Cats and abandonment
<p class=rtejustify><span style=font-size:medium>It is a comonly held belief that cats are independent, self-reliant creatures, very little attached to their cohabiting human, and therefore, creatures that suffer less from removal from home. This couldn't be further from the truth! We are used to often think about the issue of abandonment of dogs, especially as the summer holidays approach. This is indeed a huge problem that involves many associations, volunteers, veterinarians and ordinary people and their great effort to stem this phenomenon and to save the lives of many dogs in risk of abandonment. Yet, we never hear of cat abandonment: why is that?</span></p><p class=rtejustify><span style=font-size:medium>Dozens of adult cats are abandoned every year. They are left on the street, in the woods, in cat shelters, or amongst pre-existing feline colonies, etc., while the humans abandoning them are convinced that the cats will be able to survive perfectly “in the wild” without anyone's help. Some people go as far as thinking that they are doing the cat a favour freeing him in nature!</span></p><p class=rtejustify><span style=font-size:medium>Let's clarify some key points:</span></p><ul><li class=rtejustify><span style=font-size:medium>Cats have feelings: mr. Kitty is very fond of his humans, his home and his habits. He suffers enormously when he is separated from his family or romevoed from his home, to the point that many cats fall into a depressive state and let themselves starve or develop stress-induced behaviours (such as grooming obsessively, endlessly roaming, stopping to take care of their hygiene, etc.). Each cat has his unique and exclusive sensitivity and will suffer from the damaging effects of abandonment.</span></li><li class=rtejustify><span style=font-size:medium>A house cat is not a wild hunter: a cat used to eating dry or wet food every day (as we assume a cat was used to while living in the family until the time of abandonment) will have great difficulty finding the right amount of food while feeling lost in a place he does not know. He will not know what resources are available to him, he will not have enough experience to be able to find them and obtain them in the best way