Homeless Cats and People

There are more homeless cats and people right now. As people become homeless due to repossessions by lenders, so too do companion cats. The trouble is that people still treat cats as "objects", when push comes to shove. The net result is that the domestic cat is sometimes going to be abandoned. And I do not see the need for that.

Binnie the cat on the left in the heading picture was abandoned about 16 years ago by one of my neighbors. I just saw here under a car on a cold evening. I knew she was abandoned by a neighbor because she would go back to the house she lived in (but was empty and locked) for a while. I feed her and eventually she became a wonderful companion animal to me. And anyone can be the type of person to abandon a cat. ASPCA (American organisation) project that there could be up to one million domestic cats and dogs at risk at this time due to the mortgage crisis in America. And the situation is nearly as bad in the UK.

This is tragic news because there are already too many stray cats in the UK and the USA. As I said, I don't actually see the need to abandon or give up a cat because our house has been repossessed. In the UK if we have children and our house is repossessed by the lender (mortgagee) then the local authority (Council) will house us as a priority. And I am certain that there would be no restriction on cats. There might be temporary accommodation that was unsuitable for a cat, yes, that could be the case, but if the people involved could find a temporary home for their cat (foster care) that would solve the problem. We should treat our cats as one of the family and a lot of people do just that and make the necessary effort to care for their cats come what may; but some people don't.

I think anyone, be they American or British, will manage to continue to care for their cat under any circumstances if they really care for their cat as one of the family making no distinction between person or cat. There will be more homeless cats and people but the people should stick with their cats, that was the deal when they got together in the first place.