by Ruth
(England)
My dream is that empathic understanding..
‘putting ourselves in their paws’
..will inspire a new purrception and an unconditional regard that embraces the totality of felines and all living beings.
The beautiful words above were written by Bret Glass of CatAWhack:
and those words inspired this article and poster.
Poster by Ruth AKA Kattaddorra. This is a thumbnail. Please click in it to see a full sized version for download
Bret, who is obviously a true cat lover, makes furniture especially for cats.
By educating about the need of cats to scratch and by providing this furniture, he is a great anti declaw advocate.
It’s a very good idea to put yourself in your cat’s place and experience for yourself from his viewpoint, the world he lives in.
A cat is totally dependent on his caretaker for food, comfort, love and of course the more unpleasant part of the care, being taken to the vets when necessary.
A cat can’t choose what he wants for dinner, he can’t open a door and go where he wants to go, he can’t read or watch TV to pass some time away.
His welfare and fulfilment as a cat is entirely down to his caretaker.
Sadly if he falls into the hands of a person who doesn’t give a thought to his needs, he doesn’t live the happy life all cats deserve to live.
Worse still if he falls into the hands of a person who knows so little about cats that they have his very essential toe ends/claws taken from him, he lives a disabled and sometimes pain filled life.
No one should take a cat into their home without first giving a lot of thought about if they have time for him and if they can provide him with all that cats need, including a scratching post for the necessary exercise he needs to stay healthy and content.
A cat is not a possession to take home and take notice of only now and again, he is not a toy for a child, he is a living feeling being with the right to be understood.
I agree with Bret’s words:
‘Putting ourselves in their paws’ will inspire a new purrception and regard for cats.
I think it is the only way we can even begin to understand the reality of our world, as seen by a cat.