I have a dream. And, like Martin Luther King, Jr. I realize that my dream will never be achieved in my lifetime. Yet, like Martin, I have decided to articulate it and work toward it.
I envision a world where all cats have loving homes. I envision a world where all cats that need medical care receive free veterinary services. I envision a world where cats are respected for merely being cats.
I see a world where there is no animal abuse. I see a world where animal breeders are outlaws. I see a world where computers replace animals in medical research. I see a world where roadkill does not exist. I see a world where flesh is not eaten and fur is not worn.
This is my vision because I believe in the teachings of St. Francis of Assisi. The patron saint of animals wrote, “If you have men who will exclude any of God's creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men.”
We will get to my world by standing up for those who cannot stand upright. We will get to my world by offering a helping hand for those who have no fingers to grasp. We will get to my world by realizing that we were created to be different not to change each other but to better understand ourselves.
The cat is assertive, creative, instinctive and independent.
We are what we have been taught. We have been taught since kindergarten that there is one right answer, that we must go-along-to-get-along, and that our success is measured in dollars.
My world is dawning. Already, psychological studies show that having an attachment to a cat reduces depression and increases self-esteem. And, the physiological evidence maintains that those in a loving relationship with a cat have decreased blood pressure, the reduced chance of a second heart attack and lower triglycerides.
It is already politically incorrect to refer to cat as a “pet.” They are a “companion” or “friend.” Likewise, “owning” a cat is now frowned on. A cat has a “guardian.”
And, across the country attorneys attempt to legally replace the definition of cats as property with the monetary value of a product with the new definition of a cat as a sentient being capable of an emotional relationship with others.
Victor Hugo wrote, “There is nothing like a dream to create the future.”
If I pursue my dream I may not reach it but it will come one day because as Martin Luther King, Jr. concluded, “Unconditional love will have the final word in reality.”
Paulette Rossi
Founder, Catink.org
