Cats as they are now, like dogs, are not “natural” but a wild animal that evolved to live with us for its own survival. Very successfully so. But that means that, like us, they are also in competition with non-humanized animals.

I don’t actually believe that a cat’s life is worth the extinction of (more) native species, frankly, nor that euthanizing an animal that has no possible home and will either suffer or hunt vulnerable species is an evil thing to do. Certainly it is less evil than confining a cat to a house reeking of urine and feces with too many other cats and letting it die of untreated disease or starvation.

We, as human beings, are responsible for the overabundance of cats; we created their species and imported it, and if we cannot ethically care for all of them and keep them from causing harm, then we have the responsibility of doing what needs to be done. Which may be putting some of them to sleep. When we turn away from this responsibility, we are refusing to deal with actuality, and in the long run, we are culpable. And as hoarder stories often show, we may be causing more pain than we are preventing.

My late husband used to make fun of hunters until I pointed out to him that rock climbing (how we met) was even more bizarre.

My most environmentally sensitive friends are hunters, including my beekeeper who hasn’t bought any meat for several decades.

Look forward to festival updates!