That was featured rather often on UK tv nearing the holidays season. Basically the local RSPCA noted a considerable increase in the number of animals being abandoned or sent to the shelter after the holiday razzmatazz has ended. Not just your run of the mill cats and dogs, sometimes exotics like baby alligators too. But I guess people will always succumb to the whinings of their loved ones and do things on a whim.
Sometimes I get puzzled when people turn up at forums and advertise for a persian/or other similar looking long haired cat. Willing to pay a certain amount of fee yada yada yada. Why? I mean why pay? If you call yourself a cat lover, surely you love all cats regardless of breed and appearance?
Take my sweetheart Bubu - remember when I said I picked him up wandering at my OPD? Now 5 months on, people keep asking me where I bought him! Imagine that? and I proudly tell them the truth - 'Ala, kucing kutip je tu...'
It's worst when you decide to buy a cat after being pestered by your kids. I mean, what do kids know about the difference between a domestic and a pure breed? It's like when your kids pester you for a Winter Wonderland Barbie (ada ke? I make up je nie) instead of a regular and much cheaper toy, do you think it's the kids fault or yours?
To kids, a cat is a cat is a cat. The novelty is, instead of being cold and battery operated, they run around unpredictably, lick your face and is nice to hold. And novelties being novelties, they usually wear off and after two months, your expensive pet has now become a burden when your child is now pestering you for the latest robot, spinning top or whatever the trend is. Especially so when you return home after a long day at the office, dinner waiting to be cooked, laundry needing to be done and of course the cat cage and litter tray having to be cleaned.
It is this demand that is causing business by the backyard cat breeders to flourish. Female cats get turned into kitten-producing machines, with absolutely no TLC and luxuries and when their kitten birthing days are over, out they go unto the streets, left to fend on their own.
We need to instil a better sense of awareness towards animal welfare; if you think you can't afford to take care of a litter of kitties, spay or neuter your cats. Some people are already initiating a Trap-Neuter-and-Release (TNR) programme at their locality, and with their own money too! I went to get fresh fish (how ironic is it that I am too lazy to cook at the end of a working day yet get so enthusiastic about boiling fish for the kids...:)) earlier today and saw these three bundles of scraggly fur playing around in the grass. Perhaps their owner thought they might have a better chance at survival being left near a fish stall. They were barely a month old! Nasib baik diorg tak lari when I ungraciously waded through the calf high grass and weeds to gather them up. Abg siap geleng kepala tgk I bawak diorg.
The pakcik at the stall siap ckp 'Kucing kampung je nie, tak payah la bela..' - eeee, this is the kind of attitude that is contributing towards the uncontrollable number of stray cats...! So only kucing mahal deserves the best care ke?
So, NEUTER/SPAY YOUR CATS, BOYCOTT BACKYARD BREEDERS and SAVE STRAYS!
Ciku, Ciki and Cumi in their brand new cage.
4 comments:
this is a GREAT article lah Doc!!! You should submit this to the papers and animal groups webbies or smthn!!!
oh, by the way Doc, about the fish-boiling thing.
Do make sure two things:
1. to add other things with the fish when you serve to them, like nasi, sayur or whatever, hence not giving them purely fish coz in due time the fish will make them constipated, and also apparently dalam fish ada parasites yang in due time can make kucing sakit-sakit perut.
2. not to boil the fish with air garam whatsoever.
We gave Adi makan a hell lot of boiled fish lah dulu yang dia jadi constipated and ada stones in urethra. now he got mega-colon, though now already under control, but not after very very expensive treatment that is!
so now Adi is strictly on Prescriptive Biscuits (yang sepaket harga RM45 tu!), which he actually doesn't like much unless he's reaaaaal hungry.
we give him canned food everyday (during dinner) now.
If ada lebihan biscuits, then we will put it in a bekas and rendam dalam air and put it in the fridge. bila dah kembang kaw-kaw, we'll mix it with cat canned food. kalau tak buat mcm tu, terbuang la biskut mahal tu sebab lemau masuk angin!
RKM -
submit article? Ish, shy lah i! I tulis main2 lagi tu....tapi bunyi macam emo la pulak kan...? Hehe...tapi tak suka la tgk org bela kucing tapi tak nak 'kasi' and then buang anak2 kucing esp sebab anak dia tak secantik mak dia, or tak larat nak jaga bila dah ramai.
I don't give boiled fish very often - usually as a treat once every 2 weeks kot, maybe upah lepas mandi (aiyo, imagine bathing 10 cats in one go...)....and i ada dgr about not adding garam or asam or whatever.
Prescriptive Biscuits huh....mak aih, biccies kucing lagi mahal dari makanan tuan dia..! But anything for your loved ones, kan..? KL best because you have lots of good vets with xrays and scans; kalau anak2 I nie perlu operation, I think I rela bawak diorg balik KL....!
BTW, Abg brought back kitten number 10 on Monday! and he is so manja with Abg! Jeles i!...hahaha..
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