responsibility

one of my coworker told me that shes had 5 cats growing up. one of the cats gave birth to 7 kittens. out of the 7, one died and all the rest were given to the animal shelter.

when she said "FIVE cats", she was actually proud of the fact that shes had so many animals in her life. like its a good thing, like she knows so much about cats. well, average lifespan of a cat is 15 years. so unless she is 75 years old, i wouldnt consider the fact that shes had so many cats something to be proud of.

i asked her what happened to all her cats just for the benefit of the doubt. you know, many some of them were really sick, maybe some just had unforeseen accidents, maybe she just have really bad luck with cats. she only had time to tell what happened to 3 of her cats before we had to go back to work. so, this is what happened:

cat 5: gave birth to 7 kittens. this is a stray cat they picked up in the neighborhood, so i guess they felt that it was ok to keep it an outdoor cat. they family didnt even know when the cat was giving birth in a pile of branches. one of the kitten's umbilical cord got caught in the branches and wasnt able to nurse from the mother. the rest was surrendered to the animal shelter. the mother cat disappeared one day after they let her out.

cat 1: given away when they had to move

cat 2: also outdoor cat. they discovered that it likes to climb "dangerous things", like power cords and electric boxes in the street. yet they still let it out. one day it was electrocuted.

seriously. SERIOUSLY? such horrible things happened to her cats, yet she can tell these stories like they are extremely amusing??

i admit, im not the most responsible pet parent there is. i have let my dog eat things that hes not suppose to eat, i have lived in an apartment that doesnt allow as many pets as i have, i have missed my pets follow up vaccines, i dont clean the litter box as often as i should. but i will never leave my pets behind and i try my best to protect them. i dont understand how some people can give up their pets so easily. or how some people keep letting their cats out even knowing the lifespan of an outdoor cat is only 3-5 years.

bell has been cuddling next to me since the beginning of this entry. she clings onto me the most out of all my pets. i cant imagine letting her down knowing that she depends on my for everything from food and shelter, to love and attention.



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