Yesterday a coworker came into work at the verge of tears. She heard a cat crying in the parking lot. The kitten was under ground inside the storm drain on a ledge that could not be reached. She enlisted the help of many people who rushed out there. I stayed at my desk practicing my virtual eye rolls. I am not sure my virtual eye rolls are undetectable because I can only see from the inside of my face but things happen and I get lots of practice. You can judge me all you want but the fact of the matter is I have little regard for feral cats. I have very limited regard for indoor cats too although I have had three indoor cats in my possession. The first cat came with my marriage. I attempted to like Zach the gray cat but I truly didn't. Seeing Zach lick a bowl clean would send frenzied nerves up my spine. They say he was of Russian Blue descent but I have my doubts. The second cat was Rajah, a grey and white rescue and the only reason I got that cat was to reinforce Offspring #2's assertiveness skills. From the age of three that child would politely inform me that they would really like to have a cat. They repeated that same request about once a month. I blew off the first six requests with no problem because I really don't like cats. The child kept asking with a confidence and poise beyond their biological years. Dang it! Each request eroded my "don't like cats" resolve a bit and added to the resolve to "be a good Mom." Rajah was not the worst cat but she had medical issues and died young. Offspring #2 started the requests again and I fell for it. The third and final cat in my possession was Kovu an annoying and exceptionally loud orange long haired cat. Kovu had liver problems and also died young but before he left he reinforced the "don't like cats" resolve permanently. Offspring #2 had plenty of assertiveness. I still have problems with cats though because a feral cat in my neighborhood chooses the sandy area below my bedroom window as it's litter box. Nothing like waking up to the smell of fresh cat crap on a hot summer night. I witnessed that cat murder a black capped chickadee on my deck one winter. I have considered live trapping that murderous tabby and hauling it to the humane society but I can't do it. I met someone who could do it though. Nikki is a wildlife travel guide on Kangaroo Island just south of Adelaide, Australia. She advocates for the elimination of all feral cats on her beautiful island. When she graduated from high school she worked with a local wildlife expert. She volunteered to trap feral cats, kill them, examine their stomach contents and document her findings. Her findings were cats kill lots of birds. Nikki suggested I do the same thing in Minnesota. Nikki was quite militant about feral cats. While it is true I don't like cats I don't dislike them enough to actually kill them. I can step on an ant, swat a mosquito, preserve wood ticks in duct tape and poison a mouse inside my house but I could not and would not kill a cat. I won't even take a cat to the Humane Society where I know they will probably be killed. I suppose some of my few readers like cats and want to know how the kitty in the storm drain fared. After much drama and tears and discussion and time, the critter was nabbed with a set of tongs and taken to a good home. (eye roll!)
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