Saving Cat And Crimimal

You'll love this win-win prison program in Washington state, USA. Everything about it is positive. I guess there will some downsides (having the cat litter in a 12x10 prison cell) but overall it is an enlightened idea. I love enlightened ideas that push the envelope. We need to do that to improve things.

This story concerns a program, Cuddly Catz, set up by the managers of Larch Correctional Facility in Yacolt, Washington. Yacolt is not far from Vancouver or Portland. 

The idea is to marry rescue cats that are considered unadoptable (and therefore destined possibly for euthanasia) with incarcerated criminals who are suitable to care for them. The primary objective as I see it is to teach the selected inmates to take responsibility for someone else. In this case a cat that needs someone.

The advantage to the prisoner is that they get out of a dormitory into a twin cell. That's the tangible, immediate advantage anyway. The longer term advantage to the prisoner is that they can begin to stop thinking of themselves and start taking responsibility for a companion animal that needs a caretaker.

Princess Natalie was a scared and defensively aggressive cat. After being cared for by Joseph Contreras she is still difficult to handle but much improved. She is the black cat in the picture above.

The guy in the larger picture above, Richard Amaro, holds Clementine. Richards says, “You get close to them.” It seems that Richard has improved his life and there is no doubt that Clementine's life has been improved to. She has probably been saved.

I presume these cats came from a rescue center. If true they deserve praise to. Very enlightened.

Original story: Global Animal - thanks