August 29, 2007

Kitty's Owners Are Anxious

Tonight I noticed a note on the door of the house we thought might belong to the tripod cat. It was in cursive and the sky was almost fully dark so I had to go up on the walk to read more than two words. It said:

"If you have taken our cat Harry, please please please call #xxx-xxx-xxxx. We miss him very much!"

There was a bowl of fresh kibble and proper water in a dish on the ground near the porch.

I came home, washed the dead squirrel from the shivering, terrified Captain, took a shower to wash the shivering, terrified Captain off of me, and composed a note while my hair dried:

"Your cat is declawed, missing a leg, and has no ID collar or chip. We can't imagine why anyone would leave such a defenseless animal to wander around loose where he could easily be struck by a car or attacked by one of the stray dogs that roam the neighborhood.

The Humane Society will be holding the cat over the next few days, waiting for his owner to come and claim him. They can also give you some good advice for taking better care of your pets."

Originally I intended to start off with a dreadful tale of a dying cat to illustrate the danger it was actually in, but Seebs said scaring them would be mean, so I scrapped the idea.

I just got back from taping the note to their door. Their plea note was gone, which means somebody must have seen me reading it earlier, and that was a wee bit creepy. Going back to place my note, I nearly had a heart attack because a car went by and seemed to be slowing down. I felt like somebody was lurking in the bushes, spying on me.

And knowing this place, it's entirely fucking possible.

I think I'll be avoiding that block on our walks for the rest of our time in Saint Paul. The very last thing I need is neighbor drama with the chaos that's already swirling around.

Tomorrow, I have to cut down all the bushes that have grown up in our yard, in preparation for selling the house. I expect to get even more sunburned than I already am.

EDIT: Oh for fuck's sake. Does there really need to be wank about this?

6 comments:

  1. Was there really any need for your little lecture? I'm sure it made you feel all superior to your ghetto neighbors and stuff, but you could have just skipped it.

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  2. You're so right--they can kill their poor cat much more effectively without the meddling and interference of others.

    Curse me and my huge ego.

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  3. I don't think it's about feeling superior; it's about trying to make people not endanger their pets.

    Many people simply don't KNOW that cats can be harmed by being outside, let alone by being outside when declawed and missing a leg, with an inadequate food supply.

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  4. I think you did the right thing, though I almost wish you hadn't left the note. People like that don't deserve to own a pet. It's hard to balance ethics these days, especially when you live in a neighborhood like that. X_x Best of luck to that little guy.

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  5. I didn't want to leave them a note either. I worry that now they'll kill the poor cat and I'll have failed the cat. But I also worried that by not telling them where their cat went, I was overstepping my bounds and being a vigilante. In the end, I had to settle for a compromise--give them a heads-up but also let them know it was an unacceptable thing they were doing.

    I was going to end up making a mistake on somebody's behalf no matter what I chose. There was no way I was going to come out of this feeling like I did any good at all.

    Ah well, I don't regret trying.

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  6. The note was not only justified, it was neccesary. Some people honestly don't know how to ake care of animals. Probably not their fault, they might *want* to be great pet owners.
    So a kick in the arse to tell them that what they were doing was wrong might be just what they need to make them into more responsible pet owners.

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