Animals do not “steal” food or use public toilets

I was thinking about Hero the Cat’s case. Apparently, his front legs were chopped off by someone because Hero tried to “steal” a fish to eat. 


Here’s a fine example of human “unreasonableness” (actually, I prefer “stupidity”), ie. applying humans’ code of conduct on animals and not knowing that animals are not capable of such intelligence.  


How on earth would an animal know it’s not supposed to TAKE food when it is hungry? That’s not how it is if you go by Nature’s laws. When hungry, look for food. Find food. Eat food. That’s an animal’s way of life. They don’t buy food, they don’t ask for permission.   


The concept of “stealing” is not found in the understanding of an animal.  Yet, ignorant (I actually mean “stupid”) humans apply that to animals, and just because humans are stronger, the animals, as in the case of Hero, fall victim to such unreasonable expectations.  


So, here’s what I think is fair….


1. Street animals will look for food when hungry. If they cannot find food, and they smell food in our rubbish bins, they will scavenge our rubbish bins. They do not understand that they are not supposed to do that, so if we want to prevent it, please either secure our rubbish bins or dispose of our food scraps elsewhere.  


2. Street animals are not expected to use the public toilets. They will pee and poo wherever they feel is suitable (including on our car tyres) because they do not know any better. We can try to train our pets to use the toilet or litter trays, but nobody trains street animals, so let’s not expect them to know.  


3. Cats like to sleep in high places, so they will sleep on top of our cars or the ledges in our house. That’s the way cats are. 


Please add to my list above….




So, to people who complain to me that the street cat goes into the kitchen to take their fried fish or fried chicken, or that the street dog pees on their car tyres, or that the cat sleeps on top of their car, either they should draw upon the compassion in their hearts and understand that animals will be animals OR they wire-net their kitchen windows, do not park their cars in public places, spray lemon juice on the roof of their cars (I don’t guarantee their paintwork won’t run), etc. 


Or, better still, help us in CNRM – that provides a longer-term solution!