A Rude Awakening
I've probably mentioned this before, but there seem to be many people in my neighborhood who let their cats roam freely outside. I wholeheartedly disagree with this practice. We don't live on a farm - we live only a few miles from downtown Minneapolis, a short enough distance that I could walk downtown if I really wanted to. We're practially urban. I live along a busy road that connects University Avenue with Central Avenue, and there's traffic even late at night/early in the morning.
This morning I had to wait for the bus near the roadkilled body of a kitty that I saw walk through my backyard only a couple of days ago. I spent those minutes in barely-contained rage, clutching my fists and dearly wanting to rip the testicles (or ovaries, I'm not picky) off of whoever would let their poor cat roam around a neighborhood so high in traffic and so close to the city. People seem to have this thought in their head that cats need to be free and roam the damn neighborhood, but it's not true; I have two cats who are perfectly happy inside the house, and if I want to take them outside they both have leashes and harnesses. I love my cats so much, that's why I do what I can to keep them safe and healthy, and I don't let them roam places where they'd potentially be hit by a car.
It's difficult for me to convey just how upsetting it is to me, and I hope that, if the owners of the cat ever find out what happened, they tear themselves up inside and think a little harder next time before they let a cat outside.
This morning I had to wait for the bus near the roadkilled body of a kitty that I saw walk through my backyard only a couple of days ago. I spent those minutes in barely-contained rage, clutching my fists and dearly wanting to rip the testicles (or ovaries, I'm not picky) off of whoever would let their poor cat roam around a neighborhood so high in traffic and so close to the city. People seem to have this thought in their head that cats need to be free and roam the damn neighborhood, but it's not true; I have two cats who are perfectly happy inside the house, and if I want to take them outside they both have leashes and harnesses. I love my cats so much, that's why I do what I can to keep them safe and healthy, and I don't let them roam places where they'd potentially be hit by a car.
It's difficult for me to convey just how upsetting it is to me, and I hope that, if the owners of the cat ever find out what happened, they tear themselves up inside and think a little harder next time before they let a cat outside.