Unemployment Hurts Cats

At the date of this post, the American recovery appears to be stalling. Unemployment is currently climbing. It stands at 9.2%. There are real concerns. The recession is harder to get out off than the experts imagined. It is similar in the UK. Only Germany in Europe is doing well and they have to pour their money into bankrupt countries like Greece who should never have been admitted to the European Union never mind the Eurozone. They don't have the greatest of track records in respect of cat care either.

The anti-declaw demonstration in St. Louis that I instigated has been affected by the economic woes in America. People who had intended to be there have not confirmed attendance. Over 400 expressed a desire to demonstrate while only a handful confirmed that they would come. As a result I cannot justify traveling thousands of miles and spending a thousand dollars to attend myself. With regret, I have no idea what will happen.

Sylvia, a regular visitor makes this comment about a possible reason for non-attendance at the demonstration, "but over here people are worried about their survival. Six months ago satellite radio broadcasts were saying that Soc. Sec. was expected to last another 38 years. Now they're hinting that the gov. is toying with the idea of mailing out 'IOU's' beginning Aug. 1, slashing Medicare to the bone, dozens of other programs - meals for school children, etc. -  and shutting down thousands of gov. jobs. China will be stepping in to colonize us in another few months...."

I get the point Sylvia. There is another cat problem that is related to America's stagnant economy - relinquishment of cats to shelters, where they are often killed.

If we are in dire financial circumstances, the number of cat abandonments go up. What affects us affects our cats. This is not a good time for the domestic cat. The most vulnerable are at the sharp end in times of economic trouble.

I don't think the current world economic model works. I also think that the disposable cat companion mentality indicates a failure in the cat world too.

I don't want to be a doom monger....but. We need to go back to basics, create a sustainable economic model that does not rely on perpetual economic "growth" supported by perpetual population growth and consumerism. It is not sustainable and it is not good for cats.