What happened to the cats?

As an advocate of animal welfare particularly of cats and dogs, the news on the “relocation” aka “tinapon/niligaw” of the beloved cats in the Bonifacio Global City area is downright heartbreaking. No amount of belated apologies from Shangri-La at the Fort’s management can appease the broken hearts and indignation of the animal welfare community and individual animal lovers. The fact that a pest-terminating company, Pestbusters, was employed to dispose of the “pests” aka cats, well, we can only think the unthinkable as to the fate of those poor cats. Up to now (and rightly so), the animal welfare community of which I am a member, is up in arms and in uproar as to where the cats are. Missing? Ran over? Killed? Adopted? Take a pick. I’m pretty sure it’s not a good one. Why were they relocated in the first place? Because of the cat smell? The poop? Aesthetics?

But they are just cats some would say, especially nonanimal lovers. They are not just any cats. Those cats are beneficiaries of the “trap-neuter-vaccinate-manage” program of individual and group animal lovers. In layman’s term, kapon na sila para hindi na dumami ang stray cat population.

I am still shaking my head in dismay, in anger, and in frustration as to how our society regards animals, especially stray cats and dogs. The real question should be why are there strays in the first place?! Well, some are abandoned by their humans once the animals get sick or become too much of a burden to maintain, etc. We have seen shih tzus with matted hair plying the streets and so on. Some are missing pets who never returned to their owners and some are innately street cats and dogs. The only solution to curb the population of strays is kapon. Spay (for females) and neuter (for males) your pet cats and dogs and the strays. That has always been the advocacy of the animal welfare community, second to the promotion of animal welfare awareness through responsible pet ownership and compassionate attitude toward animals, breeds and nonbreeds alike. Animal welfare societies hold discounted and free spay days so there is really no excuse.

May we all learn from the wise Mahatma Gandhi: “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”

PAMELA I. CLAVERIA, MD, [email protected]