hello tweets;

this cat issue really bothers me for many reasons, but the misused
"it's unnatural" argument is probably one of the more ridiculous
justifications i've ever heard.

i have two "dog pound cats" that are indoors only, and i have no
idea why people think that it is "unnatural" for cats -- a
domestic animal -- to live an indoors-only life. both of my cats
are spayed (oops, that's unnatural), have all their vaccines (also
unnatural), are fed regularly (unnatural), and they appear to be
happy, especially considering what they probably endured prior to
to getting a safe, permanent home (unnatural) with me, a cave-dwelling
primate (unnatural).

as you all can probably guess by now, i think that the "natural"
argument is fundamentally flawed, for many reasons: cats are domestic
animals whose wild ancestors are now very likely extinct. thus,
the fact that cats even exist is "unnatural," and the fact that
cats are found anywhere outside of what is thought to be their
original range (parts of africa) is also unnatural. feeding
processed foods from bags or cans is also unnatural, as is modern
veterinary care, cats toys, and "pet" psychologists.

the fact that some people seem to think that "cats are happier when
they live a natural life" is also fallacious because we cannot
really KNOW THIS FOR SURE. however, i am sure that you all will
allow me to anthropomorphize a little, especially since i can dig
up real physiological data to support my anthropomorphizations
(is that a real word?). given the fact that i am miserable when
i am sick or injured, and knowing that semiwild cats are often
sick or injured, my guess is that they too, are often miserable.
given the fact that i am often unhappy eating bad food, and i am
just plain crabby when i am hungry, my guess is that semiwild
cats -- who don't eat regularly and are often stuck eating garbage
to survive -- are usually in an unhappy state of mind as well.

so basically, my message is that cats are not natural members of
this ecosystem, so they canoot possibly live a "natural life"
here. the natural ecosytem for a cat is in our homes ... and in
front of the fireplace or heater, on top of the computer monitor,
on top of the newspaper when we are trying to read it, and on our
chests when we are fast sleep. cats have been bred by humans for
bazillions of years to live with, and to help people, so how can we
justify abandoning them in a strange land?

regards,

Deborah Wisti-Peterson email:nyneve at u.washington.edu
Department of Zoology, University of Washington, Seattle, Wash, USA
Visit me on the web: http://weber.u.washington.edu/~nyneve/
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