Liberal Feline Bureaucrats

We've had cats all of our married adult life.... from Mingo who we got from a farm in Hadley, MA a month into our marriage, to Roenick pictured below in the driveway, who used to follow us to the neighbors houses up and down Beverly Ave. and wait for us outside to walk us home, all of our cats were healthy, happy and spent a lot of time outdoors.
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It is my considered opinion as an experienced and seasoned Feline observer that to keep a cat imprisoned in a house is cruel punishment and against the natural order of things.   Over the years, one cat got hit by a car, one was poisoned accidentally by the next door neighbor, one went away for two weeks only to crawl home with feline leukemia and die within hours, and a number saw their end at the Marblehead Veterinarian's Office after a full feline complement of years.
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Owning a cat is a pain in the ass, because you end up caring for them as much as a kid, and then you outlive them in 15 years or so.
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So when the Grandkids wanted us to get a kitten, Joanne and I headed over to the Marblehead animal shelter on Village St.  to adopt.   They were charging $180 bucks, but I figured that I was there so that was the deal.
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Then we had to fill out an application, and they wanted to check our references.  Then, they asked if the cat would be let outdoors, because they wouldn't allow any cat to be adopted that was subject to coyotes or cars on the street.  In other words. they are in control of these poor indigent felines, and they know best.
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I was polite though, as I sensed a certain "save the whales" essence starting to permeate the room.  We exited and I told Joanne that we wouldn't be supporting their little kitty fiefdom with a purchase and would find a cat elsewhere.
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Felt a little bad because I did like some of the cats and seemed to make a connection with one of them.
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Then last night, I get a call for my "interview to adopt".
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When I explained to the nice lady who seemed to know best all things feline that I felt that keeping a cat indoors was cruel, the conversation veered off quickly with a mutual declaration that "we have different philosophies."
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Indeed we do, and I bet cats are not the extent of it.
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If she doesn't have an Elizabeth Warren sign outside of her cat filled house, I'll be shocked.

Wayne Webster8:10 AM said....

Our basset hound is from the Salem shelter. They pull the same stuff but once you put down $250 for the free shelter dog that no one else wants well they become convinced that you understand the rules and will follow them. True Americans.