Top Ten New Year Cat Resolutions
by Michael
The Beauiful Domestic Cat - photo by Vinje
A cat cannot make a resolution but if they could ask us to make ten that would improve their lives what would they be? The Archbishop of Canterbury has criticized the naughty noughties as “terrible and gruelling years”. The Pope has declared the world in crisis and pointedly referred to the neglect and misuse of the planet. You would have thought that the recent global and catastrophic financial crisis, brought about by greedy financiers and sloppy governments, would have prompted a change in attitude, perhaps even a radical change in world culture; but no, nothing of the sort. Things stagger on as usual.
There is no doubt that a radical change in the culture of humankind will eventually come about because we are on the wrong track.
And that change must include our attitude towards the planet or in other words our attitude towards nature. We have distanced ourselves from it. We are alienated from it. And being out of touch with it we destroy it.
A change in attitude towards nature would bring a change in attitude towards animals and, yes, a belated change in our attitude towards cats. Of course, there are many millions of the estimated 500 million domestic and feral cats that are well treated but there are far too many ill-treated cats and the greatest form of ill-treatment is declawing in the USA (in terms of overall wrong because of the high numbers – 20m), followed closely by (and linked to) the abandonment of domestic cats to leave them to starve or die cruelly or fuel the expanding feral cat population.
The top ten New Year Cat resolutions should reflect a change of attitude towards cats from people who have distanced themselves from nature and who have embraced the concept that the cat is an animal with which we can do pretty much as we please. A change for the better from these people would have a massive impact on the unnecessary suffering of the domestic and feral cat.
The first or prime New Year resolution should be something like this:
I resolve to only adopt a cat for the life of the cat and to treat my cat companion as an equal member of the family at all times, while fully accepting and respecting my cat’s characteristics knowing that they are different to those of people.
This embraces almost all we need to do (on the basis that we treat people decently!). From this resolution falls everything that is required to keep our cats as contented and as well as possible.
If we then break down what might be called the key cat resolution above, we could resolve to do the following as actions for the betterment of domestic cat welfare.
- Never to declaw a cat.
- Never to adopt a cat unless committed to do it for the life of the cat.
- Never to be aggressive or violent towards a cat as they are only acting instinctively in response, usually, to our actions (cat aggression).
- To spend a bit more time playing with our cat(homemade cat toys).
- To think a bit more about cat food to ensure that it is the best that can be afforded and not necessarily the most convenient for us.
- To spend at least once per day grooming our cat, the session to last ten minutes.
- If our cat is a full-time indoor cat, to leash train him or her and take her or him out once a day or alternatively consider a cat enclosure (outdoor cat problems).
- To become more aware through study and observation of our cat’s needs and characteristics (PoC).
- If we can afford to give to charity make it a cat charity at least once. Rescue is one of the best forms of cat charity.
- To be a bit more gentle towards our cat if we are the male of the human species as we forget that cats live in a land of giants.
These are my suggestions for the top ten New Year Cat Resolutions for the domestic cat. What might I have missed?
