Quote Originally Posted by mrspunkysmom View Post
I think emotions run high here because most of us are on the receiving end of throw-away pets.
Yeah, I think that's true. And it's completely understandable. I get the same overwhelmed, emotional, pressured feeling when I go to shelters and see them all. You feel helpless. But when I think about it more carefully, I realise most people didn't create the cats that they give up or 'throw out'. My impression is that most relinquishing owners didn't even passively 'allow' them to be created, in the sense they weren't the ones who were personally responsible for spaying or neutering the parents, and didn't do it. They just took on a cat that already existed and would have existed whether they'd done it or not. Often kind of against their will, because it was a cat that needed a home and they felt they 'had to' do something.

These people do what they can, for as long as they can, but sometimes they can't do it for the length of a cat's life. And yes it's true - sometimes they just decide they don't want to anymore. It still seems kind of arbitrary to me to harsh out on those people, really. Why not get harsh on the ones who don't own cats, never want to own cats, and don't intend to ever make changes in their lives that would make room for a cat? At least the first group of people provided a home and some care for PART of that cat's life. I don't know if that's better or worse, frankly. But if you get too doctrinaire about it all, it seems to me like you end up alienating or intimidating even those people who were willing to try. It's not fair to lump them all in as 'throw away' owners. The real issue is a) there are too many cats and b) there aren't enough people whose lives have room for a cat. To me, those are systemic issues more than individual ones.

Failing to spay or neuter, and/or spending fortunes to buy designer kittens from breeders when there are so many cats already here that need homes - those are my two 'don't gets', I guess. And when I say 'don't get' it's just a euphemismistic way of saying I don't think it's okay and I can't personally think of any reason that might change my mind. For all I know there is one and I just haven't come on it yet, and my judgemental attitude is just ignorant. But that IS creating more cats, or feeding a dynamic that creates more cats.

As for apartments and kitties versus dogs: I've always found that cats and small dogs are allowed.
It really isn't true here, im cat-owning opinion. You could probably get away with saying you smoke more easily than you could with having a pet, with some of the people around here - because they can tell you to do that outside. And dogs are heavily in fashion in this city (which I think is a major mistake in itself, given the constraints of city life and the kinds of stuff a dog needs). So people are more prepared to accept dogs partly because they're dog-friendly themselves and more disposed to empathise with a dog-owner's feelings. Plus they don't think of dogs as destructive. They do see cats that way. Cats pee on things. Cats scratch stuff. And besides, cat people are loopy. I'm giving you the prejudices there

I think some of this is that times are hard and people (bosses, landlords, etc.) don't feel the need to be nice anymore. Are there some landlords that won't allow pets at all. Yes.
Very true. But I do think it's prevalent. The whole of North America is going for a dive, if you read the papers Things trickle down and and around in all kinds of ways that aren't easy to trace.

You make the choice to keep the pet, develop a relationship, etc. At least surrendering the animals saves the animal from suffering on the streets.
Sure. And down the line you find yourself faced with a different set of choices - and you don't have any choice about having to choose for that second or third or fourth time. I understand what you're saying and I did it too. But I've been there where it's genuinely hard, and I wouldn't judge someone else for making a different call.