Friday, July 1, 2011

like pieces of garbage

A few weeks ago, I was biking down Falls Road. I'm using the "bike lanes" these days which brings me right next to Baltimore Bicycle Works. As I was passing the shop, I noticed a small orange tabby (OT) cat hanging out near the not-yet-opened shop. As I often do, I stopped to say hi to the kitty. He immediately flopped over for belly and chest rubs. He was filthy, un-neutered and ridiculously sweet - all signs of an abandoned cat. When I got home, I emailed someone I knew from the shop and she said that though she'd been away, her co-workers had mentioned that the kitten had wandered into the shop a couple of days ago and she'd keep me posted about whether he returns. I was prepared to shoulder the expense of having him neutered (which is relatively inexpensive at Hampden Pet Health). A few days later, I stopped by the shop and asked the dude working about the cat. He said he'd brought food for the cat hoping to figure out what to do with the little guy but thus far, the cat hadn't returned. As far as I know, the cat's gone. I bike that path often and I have been keeping an eye out for the little guy. Not doing anything for him in the moment has been haunting me. I'm hoping that someone took him in and that he wasn't hit by a car or eaten by some of the predators that lurk around those parts.

Falls Road is home to a variety of suspicious activity. My last visit, I was biking down it and noticed a trash bag in the middle of the road. This isn't completely unusual as many people think that the thick bush is a perfect dumping ground for their garbage. When I was biking back, it was clear that several people had run into/over the garbage bag. It was then that I noticed that the bag had a dirty litter box in it. Okay. The next time I biked by it, probably the next day, not only did I see the litter box but big tufts of grey fur. Yes, someone wrapped a cat in a big garbage bag with its filthy litter box and threw it into the middle of the road. I prayed that the cat was already dead before someone did that. It's unlikely. This breaks my heart.

In looking for OT yesterday, I spied with my little eye a black fuzzy cat (ala Gordon) lounging on the streetcar tracks outside the Baltimore Streetcar Museum. The cat noticed me right away and kept its eyes locked on me. I've seen a feral or two in that area and figured that I could count this kitty among them. Nope. Black kitty cat (BKC) got right up, came over, flopped on its back and let me pet its chin and belly while it purred and cooed and rubbed. BKC was mostly skin and bones and its longish fur was matted, as often happens with stray long hair cats. Recalling OT, I just couldn't ignore this cat. I made some frantic calls to no avail. I pet the kitty for a while and then noticed a long-haired calico, then a white and orange male tabby, then a tiger striped tabby, then a grey and white kitty who is clearly on death's door - drippy eyes, ears that go this way and that. All of them seemed to be waiting for food.

I biked home, grabbed a big tupperware container of food that my spoiled cats have rejected, and trekked back to the museum. When I got there, there was an older fella sitting on the bench outside the museum shop feeding the cats. He said he feeds them a few times a week, less so in the winter. They were clearly happy to see him and very hungry. He said he was unable to come to feed them on Fridays and Tuesdays. So, I guess that's my job now.

More on the commitment of maintaining a feral colony in another post.

Moral of the story: I just cannot fathom the way people treat animals. I am aware that I'm probably a bit overly sentimental about it. But it simply breaks my heart to see that kind of suffering.