2005-06-24 - 2:06 p.m.
cat rant
I have to tell you, getting out the door when you have pets = nearly impossible. Every morning is a juggling act between me and the hub (who is the awesome guy who walks three dogs first thing in the morning, before his first Pepsi even) trying to get all five animals fed, watered, etc. before we leave for work.
The other morning I picked up a fur-ball the size of a sausage. Not a breakfast link either, I must tell you. A freaking bratwurst-sized hunk of gelatinous fur. I didn't know how the cat got that out of it's little body, but I was far too disgusted to be impressed.
I may have to seriously consider taking up my sister's technique: she shaves her cats in the summer. I have to say I'm embarrassed to even mention it, as there's always someone with a comment about the shorn kitty. (Oh yes, the classy people with whom I spend my time.) She says they like it (She also says that Mr. Peanut, one of her four cats, likes his harness.) and claims it cuts down on furballs and keeps them cool in the summer.
This brings me to another cat topic, which is a pet peeve of mine: declawing. This has been a topic of discussion with me as of late, since a friend of mine got two kittens recently and may consider declawing the little buggers.
Speaking as someone who unwittingly ended up with two cats because they clawed their little selves into my heart after finding them sick and nasty on the side of the road, I can relate to being annoyed with cat tendencies. Cats are not my favorite animal. Indeed, I always figured that I would not have cats, as their offenses are plentiful.
I do not like that I must clean a litter box. I am not fond of the fact that their little feet have been in said litter box and then trot across places I�d rather them not traipse their microscopic traces of fecal matter. I have used the spray bottle method to no avail, since my insane cats love the thing. The water has no effect on my cats at all, as these cats actually enjoy jumping into the shower with me. One prefers to stay between the curtain and the liner, but the other actually does the figure-eights around my ankles under the shower stream, matting his fur against my soapy legs which has me looking like I should be wearing patchouli, no bra, and a back-less apron dress over jeans. (Yeah, I�m dissing on hairy-legged hippy chicks. How absolutely post-feminist of me.)*
Anyway, it�s a pet peeve of mine: people who declaw cats. And people who debark dogs. Now, in my experience, people who I know who have declawed cats frequently bring up the topic, as if to justify it. Then whenever anyone says anything on the contrary, they often let people know that it is to protect their kids or their posessions or that they do not have the time or effort to train them, or if people have a problem with it, they can pay their bills to replace their furniture.
Here�s my take: No one forced them to get cats. They can�t choose to get a cat and then punish it for being a cat. My cats are far from perfect, but we chose to keep them when we found them, so I do my best to humanely change their habits and protect my stuff.+ Cutting their nails helps.
But seriously, would people declaw their kids? They don�t even freakin� get them to behave in the grocery store, give me an effin� break. My point is this: if you have cats (or dogs) you have to expect them to be the animal that they are. If you don�t want something that acts like a cat, my friend, then don�t get one.
Here is where I plug Soft Paws. Sorry for the rant. That is all.
Footnotes:
*(Speaking of which, how much does that Destiny�s Child song �Cater 2 U� piss me off?) Miss M, my anthropological friend who sends me New York Times clippings on things like DC and post-feminism and claims to not be ready for post-feminism (whatever that may be, really), have you heard this song? We really must discuss. They actually sing the phrase �I am here to serve you,� or some such nonsense. What happened to the independent women, Beyonc�? I'm Your Girl, You're My Girl, We're You're Girls. We are here to de-program you.
+Now, it�s true my cats are forced to live in a small space at the moment, but that�s a whole different thing, since the little buggers keep trying to get themselves killed in the house of extremely dangerous cat scenarios. (House restoration, people! I have heard far too many horror stories from the neighbors, so the cats are confined to one room during the time we are not home, and an additional room for supervised play.)
