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A while ago, I wrote about a cat, Maunzi, a female three-year-old black DSH who belongs to my mother and the youngest of my sisters (who still lives with my mother).
Maunzi is spayed and vaccinated for rabies, but has not been declawed. She's had her kitten shots but no boosters. My mother is generally a decent pet owner, except for one (rather major) flaw: She believes that "Cats Are Happier Outdoors".
1. This is untrue. I've known quite a few happy indoor cats.
2. Two of our cats--the two in my signature--have already died because they were let outside. Tiger died of FeLV, and Daffy died of wounds received in a fight with another animal.
You'd think that my mother would learn, after those incidents, that "Cats Do Not Live Long Outdoors", but she still holds to her former belief.
A while ago, I posted that my mother wanted Maunzi to go outside; and had begun putting her out. After a while, and some sympathetic replies, I reported that Maunzi refused to go out, and mewed to be let in every time Mom tried; and I (and perhaps you) was quite relieved.
But I just talked to my little sister; she had just turned eleven and I'd sent her a package she was saying "thank you" for; and she said that Mom had managed to put Maunzi outside after all.
After a while of this "putting the cat out repeatedly" thing, it turns out Maunzi has gotten used to it, and, instead of crying, simply sits on the porch, waiting to be let back in.
I pointed out to my mother that cats, as a species, tend towards exploration; and that Maunzi would surely widen her horizons if she were not brought back inside. Mother insisted that Maunzi would never venture past the porch.
I know cats. I know even a sedentary, chubby lap cat like Maunzi will end up exploring, eventually. She isn't the smartest cat--she lives mostly for the next belly rub--and I'm not entirely sure she'd survive such exploration. On top of that, Mother says they're living in a rather bad neighborhood, where there are a lot of drugs (and presumably people hard-up enough for money to sell cats to labs); and they're right next to the town's shopping district, so naturally there are a lot of cars, too.
At least they collar Maunzi when she's out; and they've spayed and not declawed her. That's one victory.
What now? Is there anything I can do, other than hope?
Maunzi is spayed and vaccinated for rabies, but has not been declawed. She's had her kitten shots but no boosters. My mother is generally a decent pet owner, except for one (rather major) flaw: She believes that "Cats Are Happier Outdoors".
1. This is untrue. I've known quite a few happy indoor cats.
2. Two of our cats--the two in my signature--have already died because they were let outside. Tiger died of FeLV, and Daffy died of wounds received in a fight with another animal.
You'd think that my mother would learn, after those incidents, that "Cats Do Not Live Long Outdoors", but she still holds to her former belief.
A while ago, I posted that my mother wanted Maunzi to go outside; and had begun putting her out. After a while, and some sympathetic replies, I reported that Maunzi refused to go out, and mewed to be let in every time Mom tried; and I (and perhaps you) was quite relieved.
But I just talked to my little sister; she had just turned eleven and I'd sent her a package she was saying "thank you" for; and she said that Mom had managed to put Maunzi outside after all.
After a while of this "putting the cat out repeatedly" thing, it turns out Maunzi has gotten used to it, and, instead of crying, simply sits on the porch, waiting to be let back in.
I pointed out to my mother that cats, as a species, tend towards exploration; and that Maunzi would surely widen her horizons if she were not brought back inside. Mother insisted that Maunzi would never venture past the porch.
I know cats. I know even a sedentary, chubby lap cat like Maunzi will end up exploring, eventually. She isn't the smartest cat--she lives mostly for the next belly rub--and I'm not entirely sure she'd survive such exploration. On top of that, Mother says they're living in a rather bad neighborhood, where there are a lot of drugs (and presumably people hard-up enough for money to sell cats to labs); and they're right next to the town's shopping district, so naturally there are a lot of cars, too.
At least they collar Maunzi when she's out; and they've spayed and not declawed her. That's one victory.
What now? Is there anything I can do, other than hope?
