For cats who cry at night, reasons & solutions vary

"Animal people don’t go away!”  -- an area animal advocate

(who doesn’t go away), quoting a frustrated opponent

@ Lord & Taylor, NYC

In mentioning why she reads to animals -- something I had not understood the value of, and even suspected was hokey -- the woman quoted above  made the reasons clear to me: (1) people reading to animals never have an angry voice (which some animals may already be painfully familiar with, so while being read to, they hear a nicer side of humans) and (2) as they listen, animals get used to human voices -- which can be alien to some of them. 

As animals may not be used to human voices, some humans aren’t used to some animal sounds, like cats crying in the night.

Our older cat, Harry, started singing out a few months ago.  To us, he sounded lonely, mournful and maybe in pain.  (Yes, our default reaction to such things is to fear the worst.)  Once when I heard it, I went downstairs to him and carried him upstairs in the dark.  Not smart, or even helpful for the next time.

Harry

After that, I asked a cat specialist-friend about it, spoke with our two cats’ vet and read online about the subject.   

Here are the possible reasons for cats vocalizing at night that seemed most useful to me . . .   

·         Health problems. Have the cat thoroughly examined by a vet asap.  Rule out possible problems like kidney or renal failure or diabetes, and get a thyroid check -- and maybe vision and hearing too.

·         Consider whether the cat might be frustrated or anxious -- maybe from some kind of household change -- or even just bored and wanting attention.

·         Older (“geriatric”) cats could be experiencing Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome, or CDS -- also called “Feline Cognitive Dysfunction,” or FCD -- described as “the onset of dementia-like behavioral changes” in older cats and dogs.  Besides changing their sleep cycle so they sleep more during the day and roam at night, CDS can make cats confused, anxious and disoriented.  

So now, with possible causes known, what can we do to head off nighttime serenades?  Depending on what might be causing the wailing, yowling or caterwauling, try these things:  

·          add a nightlight in the area where the cat sleeps

·          maintain predictability of the cat’s environment and schedule

·          de-clutter the house to eliminate obstacles

·          add litter boxes that are easy to find and get into

·          leave a radio on low so the cat has company

·         be sensitive to heat and humidity in the cat’s area and be generous with extra blankets -- older cats seek warmth  

Lavender

·         increase activity during the day and evening to try and re-establish normal sleeping and waking hours

Assuring a crying cat’s comfort in all possible ways, including practicing compassion and lavishing with love -- that has to be the best overall response. 

Fight USDA blackout

In February 2017, shortly after Trump’s inauguration, the US Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) . “suddenly removed tens of thousands of animal welfare records from its (till then) publicly accessible website.  These documents described violations at federally licensed animal facilities -- including commercial dog breeders, zoos and research labs -- and any resulting enforcement actions taken by the USDA.” 

Totally unilateral, this action has left all those involved with animal welfare in the dark about which facilities are not complying with animal-protection laws and whether the USDA is taking any action against them.  When offenders can continue offending, animals suffer. 

Protest this USDA action by signing the ASPCA’s petition:  www.aspca.org/usdablackout.

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A mix of bad news & glad news about animals

“Cows, just like humans and all other animals, have a strong desire

 to live and enjoy their one time on this planet.” --Susie Coston,

 national shelter director for Farm Sanctuary, speaking about a

 runaway calf who escaped slaughter and hid in a forest for a month,

 then found a home for life.    

So where did we leave off last time?  Oh, right: killing animals.  Let’s see: squirrels first. There was that “1^st annual” squirrel killing contest in Winslow Township that we all prayed would be cancelled.  But, despite fervent pleas from animal advocates and disapproving statements from local politicos and the Camden County Freeholders, it went on. 

When you hear “squirrel killing contest,” do you picture a bunch of caveman types running around with clubs, eager to murder innocent squirrels and maybe win a prize?  Maybe not, although names of the groups involved could suggest that image: Inskip Antler Hunting Club, ACP Redneck Pride, Ted’s Taxidermy.

But now, with discussions about both a Winslow ordinance and a state law banning such sick and cruel events, we hope Winslow’s first ever squirrel killing contest will also be the last one -- no “annual” about it.  (And in the nitpicking department, as morally and ethically wrong as this kill contest was, “1^st annual” is also grammatically wrong. The first ever, or inaugural, event may start a series, but not till the second time around can that event become the “2^nd annual.”)

                                          Catster pic

Let’s alternate animal good news, however minor, with the bad.  Once again, California leads the enlightened pack, this time in requiring pet stores to sell only animals from shelters or rescue groups.  A deserved slap at puppy and kitten mills -- long overdue for penalties and closure -- this law helps assure pet buyers healthy animals and lessens the cruelty of overbred females kept in squalid conditions.    

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/02/us/california-pet-store-rescue-law.html?emc=edit_th_190103&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=207602740103

Which brings us back to the Anthropocene era we humans are busy creating -- the first period in history when the state of the environment and its flora and fauna all results from human activity.  And we’re doing a number on it.

Next up as killing targets: insects.  It’s being called an “Insect Apocalypse,” for good reason: scientists realized only recently that humans have been doing a thorough job of wiping out insects the world over. 

Honey bee

“Because insects are legion, inconspicuous and hard to . . . track,” it took a while for their absence to be noticed, even though “insects are the vital pollinators and recyclers of ecosystems and the base of food webs everywhere.”  So now “attention must be paid”!   

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/27/magazine/insect-apocalypse.html?fallback=0&recId=1FG6mhL1C4XM8GlBejms5WhP7wB&locked=0&geoContinent=NA&geoRegion=NJ&recAlloc=story&geoCountry=US&blockId=signature-journalism-vi&imp_id=435420718&action=click&module=editorsPicks&pgtype=Article&region=Footer

Back to the good news: This story’s about Millie, a traumatized and fearful rescue dog, described as “a broken creature” by her patient, loving adopter.  What Millie suffered in her earlier life is unknown, but the steady love coming her way eventually wins her trust.   

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/27/opinion/rescue-dogs.html

Finally, a fond salute to Mary Oliver, the poet, who died last month.  Besides beautiful poems about nature -- see “Peonies” and “The Summer Day” -- she also wrote, wonderfully for me, about the dogs in her life. As in this poem:

Little Dog’s Rhapsody in the Night

He puts his cheek against mine

and makes small, expressive sounds.

And when I’m awake, or

awake enough

he turns upside down, his four paws

    in the air

and his eyes dark and fervent.

“Tell me you love me,” he says.

“Tell me again.”

Could there be a sweeter

arrangement? Over and over

he gets to ask.

I get to tell.

(from Dog Songs, Penguin Press, 2013)

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/17/obituaries/mary-oliver-dead.html

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Let’s act to end wildlife killing contests (WKCs) in NJ!

Sometimes words fail.  How often can you use these words, sincerely and accurately each time,  and still have them hit as hard as you want them to:  heinous, horrific, hideous, dreadful, shameful, despicable, unconscionable, immoral, unethical, inhumane, murderous, cruel, reprehensible, criminal . . .?

Sometimes, in the midst of the awful things that regularly happen to animals, a form of animal torture that’s new to you takes place.  It’s not accidental and it’s not at all necessary, but for those very reasons, it strikes you as being even worse than other animal cruelty.

In Winslow Township, Camden County, NJ, families are invited to take part in a squirrel-killing contest.  You read it right, unfortunately.  Next Saturday, February 16, squirrels in the area will become targets for family members competing for prizes for killing them.  Who would even think of such a sick thing to do?

Would-be squirrel killers may use guns or bow and arrow -- “Whatever is legal in New Jersey -- this is hunting season,” said the man whose contact info is included on the event flyer.  Weight (overall or single killed squirrel?) will determine prizes.

After the event, will school-age squirrel-killers tell all their classmates about their “family fun” over the weekend?  Then will they grow up believing that killing squirrels is normal or acceptable?  And will their carefully honed homicidal tendencies spread to other animals?  Finally, will they eventually encourage in their own children the same murderous outlook?

 Many people enjoy watching the antics of squirrels, often feeding them too.  But in Winslow Township, people kill squirrels.  For family fun. 

I keep stressing the word family here because that part of this sick event is especially monstrous and repugnant.  Children should not be taught by example that killing animals is a good thing to do, when in fact, it’s a needless and very cruel thing to do!

                                                                                                    APLNJ pic

Instead, Winslow parents and all parents -- who for better or worse are role models for their kids -- should be teaching them to shun such animal cruelty and respect the sanctity of all life.  Children should be learning to respect wildlife and our environment -- not how to kill squirrels for prizes and trophies!

Innocent squirrels should not be killed for “sport” (such a misused word here).  In Winslow, this “1^st annual” killing event is sponsored by Inskip Antler Hunting Club, a private organization, under the banner of the southern region of the NJ State Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs, of all things.  Surprise gifts are offered to “every apprentice hunter who attends” -- with hunting on the decline, this sounds like an effort to create a whole new generation of inhumane adults, a.k.a. hunters.

(Speaking for Winslow Township administration, Mayor Barry Wright wrote in response to my email protesting the killing contest, “. . . neither I nor Winslow Twp. are sponsoring this event nor do we have the legal authority to stop it .”)

This “Squirrel Classic” (nothing “classic” about it except its cruelty!)  is simply un-civilized in 2019, when more and more animal-protection legislation is being passed in New Jersey.  Clearly, Winslow Township is going in the wrong direction.   If the protests over this “1^st annual” event don’t prompt sponsors to cancel their backward idea, Winslow Township deserves to become the target of scorn statewide for permitting such a thing to happen.  

I wrote earlier that this form of animal torture was new to me.  No longer.  The article linked below is all about WKCs -- Wildlife Killing Contests.  Read it and weep.  After that, join the effort to pass legislation that would end these (heinous, horrific, hideous, dreadful, shameful, despicable, unconscionable, immoral, unethical, inhumane, murderous, cruel, reprehensible, criminal . . .) WKCs in New Jersey. 

https://www.humanesociety.org/news/better-alive

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Happy Lunar New Year! 

If only animals could write thank-you notes . . .!

Janine Motta, tabling for animals

“Doom and gloom” about the plight of animals marked my last post here -- and earlier posts too.  I closed by asking if anything can end “this shameful scenario” of animal abuse and misuse all over the world, and pointed to the next post.  Here it is! 

The answer is obvious, of course: only humans can un-do the damage humans have caused.  Only we can make this a better world for animals.

But how bring about significant change for the better?  One way: emulate those who are doing it every day.  Start with someone who has devoted her life to working for animals: Janine Motta, Programs Director with the Animal Protection League of NJ.  

“I learned about animal experimentation in 1988 when I picked up a flier from the NJ Animal Rights Alliance (APL’s original name).   It completely changed my life.  That flier, and all I learned shortly after, affected me deeply.  I became an animal rights activist almost overnight,” she says.

This May, Motta will celebrate 30 years of working for animals with APLNJ.  That overnight conversion really took!

First she volunteered with APLNJ.  A year later, she joined the staff as office manager, and although she moved into the programs director role 10 years ago, she still handles donations and member relations, for instance, as well as payroll and bills.  Motta’s myriad efforts help keep the organization running.  

As programs director, she took on oversight of APL’s programs.  The excellent people who run them need little supervision, she says, so her involvement largely entails touching base, brainstorming and helping as needed.    

With programs that are temporarily inactive, Motta maintains the website for its educational value to readers, and she strategizes outreach methods to reach those who are “hungry for information.”  Just one example: promoting plant-based eating by exposing people to what happens to animals behind the scenes.

Motta

“Tabling” at area events (shown in top photo) is one way to get the word out via printed info and conversations with people there.  In refining APL’s program to help people with vet bills, Motta has built a network of vets to recommend, and she talks with worried pet owners about their options -- “an emotionally taxing” activity.

A typical day for this lifetime animal advocate?   There really isn’t one.  Each day she considers the timing for jobs to be done -- basic and back-burnered things, and then the emergencies.  While she’s aware that callers expect 9-5 phone responsiveness, Motta says she finally learned to take breaks.  Not surprisingly, her work , often on the road, spills over into nights and weekends.

Nor do her efforts for animals end at the office door: she lives with rescued rabbits, cats and chickens, and cares for a small cat colony.  Raised in Clifton, NJ and now based in Hunterdon County,  Motta enjoys the theater as well as outdoor activities like kayaking, hiking and mountain biking.

She also runs a small advocacy group for rabbits, the NJ House Rabbit Society (www.NJHRS.com).  It aims to educate people about properly caring for rabbits, including freeing them from outside hutches and treating them like companions.  The group’s low-cost spay/neuter voucher program is one-of-a-kind. 

As is Janine Motta!   If enough of us applied Motta’s level of passion to our own work for animals, we could make a significant positive difference.       

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(Note to readers: Please suggest other people who also contribute to the welfare of animals in a big way and who deserve to be profiled here.  A comment of a sentence or two will alert me to be in touch with you.  Thanks!)

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