Happy Caturday, Missians!
What better way to kick off Caturday than with a blog post dedicated to the proverbial, "Crazy Cat Lady." For those of you who may not be familiar with the term, here in America, (and perhaps other countries too), the crazy cat lady is usually stereotyped as an old maid, or some older woman whose children are all grown and moved out--whose main source of company is the myriad of cats she owns or has saved. Sometimes younger, single women are lumped into the category as well. It's also considered by some to be a kind of sexist term, because you never hear anyone talk about the "crazy cat men." The other most common belief about "cat ladies" is described perfectly by Wikipedia:
"The term is commonly used in a pejorative sense to denote an animal hoarder who keeps large numbers of cats without having the ability to properly house or care for them".
It is the people who fit the above description, male or female, that I have a problem with. So, I answer the title of this post with, both, yes and no. As long as you're saving stray cats or adopting them into an environment that's clean, clutter-free, has adequate room for them to roam, and you can comfortably afford to feed them and take them to the vet, then I think yes, you are a hero; but on the flip side of that, if you're just "collecting" animals to fill some emotional need, and you know you're bringing them into a less than ideal situation, then no, you're no hero in my book.
Less than ideal situations come in a myriad of packages. I've watched some of those hoarding shows where people have like 70 cats, all living under one roof, with overflowing litter boxes, and cat poop and pee all over the carpets; old furniture and papers piled high to the ceilings, unusable kitchens and bathrooms, and barely any room to walk around in. But those are just the extreme situations; that's not counting the people who simply take on more animals than they can afford to properly care for.
Anyone can bring in an animal off the street, but if there are 30 other animals already in their care, can they comfortably buy cat food and cat litter for all of them? Can they keep the shots up for 30 cats? Can they afford the vet bills as these animals get sick or start to age? Probably not. So, if you're already a hoarder on your own, please don't bring any animals into the mix. Not good for their health and well being, not good for yours; and if you already have several animals, and your finances are getting stressed trying to properly care for them, don't bring in any more. But for those beautiful souls who do have the resources to take in a few strays or adopt a few shelter pets comfortably, then yes, do so--save the kitties.
For those who would like to, but are in no position to take in, or adopt an animal in need, fret not! Check out next week's Missy Show blog post entry: "The Best Way to Help Strays". This post is coming up on Tuesday. Until then, I say let's remove the negative connotation of "crazy cat lady" and recognize that behind the label, most of these people are beautiful souls who just love and want to help animals, (even though some of them just may not be psychologically or economically equipped to do so); and these people come in all ages, and all genders. But beyond all labels and stereotypes, let's always remember the main focus should always be the best interests of the animals.
That's it for now. Be sure to hit us up in a few hours, (5pm Central), on Google Hangouts for "Why Him? The Psychology of Choosing Odd Pets."
This is your host, J,
signing off...
What better way to kick off Caturday than with a blog post dedicated to the proverbial, "Crazy Cat Lady." For those of you who may not be familiar with the term, here in America, (and perhaps other countries too), the crazy cat lady is usually stereotyped as an old maid, or some older woman whose children are all grown and moved out--whose main source of company is the myriad of cats she owns or has saved. Sometimes younger, single women are lumped into the category as well. It's also considered by some to be a kind of sexist term, because you never hear anyone talk about the "crazy cat men." The other most common belief about "cat ladies" is described perfectly by Wikipedia:
"The term is commonly used in a pejorative sense to denote an animal hoarder who keeps large numbers of cats without having the ability to properly house or care for them".
It is the people who fit the above description, male or female, that I have a problem with. So, I answer the title of this post with, both, yes and no. As long as you're saving stray cats or adopting them into an environment that's clean, clutter-free, has adequate room for them to roam, and you can comfortably afford to feed them and take them to the vet, then I think yes, you are a hero; but on the flip side of that, if you're just "collecting" animals to fill some emotional need, and you know you're bringing them into a less than ideal situation, then no, you're no hero in my book.
Less than ideal situations come in a myriad of packages. I've watched some of those hoarding shows where people have like 70 cats, all living under one roof, with overflowing litter boxes, and cat poop and pee all over the carpets; old furniture and papers piled high to the ceilings, unusable kitchens and bathrooms, and barely any room to walk around in. But those are just the extreme situations; that's not counting the people who simply take on more animals than they can afford to properly care for.
Anyone can bring in an animal off the street, but if there are 30 other animals already in their care, can they comfortably buy cat food and cat litter for all of them? Can they keep the shots up for 30 cats? Can they afford the vet bills as these animals get sick or start to age? Probably not. So, if you're already a hoarder on your own, please don't bring any animals into the mix. Not good for their health and well being, not good for yours; and if you already have several animals, and your finances are getting stressed trying to properly care for them, don't bring in any more. But for those beautiful souls who do have the resources to take in a few strays or adopt a few shelter pets comfortably, then yes, do so--save the kitties.
For those who would like to, but are in no position to take in, or adopt an animal in need, fret not! Check out next week's Missy Show blog post entry: "The Best Way to Help Strays". This post is coming up on Tuesday. Until then, I say let's remove the negative connotation of "crazy cat lady" and recognize that behind the label, most of these people are beautiful souls who just love and want to help animals, (even though some of them just may not be psychologically or economically equipped to do so); and these people come in all ages, and all genders. But beyond all labels and stereotypes, let's always remember the main focus should always be the best interests of the animals.
That's it for now. Be sure to hit us up in a few hours, (5pm Central), on Google Hangouts for "Why Him? The Psychology of Choosing Odd Pets."
This is your host, J,
signing off...
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| Happy Caturday! |
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