Remain
responsible with pets
Eleven cats live outside the Social Science/Public
Affairs Building on lower campus. These
animals, and many more like them throughout
the university, are not official school
mascots nor did they decide where to live.
One woman takes care of these cats and does
so with little or no help from anyone, especially
not the school. She feeds them, gives them
beds to sleep in, makes sure they’ve had
their shots and gives them love and affection
— all on her own dime.
The SSPA Building is not a magical area
where cats from all over flock to because
of its mystical ways. It’s not scratching
post heaven or Disneyland for cats; it’s
a sidewalk and some bushes.
Leaving home for college is fun and all,
and for many this is their first time away
from the confines of their parents. They
make their apartment or dorm room exactly
how they want it, with all the chic furniture
and accessories. When these new living spaces
are near completion, what’s the icing on
the cake?
A cat. They’re small, cute, furry animals
who don’t take up much space and don’t require
the attention a dog does. Fish are OK, but
people can’t touch them, and reptiles can
be scary, so a cat is the perfect pet for
those who don’t really want an animal but
just had to have one.
This fantasy comes to an end real soon.
Cats need food, litter, toys and visits
to the doctor. The money spent adds up and
that ball of fur that doesn’t seem to be
doing much of anything is costing you a
lot.
When four (or five or six) years is up,
many students return home and receive bad
news - their cat isn’t welcome at mom and
dad’s. This may sound like a dilemma until
the easy answer pops in their head — drop
little Snowflake off at the SSPA Building,
someone will take care of it there.
If you’re one of these people, I hope your
parents do to you what you did to your cat.
When you come home, mom will be pacing back
and forth and dad will be on the couch smoking
his pipe. They’ve got news for you and you’re
not going to like it. Mom and dad decided
to move and they stressed the “mom and dad”
part of the sentence. This means without
you. You became too much of a burden so
they’re tossing you out at your town’s SSPA
Building and maybe they’ll see you at Christmas.
Mom and dad did everything to make you feel
welcome. You even thought you were a member
of the family. They bought you food and
clothes and pretended to care about your
petty problems.
Dogs would never get shafted like this.
No one would leave a dog on a school campus
and hope for the best, so why a cat? For
those who think it’s just a cat, I say this:
Hitler said they were just Jews. You want
to start playing God? Fine. But remember
once you’ve decided who stays and who goes,
your number will be called eventually.
That previous paragraph was a bit extreme,
but I’m trying to prove a point. If you
decide to take on the responsibility of
getting a pet, keep the pet. I apologize
for sounding like a bumper sticker, but
cats have feelings too and suddenly dropping
them off outside in a completely foreign
environment is never the right thing to
do. If for some reason you have to get rid
of the animal, do so in a civilized manor.
Plenty of pet adoption agencies exist and
would be more than glad to help.
I cannot speak for the woman who cares for
these cats, but I talked to her once and
she told me she’s always looking for help.
Blankets, beds, food or anything else you
can think of is welcome.
She told me stories of how someone stole
a huge bag of cat food from her and how
she came to see the cats and some of their
bowls were filled with human fecal matter.
In case you forgot, she does this by herself.
She doesn’t have to help these creatures,
but she does and never complains. The least
we can do is not pee in her dishes.
Eleven cats live there now, but tomorrow
it could be 15 or it could be two. The woman
told me she was always looking for people
to adopt cats, so if anyone wants one (to
keep), leave a note for her. They’ll be
glad you did.
Ryan Ritchie is journalism major at Cal
State Long Beach.
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