Rethinking the Colony Question
Time for a more responsible answer for urban feline impacts
Humans have no idea what to do about cats. We describe them as emotional support companions when we are in crisis and Public Enemy Number One for (natural) displays of predatory behavior. Where I live, in Chicago, this confusion is perfectly represented by two diametrically opposed groups in our city, which both claim to serve cats. The first is Chicago Community Cats, which declares as its mission to ensure that there are “no more kittens born” by outdoor cats. To achieve this, they advocate for spaying and abortion “up to delivery.” “There is no such thing as ‘too pregnant’ or ‘too far along’” they helpfully emphasize in describing their mission. On the other end of the spectrum is The Tree House Humane Society’s project Cats at Work which releases cats in shelters (currently about 1,000 are “at work”) to homes and businesses to address a historic rise in the rat population in the city.
In both cases, we see the self-importance of human beings in full display. As a species, we are responsible for completely devastating the beautiful balance which can still be seen in many natural environments where we have limited presence. We wreck nature’s harmony. And we have a habit of thinking we are doing good by fixing the problem we created in the first place with even more…
