The morality of "owning" cats? (Cat owners please read)

veryINFJ said:
So I woke up early this morning despite not getting home until late last night. I looked at my cat and said "sorry baby". I dragged my feet to the spay and neuter clinic and the whole time I was just looking at my cat looking so helpless in that little cage. I felt horrible for what I was about to do to her. I felt like a monster.

I got to the clinic, and the people who work there told me that if I get her spayed I also was required to have a computer chip installed underneath her skin. The computer chip would contain a bar code used to identify her in case she gets lost. I asked "can I just have her spayed and vaccinated without having the chip put in her?" They said "no". I asked "what if it irritates her?". They said "my dogs have them and they seem fine".

I said "I'm sorry I can't have a chip installed underneath her skin, I don't know if it will irritate her and she can't communicate with me". I took my cat and left the clinic.

It creeped me out. The clinic. It seemed like a war on cats. A mass extinction similar to the gas chambers in Nazi Germany. Only this time they are putting computer chips under their skin as a way to identify each and every one. It's like something from a crazy science fiction novel. I'm at home with my kitty and it's my first day off work in a long time. She is head butting me as I type this. She seems thankful that I didn't steal her life away.
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Never change, chulo.
 
veryINFJ said:
So I woke up early this morning despite not getting home until late last night. I looked at my cat and said "sorry baby". I dragged my feet to the spay and neuter clinic and the whole time I was just looking at my cat looking so helpless in that little cage. I felt horrible for what I was about to do to her. I felt like a monster.

I got to the clinic, and the people who work there told me that if I get her spayed I also was required to have a computer chip installed underneath her skin. The computer chip would contain a bar code used to identify her in case she gets lost. I asked "can I just have her spayed and vaccinated without having the chip put in her?" They said "no". I asked "what if it irritates her?". They said "my dogs have them and they seem fine".

I said "I'm sorry I can't have a chip installed underneath her skin, I don't know if it will irritate her and she can't communicate with me". I took my cat and left the clinic.

It creeped me out. The clinic. It seemed like a war on cats. A mass extinction similar to the gas chambers in Nazi Germany. Only this time they are putting computer chips under their skin as a way to identify each and every one. It's like something from a crazy science fiction novel. I'm at home with my kitty and it's my first day off work in a long time. She is head butting me as I type this. She seems thankful that I didn't steal her life away.
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I had a chip put in my cat long ago. Just in case she got out. Back then it cost money. She seems ok. Its a small thing.
 
veryINFJ said:
So I woke up early this morning despite not getting home until late last night. I looked at my cat and said "sorry baby". I dragged my feet to the spay and neuter clinic and the whole time I was just looking at my cat looking so helpless in that little cage. I felt horrible for what I was about to do to her. I felt like a monster.

I got to the clinic, and the people who work there told me that if I get her spayed I also was required to have a computer chip installed underneath her skin. The computer chip would contain a bar code used to identify her in case she gets lost. I asked "can I just have her spayed and vaccinated without having the chip put in her?" They said "no". I asked "what if it irritates her?". They said "my dogs have them and they seem fine".

I said "I'm sorry I can't have a chip installed underneath her skin, I don't know if it will irritate her and she can't communicate with me". I took my cat and left the clinic.

It creeped me out. The clinic. It seemed like a war on cats. A mass extinction similar to the gas chambers in Nazi Germany. Only this time they are putting computer chips under their skin as a way to identify each and every one. It's like something from a crazy science fiction novel. I'm at home with my kitty and it's my first day off work in a long time. She is head butting me as I type this. She seems thankful that I didn't steal her life away.
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I wonder if you can get a chastity belt for cats.
 
Cats are not native in most parts of the western world. If they are not 'fixed', then nature becomes disrupted. Some species of small animals (toys for a cat) might become very rare or extinct. So, I assume that the whole question of whether or not spaying is unnatural is quite irrelevant. Cats are not indigenous in the west. Therefore we have a responsibility to protect our environment from them becoming to widespread. I think this is ethically the best solution.
 
I have a cat, but only because she was a stray who was in a bad way as a kitten. The first thing I did was to take her to the vets to make sure we didn't end up with more. Cat's are unfortunately absolutely brilliant hunters, even with a bell on her collar my cat catches birds and mice. There are definitely too many cats, and sadly they do disrupt habitat. I love her to pieces, but I wouldn't have gone out to get one, it was only because she was a stray.
 
JFK, updated: "Ask not what your cat can do for you; ask what you can do for your cat."

I presume that your cat is sane to begin with.
 
Martinville said:
Cats are not native in most parts of the western world. If they are not 'fixed', then nature becomes disrupted. Some species of small animals (toys for a cat) might become very rare or extinct. So, I assume that the whole question of whether or not spaying is unnatural is quite irrelevant. Cats are not indigenous in the west. Therefore we have a responsibility to protect our environment from them becoming to widespread. I think this is ethically the best solution.
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I don't see how nature is disrupted when non-native species take over new territories. It actually seems like the opposite; nature doing it's thing. But whatever.
 
Hey I wanted to just stop by and give an update on my kitty. For some reason my last avatar got changed by the mods and my password got changed too so I couldn't sign in and had to make a new screen name. But I just wanted to tell everyone that I still haven't gotten my cat fixed and I'm extremely happy that I didn't do it. My cat has high energy levels and she roams her territory with pride. She is leaner than most of the cats I see and she has all these beautiful muscles in her shoulders. She climbs up palm trees and I'm amazed by how athletic and strong she is. I partially attribute it to her still having her natural hormone balance. I also attribute it to her well rounded diet. I stagger her food, dry and wet. And I rotate the kinds of food I feed her to the best of my ability. Rabbit, venison, trout, salmon, beef, duck, chicken, etc.. All of her food is filler free (no wheat, soy, or corn) with no artificial preservatives or flavors. I also occasionally cut her pieces of fillet mignon into small small pieces with no seasoning and flash simmer it in hot water. She eats the beef and drinks the broth and then sleeps for like 16 hours. It's good for her to get those calories occasionally. I also rotate kitten food into her diet about once every 2 weeks. Kitten food is slightly higher in fat content but I can feed it to my cat because she has a faster metabolism than a "fixed" cat.

@CindyLou said my cat was going to start peeing all over my house. But she hasn't pee'd once. So I don't know what she was talking about. Maybe I'm just lucky. Hope to talk with some OG's in TC soon. Peace.
 
Also I noticed something really interesting. If I fall asleep with the lights on for only a couple of days. My cat will go into estrus. She thinks the days are getting longer when I leave the lights on and that it's mating season.

Also, I've learned to identify when she is in pro-estrus. She gets super affectionate to the point where it's ridiculous. When the amount of affection she needs is incredibly ridiculous then I know she will be in estrus in about 2-3 days. I actually like it when she goes into pro-estrus because she becomes a cuddle monster.

Then when she is in estrus it can be a little tiring. She needs constant attention to get through it. Even just resting my hand on her will calm her. But she needs lots of attention and it can be a bit much. Nonetheless I think it's worth it to keep her natural. The pro's outweigh the cons.
 
SuperINFJ123 said:
I don't see how nature is disrupted when non-native species take over new territories. It actually seems like the opposite; nature doing it's thing. But whatever.
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I wonder what your point of view would have been if you would have kept birds instead of cats :-). But... whatever.
 
I've contemplated the morality @veryINFJ1 bring up. The short of it is that it is immoral to keep other beings against their will, do things (surgeries, breeding, confinement) to them against their will, and make decisions for them without their input. However, it is just as immoral to domesticate an animal and then shun any responsibility for it. Yes, they can technically survive in the wild, but so could a child, technically.
It is most ethical to provide a compassionate life and prevent them from harm.

But why stop at cats? Why play favorites and pretend a cat is worth more than any other animal life? Human beings are monsters toward animals. We play favorites and call some animals we confine 'friends' or 'family' (though we are technically forcing them into these loving relationships) and give them comfortable lives, while we confine others out of curiosity in zoos, and confine and slaughter many others for food, or products (- different animals are used for leather and food, BTW)... foods and products that in many cases are thrown away or do not otherwise respect the fact that we have ended life to obtain them. And we do this on a massive scale, not simply by ending life when we need sustenance.
Then there is the whole greed/ego/coveting behavior of killing an animal as a trophy, without any intention of making use of its meat, skin, or life, except to show off and impress others. Huh?

So, the human relationship with animals on the whole is warped, as compared to relationships between other species.

Currently, I am going through strict measures to make sure my dogs are not killed by their own naivety. If asked, I am sure they would choose life over death, so I just face the fact that I'm a bit of a monster and hope they love me anyway, despite the obvious point that I am making choices for them that they oppose. I give them a happy, fun life and they are loved and cared for, but that security and love comes with the price of listening to me because I am better at making decisions for their well being than they are.
 
I'm more concerned about sugar glider caretakers. No one, unless you are homebound, single, and hopelessly devoted, infallibly responsible, etc....is really qualified for this responsibility.

"Help! My sugar glider is suicidal!"

"Now she's cutting and burning herself. She has a companion. I spend at least ten hours a day with her. What am I doing wrong?"

Honestly, I would be nervous all the time. What a massive responsibility!

http://www.sugarglidersrus.com/medical.html

Stress
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Stress is defined as an organism's total response to environmental demands or pressures. When stress was first studied in the 1950s, the term was used to denote both the causes and the experienced effects of these pressures. More recently, however, the word stressor has been used for the stimulus that provokes a stress response. In gliders, stress can be fatal.

Causes:
• Actual danger
• Grief or loss of a loved one (human or glider)
• Loneliness
• Illness
• Poor diet
• Thyroid problems
• Low blood sugar
• Sudden change in environment, diet, or companionship
• Over handling during daylight hours when gliders should be sleeping

Prevention:
• Provide your gliders with a healthy, well-balanced diet
• Keep gliders in at least pairs
• Keep gliders in a large enough cage
• Do not allow other pets near your gliders
• Give your gliders at least a few hours of playtime each night
• Keep your gliders out of places that are very noisy or full of lots of people
• Do not allow your glider to be overhandled, especially by strangers
• If you are bonding during the day with your gliders, do not disturb them. Allow them to sleep during the day
• When a glider has experienced a change, give him extra attention and love, and watch closely for any sign of illness

Research:
• Pawprint Online: Lonely Glider's Club

Depression:
Depression is a term that people commonly used to refer to states involving sadness, dejection, lack of self-esteem, and lack of energy. In sugar gliders, depression can lead to mental illness, self-mutilation, and death. Severe, persistent depressed mood and loss of interest or pleasure in normal activities, accompanied by decreased energy, changes in sleep and appetite, and feelings of guilt or hopelessness are all signs of depression and/or mental illness.

Causes:
• Keeping a lone sugar glider
• Owner neglect
• Prolonged illness
• Loss of a companion

Prevention:
• Keep more than one sugar glider
• Provide your gliders with toys, a large enough cage, and play with them
• Provide your glider with a healthy, well-balanced diet
• Provide your glider with annual or bi-annual checkups at the vet to alleviate, treat, and/or prevent illness

Research:
• Medline Plus: Depression

Signs and Symptoms:
• Loss of interest in playing
• Decreased activity
• Change in sleeping patterns
• Decreased communications: no barking
• Pacing or consecutive back-flips (this is a sign of serious mental illness)

Treatment:
• Lots of love, bonding time, and attention
• Provide a glider companion for your glider
• Ensure that the glider has an enriching environment
• If things do not improve, or your glider is pacing excessively or doing consecutive back flips, seek veterinary care
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