention unsightly dingleberries.

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Phoenix perches atop a box of shoes during my last move.

And it was almost like the vet had jinxed me. You know how when someone you know buys a new car, or you learn a new word, and suddenly you see that car or hear that word everywhere? Odds are those cars and words have been everywhere the whole time, but now they’ve been thrown into sharp relief and you can’t NOT notice them.

Well, that was my experience with the poop crusties on my cat’s butt.

I first noticed the baked Alaska-esque brown crests on Fifi’s white fur in bed, of course, when I was too tired to do anything about it. So I ignored it, hoping it would go away.

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Since this picture was taken, she has gotten even fatter. You’d better believe that belly floof is great for motorboating, though.

Unfortunately, it got worse. I went on vacation to Mexico for a week and left my cats at my parents’ house, where they were off their low-calorie diet. When I returned to pick them up, the poop crusties had intensified. They had doubled — maybe even tripled. They were clearly planning a large-scale takeover of my cat’s rear end.

The worst part: It was all my fault. I was the one who did not do my research and thought free-feeding my cats was just fine. I did not play with them enough, and I probably gave them too many treats — not to mention let them lick out one too many cereal bowls. And now these brown poop streaks were calling me out: guilty.

Once I got done berating myself for being the Worst. Cat. Parent. Ever. (in that special way only a recovering Catholic can), I started looking at the bright side. At four years old, Phoenix is still relatively young. Other than her weight problem, she is healthy. And I possess all of the skills and knowledge necessary to get her back to her fighting weight.

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Phoenix takes an awkward/awesome nap.

For starters, at my vet’s recommendation, I am putting her (and Bubba Lee Kinsey) on a strict low-calorie diet consisting of 50 percent wet food and 50 percent dry using the nutritional guide found here, courtesty of the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention. I am going to insist upon play time, no matter how half-assed, every day before work.

And I am going to trim Fifi’s damn butt hair, because dingleberries aren’t good for anyone.

Like many humans, a lot of cats lead sedentary lifestyles and eat far too much — and the only ones to blame are the humans. I might have let Fifi become unhealthy, but I’m not going to let her stay that way.

About Angela: This not-crazy-at-all cat lady loves to lint-roll her favorite dress and go out dancing. She also frequents the gym, the vegan coffee joint, and the warm patch of sunlight on the living room floor. She enjoys a good cat rescue story about kindness and decency overcoming the odds, and she’s an enthusiastic recipient of headbutts and purrs from her two cats, Bubba Lee Kinsey and Phoenix.

More by Angela Lutz:

• 5 Reasons Calico Cats Are Endlessly Interesting to Me
• The Biggest Loser: Tiny the Fat Cat Drops Half His Body Weight
• 5 Common Household Items that Terrify My Cats

Carol Bryant via Pet360From rich and luxurious dog homes to hosting extravagant parties, these are dog parents who stop at no expense to go above and beyond for their dogs. Some might say this is going a bit overboard and some might say these pet parents are lavishing their dogs too much. Many of us, on the contrary, will react with a smile and a “way to go.” Money means nothing to dogs, as they just want to be by our side and walking through life with us. However, there are folks who indulge for their dogs and we celebrate with them.… full story

Discussion

Sometimes, even the smallest thing can make one feel a bit uncertain. This cat just doesn’t know what to think of the banana peel! “Ehhh, this is weird. Should I touch it? OK, this is really weird.” Gotta love cats! They’re always able to find amusement from such silly objects, even a simple banana peel. Here’s a fun activity for all you feline owners: Next time you eat a banana, put it in front of your cat instead of throwing it away. You never know what might happen!

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