Relationships

Currently, I have two cats and one dog. My eldest cat is an all black shorthair named Rocco. My newest cat is white and grey long-hair kitten named Charlie. Rocco is now twelve. A couple years ago, when he was a solo cat, we decided to get a new kitten named Leo. Rocco, once lively and very active, became sedentary and grumpy the second we brought Leo home. About a year later, Leo got lost. Rocco couldn't have been happier - he was back to his normal self.

My mom is a huge cat person. In her childhood, she never had less than three cats at a time. It had been a while since Leo's passing, so naturally my family thought it was appropriate to consider getting a new kitten. My mom was so against this, we thought we'd never get another cat. The reason? Because she didn't want Rocco to feel like he wasn't of value to our family, or that we didn't love him anymore. She didn't want him to feel as though we had to keep replacing him. His obvious behavioral reactions when we got Leo and when Leo left was enough to convince my mom that he would be much worse off with a new kitten.

Well, I had contrary beliefs and thought that a new kitten would be a wonderful addition to our already wild household. After practically forcing this kitten onto my mom in PAWS, she accepted him - enthusiastically. This kitten has now become an integral part of our family. Charlie hangs out with all of our family members, he has a civil relationship with Rocco (the one who before was a huge grump around Leo, and who we now give an enormous amount of attention to to make sure he knows he is loved), and most amazingly, he has an intimate companionship with our German Shepherd, Lola.

There are three main points from this account of my family's animal related interactions that I want to address:

First, what if everyone took the feelings and the lives of animals into deep consideration like my mother. What if when designing slaughter houses, animals FEELINGS were thought about? What if the primary concern of a factory farmer was to make sure that the animals all FELT good? What if there was an entire section of industrial factory farming devoted to animals' MENTAL HEALTH?

Secondly, why do I fawn over Charlie and not a pig? I believe it's because of how I was raised. I didn't grow up around pigs. The majority of the country hasn't. Does that mean that a pig is any different than a cat? Sure they have different genetic make ups, behavioral patterns, and tendencies - but they are also so alike. We tend to spend so much time focusing on the differences of animals, the differences of humans - race, gender, sexual orientation, occupation, income level. By focusing on the differences, it makes it a lot easier to marginalize the different ones. Differences are certainly necessary, but we sometimes forget to acknowledge that we are the same in so many ways. We are all humans. We are ALL creatures that inhabit the Earth, us and animals alike. We are animals.

Lastly, and on a slightly different note, I want to talk about inter-species relationships. I believe that Lola and Charlie really love each other. They play with each other, cuddle with each other, and just hang out together. When Charlie is playing with a toy, Lola will wait until he isn't watching, snatches the toy, and trots off with it waiting for Charlie to come find her. I watched the documentary - "Animal Odd Couples" - and it related so well to the relationship of Charlie and Lola. As was stated in the documentary multiple times, animals are far more complex than we give them credit for. Sure, these behaviors are instinctual. But aren't we mostly instinctual beings as well?

I have always been in awe of animals, and I always will be. Yes, I believe that humans are dominant over animals - but I believe that the relationship is much more complex than that. I believe that animals and humans must learn from each other and explore each other without disregarding the others' rights. Instead of one species exploiting the other, I think it is time that society as a whole re-thinks our position of dominance, and begins to question for what the vital position that we hold in hierarchy of earthlings should be used.