Feral Cats - Society's Problem ChildrenWritten by Cris Mandelin-Wood
There is a lot of talk going on about what to do with issue of feral cat population. Some measures have been proposed which will allow residents to kill what they perceive to be feral cats on their property. This suggestion has caused a bit of a stir, and amongst cat lovers, it is quite understandable. Cats are natural wanderers and a treasured feline may make a mischievous dash out of its home only to find itself hunted quarry on a neighboring property. There are more humane solutions being practiced right now which entail trapping feral cats, neutering and then releasing them back to their environment (TNR). Critics of this method maintain that problem of cat predation on local small animal populations still exists after neutering, and that a continuous supply of stray cats are finding their fertile way into these feral communities every day. Thus, they maintain, any positive gains realized by TNR program are being constantly negated by actions, or inactions, of irresponsible pet owners. There doesn't appear to be any immediate, cut and dry solution to feral cats at present except to keep employing TNR program and educating public about how to be accountable for their cats. Local laws can be enacted to impose fines on owners whose cats are caught wandering on a frequent basis. Social pressure can be fostered in form of campaigns that suggest it is absolutely not cool and downright irresponsible to have unneutered or unspayed cats wandering around. This, of course, would not be applied to owners of show and working cats where planned breeding is necessary for their specific breed. It comes down to fact that over 64% of U.S. households have pets, and majority of these pets are considered as family members. Cats are rebellious, independent members of family unit. They shouldn't be left to their own devices
| | Mind Over Matter…Written by Patricia Reszetylo
Understanding where horses come from has been a long road for most equestrians. Using that new understanding can dramatically change how one handles, cares for, and trains or rides their horse.“We treat horses way others tell us to, as well as way we were treated as children,” says Gwenyth Browning Jones Santagate, of Douglas Massachusetts. “That usually borders on abuse, even for experienced equestrians. My dad taught me that if I REALLY wanted to know about an animal, then I needed to look at things from its own point of view. I later tried ‘formal,’ ‘traditional’ methods – and HATED it. When my daughter’s ‘babysitter’ mare was severely abused in our absence, traditional methods of discipline simply didn’t work, so I went back to my ‘feel’ methods to reclaim mare’s mind.”
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