Cat tales and crocodile tears

In the last six months, I have adopted six stray cats.

Yes, one stray kitten for every month.

I don’t know what it is about waking up early in the morning, running in the village where I live, and finding abandoned kittens along the way.

It isn’t the first time I have come across abandoned kittens — but what has changed is that I have opted to pick them up, take them home and make them part of my family of five dogs and one tortoise.

It is not easy to run by a kitten crying from hunger, in pain or distress and believe me, I have tried. I even varied my route every morning, yet they were there, seemingly waiting for me to come rescue them.

So over the months, I, a dog person, have grown very fond of my brood of six cats.

There is Pepsi, who was named as a companion to Cola, one of my Schnoodles; then came Polka who is dotted black and white; then there’s Garfield, just because; then came Kidlat, a black cat with a white stripe on the forehead. Bunny is the gray cat who sat beside the house we made for the cats, so we took her in. And the last one I adopted is a white kitten called Snowy whom I picked up at the parking lot of an office in Quezon City.

Yes, we have made a home for them, which leads inside our house, but an area where the dogs cannot reach them. I make sure we have playtime in the morning and, if there is time, when I get home later in the day.

Just like my dogs, my cats like to come around and see what’s happening and they enjoy lying on the grass or lazing and staring out at the passing cars. 

And, yes, all of them are fixed.

Let me share with you five things I learned from my cats — the hard way:

1. If you try to walk away from a crying kitten, you will continue to hear it crying if the kitten was meant for you.

2. Although cats roll over, it may not necessarily mean that they want a belly rub (like dogs do) and if they are in no mood for one, they may bite or scratch you.

3. A purring kitten is a happy kitten.

4. Cat love is different from dog love — but the deepness of a bond between pet and human is always deep.

5. Cats know their names but may ignore you if they are busy with other more important matters.

* * *

I am all for releasing Lolong, the captured saltwater crocodile, back into the wild. I have been told often enough that if they do that, then he might cause more harm.

Then perhaps he should be released into an area where he will do no harm to humans.

After all, before he was captured, Lolong was busy living his life as a crocodile should — surely there is nothing wrong with that, right?

But to make Lolong someone’s possession and to keep him so that he can be used for show-and-tell is nothing less than pure cruelty.

* * *

The Philippine Animal Welfare Society and Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) of UK have signed an agreement for a mobile clinic, which was recently started by PAWS. However, at present, PAWS is still working to raise almost 70 percent for the matching-grant arrangement. 

The mobile spay-neuter clinic was completed last July. The first outreach program was held in Batangas.

Messages about the importance of spaying and neutering a pet have been sprayed on the clinic van. The messages are part of PAWS’ campaign to strengthen the education of Filipinos on the importance of having a pet fixed.

Thus far, I was told, PAWS is already swamped with requests for visits. The SN mobile clinic has already been to two areas in Batangas and La Union.

The stop in La Union was interesting because the van went to help Lola Mely spay-neuter her 53 dogs. The trip was carried out through the sponsorship of a TV show and several private individuals.

PAWS provides free spaying-neutering services but either local government officials or private citizens subsidize the drugs used in these services.

What is a typical spay-neuter outreach like?

Well, throughout the day, as pets are prepared for surgery, volunteers conduct one-on-one humane education sessions at the covered court of the area. During this time, they conduct dialogues with local pet owners and answer questions and concerns regarding responsible pet ownership.