The Stray Cats of Parliament Hill
On Friday I walked over to Parliament Hill at lunch - it had been a while since I've done that. There wasn't much to see in terms of gardens, birds or famous politicians, but I did notice that six stray cats were out enjoying the mild weather.
I may have written about the stray cats of Parliament before. For those who didn't know, there is a cat sanctuary on the grounds of Parliament Hill near the Peace Tower. It has been there since the '70s when a local woman started caring for a large number of stray cats that roamed amid the Hill. When she died, the current "Catman" of the Hill took over, and built the current "houses" resembling the Parliament Buildings to shelter the strays from the cold Ottawa winters.
The cats are all neutered and receive shots from a local animal hospital. Apparently our Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, loves cats and takes feral kittens into his home to socialize them before they are put up for adoption (maybe there is a reason to like this guy after all - he seems so colourless as our PM).
One of the cats
It nearly broke my heart the first time I saw the cats here. In my view, cats deserve a home full of love and human affection. They don't deserve to be abandoned to a life on the street. Now I'm glad they have a place to stay and someone to look after them. In fact, the volunteer who built the shelters and feeds them was recently awarded the Humane Society of Canada's Heroes for Animals award!
More links about the cats of Parliament:
According to the government website, "the contrast between these modest shelters and the formality and tradition of the Parliament Buildings is a symbol of compassion, one of the important elements of Canadian society."
These two seemed quite comfortable together. The striped one was actually purring and came up to me as though he wanted to be petted. (I couldn't resist!)
There were actually two squirrels feeding on the dry food when I arrived. I couldn't believe that there were at least four cats in the vicinity and not one of them appeared interested at all in the squirrel!
This cat watched the squirrel beneath the bench for a moment or two before calmly walking away. I guess squirrel wasn't on the menu for lunch!