It must be an occupational hazard.

As long as I’ve been a Cat Advocate, I’ve encountered the people who respond to humane issues with some variation of it’s only an animal, or it’s just wrong to care so much about a pet, or, in what is supposed to be the real argument crusher, you’re treating a cat like a person!

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It’s not difficult to encounter this attitude; any online news story about an abused animal will have someone popping up in the comment section to belittle those who express concern; the animal humanitarians are told their compassion is misplaced, that they must have something wrong with them to be so upset, and that such effort is far better spent on needy children.

If challenged, they start talking about how “excessive” empathy for animals is a sign of being a sociopath who cares about animals but not about humans. (This is a myth; in fact, sociopaths usually start their homicidal careers with mistreatment of pets and small wild animals.)

Expressing these thoughts says a lot more about them than it does about me. Because when I’m in a position to ask questions of them and delve a little further than anonymous internet postings, what comes out? A claim that the exchange of respect and love is a rare privilege that must be earned… and few do.

I’ve come to the conclusion that an attitude complaining that I’m treating my cats like people has, at base, a general aversion to treating anyone “like people.” It’s not high-mindedness or reverence for life. It’s just raw envy.

Because I’ve known and worked with people who do feed starving children, or provide hospice care, or rescue animals, and here’s the thing: they are all the same people.

These supposedly high-minded commenters who denigrate animal rescue work see life as a “zero sum” situation. Any care I give is care that cannot be given elsewhere. But that is not true. In fact, I understand how expanding our definition of “humanitarian” increases the love in the world.

Oppressed humans come in all shapes and sizes, just as mistreated animals do. If we start doing sliding scales, then fewer become worthy of consideration. This decreases the love in the world.

As a family, we could take the money we use for our cats and donate it to exclusively human charities; but then where would be the charity that spends its days with my housebound partner, giving him the amusement, care, and love that he gets from our cats?

Animal advocacy is based on the fact that, as living, feeling beings, we should be considerate of other living, feeling beings. My cats are not dressed in doll clothes (though if I had a toddler, they probably would be.) I don’t hire clowns for their birthdays, or throw them parties. I don’t plan on sending them to college.

I know, every day, that they are not people. I base my care, training, understanding, and actions with my cats on treating them like cats.

And I treat people… like people.

Works for me.

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