Swish of a pen

by Brandon Mayer

Humans can be some of the most brutish creatures on earth. We talk about animals such as apes as though they are simple, violent, and worthless, yet sometimes we fail to look in a mirror. Humans are dominators. We are at the top of not only the food chain, but also every controllable facet of earthly life. In some cases, this is because of our size – when compared to insects, for example – but in all other cases, it’s because of our intelligence. We may not want to come face-to-face with a bear or a coyote, but our species has the brainpower to design and manufacture guns, and those can win every battle between humans and animals.

A line in a New York Post article says it all: “Humans have survived hundreds of thousands of years thanks to our advanced intelligence — and our steadfast capacity for cruelty.” The same article points to research that suggests that 28% of all deaths of land vertebrate species on Earth result from human activity – and this is considering direct causes only! In other words, it does not include the effects of things such as urban sprawl on the destruction of animal habitats.

What made this all come to mind was a recent CBC article detailing an argument by Councillor Doreen O’Sullivan that by-laws should be updated in North Grenville to better control the population of domestic cats that roam away from their yards. She is suggesting that cats need to be subject to the same rules as dogs, meaning that they can be captured by animal control and their owners can be fined when they “go number two” on the neighbour’s lawn.

This subject has definitely gained the attention of North Grenville residents. You’ll find, in this issue of the Times, a letter from a resident supporting Councillor O’Sullivan’s viewpoint. There are ample opinions both for and against the Councillor’s position – this variety of thought is one of the many things that makes North Grenville diverse and special. One resident sent me some information that pokes some holes in Councillor O’Sullivan’s view. This resident brings up valid points. Are we going to start tagging cats

Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor,

A letter to Councillor

O'Sullivan,

I support strongly your position on restricting the activity of cats that leave their owner's property. I live on a 34 acre rural property and have for the last four years continuously chased my neighbour's cat off my property often in full view of them. When I told them to keep their cats off my property, I was met with hostility, i.e. foul mouthed swearing and lewd gestures. I have witnessed the cats killing birds along with their offspring who nest under my eaves as they climb the posts to get to them. I have encountered and chased healthy pet cats who hunt in my 20 acre backfield. Unfortunately, I do not know who owns the cats, otherwise I would be notifying them the same way we tag dogs? Good luck getting most cats to wear collars! And how do we expect by-law officers to catch these skittish and often antisocial animals?

I have questions of my own, stemming from a childhood experience. One day when I was about 13 or 14, we started hearing a creepy low hissing sound coming from underneath our front porch. We couldn’t see anything, but we could hear it. It went on for several nights until the culprit finally became comfortable enough to show his face – it was a black stray cat. He was very skinny and scruffy, and his voice no longer worked, perhaps due to a fight with another cat. He was still very chatty, but his meows sounded more like an empty rushing hiss as opposed to any noise produced by vocal cords.

The stray cat reminded my dad of a cat he had in childhood, named “Puff”. This all happened during an emotional time as my paternal grandfather had passed away a few months earlier, and so we wanted to care for this cat who we also named “Puff”. Although Puff would frequently come inside to eat some food, get warm, or experience a bit of human affection, he generally hated indoors. He would scratch at the doors desperately to get out, so we let him. He never asked to be “taken in” after all. He was an independent cat, and we were just the family that would give him some food and shelter when he asked for it. We don’t know where he came from or what kind of life he had led. We were just a stop along the way. Questions that come from this experience are: at what point does a cat belong to someone? At what point does an act of kindness turn into a fine for possessing an unregistered pet? How many stray cats vs domestic cats are pooping in gardens? And finally, what makes humans so eager to control every aspect of animal life with the swish of a pen?

I can already picture the letters pouring in, telling me that anyone who feeds stray cats is part of the problem. “Well of course that cat pooped in my garden… the neighbour was feeding it!” I will never be the type of person who is able to lay my head on the pillow at night and sleep knowing that an animal is dying one of the slowest and most agonizing deaths possible. Starvation is utter cruelty. You don’t want poop in your garden, I don’t want animals suffering. Priorities, priorities…

When cats happen to wander into someone’s yard and beg for some of that “humanity” we humans are always bragging about, we have choices. The first choice is probably the easiest and most non-human. We can demand that someone capture and cage the animal for no crime besides doing its business – business that most humans also do every day. The second choice is to be proactive – and human. Ever hear of Critter Ritter? Scram Cats? The Cat Scat Mat? These are garden cat repellant products. We buy the best fertilizers and the best seeds and the best gardening implements and the most kink-free garden hoses, all in the name of making beautiful gardens. But when it comes to cats, instead of taking responsibility and sprinkling a little “Cat Be Gone” (patent pending), we want to show our teeth and assert our dominance over animals as usual. as well.

Should there be a cat bylaw? It depends on how well thought-out, reasonable, and human it is. Caging animals that poop is no less inhumane than the “bad zoos” that make headlines. Stop dominating animals with the swish of a pen. Sincerely… a dog lover.

If you want a heart-rending story, here's a couple within my experience: what about the feelings of the bird parents who were nesting under my eaves frantic about losing their healthy, thriving brood to a cat and then the very next day being killed themselves. Or what about the St. Patrick's Day I drove into Kemptville to celebrate only to stop for a cat left for dead in front of Home Hardware. I contacted the on-call Vet in Kemptville, picked up the cat whose body I felt to be broken and for which euthanasia was the only viable option, only to discover that after a brief inspection by the attending vet, that the cat was pregnant. Thank you very much to the cat owner whose cat did not "return home" and who made me and the attending vet responsible for resolving a horrific and ultimately preventable situation. I don't go to any more celebrations in Kemptville.

I do not hate cats - I used to own 2 cats in an apartment in downtown Ottawa and they were kept indoors or on leash if I took them outside. I do not want cats on my 34 acre property. They do not belong in the wild and are causing extensive harm to small wildlife which has been documented. As you know, wild bird populations have plummeted recently due to Bird Influenza - I have seen for myself the drastic reduction this year in my local bird population. A very strong argument you and cat owners may not have considered is the very real potential for cats to eat diseased birds thereby increasing the danger of the virus mutating and jumping to mammal populations ie US. It has already been documented this jump has occurred in a few wild mammals and has yet to be determined by how much. So far nothing has been reported about cats eating dead birds and getting sick probably because it is not a reportable disease by Veterinarians and no one is looking into the population specifically.

This is entirely preventable - cat owners need to be more responsible to keep their cats on their property, indoor or outdoors. There is absolutely no reason for a domestic cat to be allowed to run loose and wreak havoc anywhere at any time.

For those who object to a pound "kill" policy then it may be suggested they put their names forward to look after the animals impounded and find homes for the "unwanted" as well as be involved in the education program. For what it's worth, this is reverse discrimination - if it were wolves or coyotes hunting and killing livestock, they are mercilessly hunted down with gun and dogs until the pack(s) is(are) destroyed. So what we have now is an overpopulation of domestic stock killing wildlife.

In summary, domestic cats do not belong in the wild nor should they be allowed to run wild. Owners who willfully allow their cats loose are basically saying they don't want the cat living in the house.

Vicky Stamison