City Hall’s lack of consideration for cat ranch is heartless
By Lethbridge Herald on May 4, 2022.
ditor:
Lethbridge City Hall’s callousness towards the homeless felines at the Last Chance Cat Ranch somewhat reminds me of the heartlessness exhibited by the city hall of Surrey, a city neighboring mine.
Along with individual people, society collectively can also be quite cruel towards cats, especially ‘unwanted’ felines. For example, it was reported a few years ago that Surrey, B.C., had an estimated 36,000 feral cats, very many of which suffer severe malnourishment, debilitating injury and/or infection.
Yet the municipal government, as well as aware yet uncaring residents, did little or nothing to help with the local non-profit Trap/Neuter/Release program, regardless of its (and others’) documented success in reducing the needlessly great suffering. And I was informed last autumn by Surrey Community Cat Foundation that, if anything, their “numbers would have increased, not decreased, in the last 5 years.”
It’s the only charity to which I’ve ever donated, in no small part because of the plentiful human callousness towards the plight of those cats and the countless others elsewhere. These include the cats I too-often learn about, whose owners have allowed to wander the neighbourhood at night only to be tortured to death by cat-haters procuring sick satisfaction. … At age 54, I’ve long observed that higher human intelligence is typically accompanied by a seemingly proportional reprehensible potential for evil, or malice for malice’s sake.
I believe there’s a subconscious yet tragic human-nature propensity to perceive the value of life (sometimes even human life in regularly war-torn or overpopulated famine-stricken global regions) in relation to the conditions enjoyed or suffered by that life. With the mindset of feline disposability, it might be: ‘Oh, there’s a lot more whence they came’.
I believe that this mentality, regardless of any alleged cat-shelter odours, prevails almost everywhere, though especially in Lethbridge and Surrey. Yet, these mammals’ qualities, especially their non-humanly innocence, make losing them such a great heart break for their owners.
Only when overpopulations of unwanted cats are greatly reduced in number by responsible owners consistently spaying/neutering their felines might these beautiful animals’ presence be truly appreciated.
Frank Sterle Jr.
White Rock, B.C.
11-10
Your kind are an example of why we have bylaws that disallow houses full of cats in our neighbourhoods.
This has nothing to do with cruelty to cats, but everything to do with a poor choice of location.
100% agree, just because they floated under the radar for years doesnt mean you dont have to go by city bylaws and zoning. I’m an animal owner and lover(2 indoor cats) and I support animal rescue facilities just not there.
“But officer, I’ve been speeding for 18 years. You can’t give me a ticket for it now!”
I am glad the city sided with the law and the human and not a cat!!!
i agree with your entry, save for “…higher human intelligence is typically accompanied by a seemingly proportional reprehensible potential for evil, or malice for malice’s sake.” sadly, a great many “intelligent” people are and have been among the cruelest, most evil beings.what is lacking is not intelligence per se, but compassion, heart, kindness.
Beautiful yet often misunderstood, prejudged and unjustly despised animals, cats are. … Perhaps pet cats have a beneficial effect on the human psyche that most people still cannot fathom thus appreciate, a quality that makes losing that pet someday such a heartbreaking experience. Yet, some cat-haters procure sick satisfaction from torturing naively-trusting thus likely sweet-natured cats whose owners have recklessly allowed them to wander the neighborhood at night.
A few cat-haters simply do not care for cats’ seemingly innate resistance to heeling at their masters’ commands. Indeed, with their reptile-like vertical-slit pupils and Hollywood-cliché fanged hiss when confronted, in a world mostly hostile toward snakes, cats may have a permanent PR problem, despite their Internet adorable-pet dominance.
“I never liked cats,” the otherwise-progressive Canadian commentator Vicky Mochama proclaimed in one of her syndicated columns. In another she wrote that Canadian politicians should replace their traditional unproductively rude heckling with caterwauling: “My vote is for meowing because I don’t like cats and I’d like to sabotage their brand as much as possible. So if our elected politicians are going to be disrespectful in our House of Commons, they might as well channel the animal that holds us all in contempt.” [I search-engined the Internet but found nothing as to the reason(s) behind her publicized anti-feline sentiments. Still, if her motives were expressed, perhaps she’d simply say, ‘I just do not like cats.’]
And then there’s the British Columbia community newspaper editor who wrote a column about Sarnia, Ontario courthouse protestors demanding justice in 2014 for a cat shot in the head 17 times with a pellet gun, destroying an eye. Within her piece, the editor rather recklessly declared: “Hey crazy people, it’s [just] a cat.”
In a follow-up column, the editor expressed surprise at having then received some very angry responses, including a few implied threats, from cat lovers and animal rights activists. Apparently, she couldn’t relate to the intensely heartfelt motivation behind the public outrage, regardless of it being directed at such senseless cruelty to an innocent animal; therefore the demonstrators were somehow misguided. … The court may have also perceived it so, as the charges against the two adult-male perpetrators were dropped.
The editor had also noted how disturbed she was to learn of (unrelated) opinion poll results revealing that the vast majority of pet owners would choose saving the life of their pet over that of another person. She was astonished, regardless of the hypothetical other person being a complete stranger.
I wrote to her that, to me, it makes perfect sense: Especially with their pets’ un-humanly innocence, how could the owners not put their beloved animal’s life first?!
what you have shared is a tip of the issue. it is disturbing, and so many will not share our concern. the primary issue with “humanity,” and thus, the all too much lack of it, is our collective lack of that which stems from unconditional love: compassion, kindness, grace, empathy…the ability to connect with and to acknowledge that connection with all things. we see “intellect” as being above heart, which is entirely backward; too many are afraid to feel, and see feeling as weakness. it is how we have come to trample and poison the planet and extinct so very many life forms. it is why we turn a blind eye to so many entities that routinely torture animals in the name of “science” and “medicine,” and “cosmetics.” fearful, nasty, self centered folk, so many “intelligent,” that will support the torture of sentient creatures so that they may look “better” or hopefully, live longer.
if the city had any decency, the very least they would do is help to relocate the lccr.
Intelligence is not threatening your neighbour when you’re breaking the law. Intelligence is getting a properly zoned building that’s valued at the same price as the house they are currently using. Lack of intelligence is leaving 50 cats unattended in a house at night and having it easily broken into or having it burn down and killing a bunch of cats. Lack of intelligence is Biff (STOMP STOMP STOMP)
is that the truth: the house is vacated over night?
as for one’s dear bottom concerns – property value – the house hardly affects that…but i know crumbly rentals and junkyard neighours do.
Frank are you aware that instead of operating out of a similarly priced, properly zoned building with a fire suppression system they chose to operate in a house that burned down with 60 cats inside, killing about 30 of them. Not to mention the threats and intimidation tactics they’ve used on their neighbour, appeal board and the city itself. It’s no wonder no one wanted to deal with them for so long and only shows why no one’s willing to work with them.
Oh, and the break-in. Don’t forget about the break-in where an ex volunteer stole a cat and let a garage full lose when no one was there.
you keep coming back to the fire. you do know that a good many house fires the land over have also been caused by space heaters? this may further surprise you narrowness and spite: many of those fires happened in houses where there were no cats. the greater issue is with space heaters, typically made in china…which is yet another issue…that do not or did not meet any worthy safety measure.
and so, like so very many towns, we have out of control cat pops, which are due to ignorant people that fail to take responsibility. let us agree there are better places to have turfed animals looked after. might we agree that, as a community, we should actually solve this issue, and humanely, using public resources?