Cat Sense, How the new feline science can make you a
better friend to your pet weaves together history, anatomy, biology and
cultural studies to educate readers on how and why your kitty does what he
does. Author John Bradshaw claims that cats desperately need the kind of
research from which dogs have benefited. Because people employ dogs
for sniffing out drugs, cancer and human bodies, as well as rely on them as
personal service dogs for everything from blindness to anxiety disorders I
understand why science and industry would expend more resources on studying
canines. Bradshaw’s concerns seem to arise however from felines solely in the
role of companion animals and how our changing societies can accommodate
carnivorous little hunters as house pets. The Nature Conservancy, Audubon
Society, and the Smithsonian Institute (in their infamous January 2013 NY Times
piece on predation) have all come down hard on allowing cats outside. Alley Cat
Allies, based in Washington, D.C., is on constant alert to communities issuing
ridiculous “catch and kill” regulations for any cats found roaming outside. (The
city of Edmonds, WA, is one example.) As human density increases, our kitties
along with many other species often suffer from lack of their own territory and
intolerant neighbors.
Cat Sense is interesting (an
often disturbing) for the historical perspective on feline domestication it
provides. Evidence from Egypt shows that cats were kept as pets as long as 4,000
years ago and about 2,000 years ago their sacrificial killing became a major
industry when purpose bred cats were mummified by the literal millions. From the
13th to the 17th centuries, the Catholic Church was responsible for the torture
and killing of many millions of cats because of their supposed association with
the devil and witchcraft instead of deities. Finally in mid-18th century Europe,
cats became fashionable pets amongst the aristocracy. For new cat guardians or
those who really enjoy science, there’s quite a bit of material of cats’ anatomy
and behaviors resulting from cats’ innate need to hunt, establish territory and
if unaltered, mate. Bradshaw could have saved himself some academic
research simply by volunteering at a cat shelter and discussing
observations with caregivers and those involved in
trap/neuter/return. In more than one statement, Bradshaw comments that kittens
as young as six month old can conceive due to modern cat nutrition. The “Fix at
4” campaign sponsored by Best Friends promotes sterilizing your dog or cat at
four months because many people mistakenly believe they cannot get pregnant this
young. His research does turn up excellent and grounded rebuttals to the theory
that cats are slaughtering birds everywhere.
I appreciate that Bradshaw addresses maintaining harmony in
multiple cat homes and discourages declawing. However, his overall premise that
breeding and socializing will make calmer, more affectionate housecats is far
removed from reality. He allowed his own cats to produce a few litters before
spaying them and posits that sterilizing all the tame cats will leave only the
un-socialized feral cats to breed, thereby producing less desirable “pets.” He
sites one area in Southampton UK that had more than 98% of their resident cats
altered and actually had to travel outside the area to procure kittens. The rest
of the world needs to study how Southampton accomplished this! I imagine that in
the lower income areas of every major city you will find
cats suffering from having litter after litter and eating garbage. In India,
cats are actually trapped and eaten by the impoverished gypsies. Many shelters
routinely transport animals to other shelters where their chance for adoption is
better; this practice is not new and Bradshaw even comments on this. Kittens
taken out of feral colonies and socialized with a variety of people and other
cats, as Bradshaw’s research demonstrates, allow for fine and friendly companion
cats later in life. Breeding more cats just so we can possibly reduce their prey
drive seems absurd, not to mention insulting to the 5-8 million homeless animals
entering the shelter system every year in the United States. Building a cat
enclosure, playing regularly and/or harness training him if he is amenable may
help in the micro picture, but mostly allowing our kitties to be shy if and when
they want to be and changing our expectations, not feline genetics, will bring
us the most satisfaction as cat guardians. I personally like my cats a little
wild!
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