this made me sad this afternoon

sequoia

Fri, Jul 27 2012, 12:57 am

OP, seeing stray cats also makes me sad. There are tons in my neighborhood. It just makes me want to go home and cuddle my cats more. The truth is that I'd love to adopt a few more but it says specifically in my lease that I can't Smile

I guess the landlords know me too well Smile

However, strays generally get the food they need -- people put out food for them, they search in garbage cans, they hunt. The biggest danger to strays is not starvation but cars and illness.

I really wish something could be done, and I understand your feelings of compassion.

On that note, I'd encourage people to find a proper, halachically acceptable way to neuter and spay their pets. It's important.

Dandelion1

Fri, Jul 27 2012, 1:01 am

gp2.0 wrote:

candyheart wrote:

gp2.0 wrote:

candyheart wrote:

black sheep wrote:

manyhats wrote:

Black sheep,

I would guess that if OP is sympathetic to stray animals she would feel more so about humans.

actually, the opposite is usually true. all humans have a natural tendency towards sympathy. but we choose where we put that sympathy. yes, you can feed a stray cat and still be caring towards people. but generally those who wax poetic about the suffering of animals are "yoitze" with that.

That's not true. If there were homeless people in my backyard I would feed them too, for sure.

There are a few charming homeless people in my neighborhood. Unwashed, using money for beer, drunk at 10 in the morning, the whole nine yards. I'm sure they'd love to camp out in your backyard...permanently. Just PM your address, and they'll hitchhike their way over! Twisted Evil

All right, send 'em over....

Thanks for the address. I'm printing it out and taping it to my front gate right now!

Lol.... hold on... is that the doorbell....

amother

Fri, Jul 27 2012, 9:30 am

black sheep wrote:

that is so sad. I mean that you feel that way. for a cat. just today I saw a homeless man going through the garbage can looking for scraps of thrown away food. he took out a starbucks disposable coffee cup and drank the contents. then continued rummaging through the garbage. maybe you should open your eyes to the suffering of people, then you won't be so saddened by a cat doing what cats do.

huh? I'm sorry but what on earth gives you the knowledge that I am not affected by the suffering of people. are you G-d? why not just accept my little post instead of becoming a judge of me? for your information, last week I saw a homeless person and I went to the nearest shop and bought him two sandwiches, an orange juice and some snacks. whenever I see a homeless person I give him food. if there is no shop I give money. and I was going to feed the cat, but I was in a rush and I did not have time to get to a shop and buy a tin of tuna and a tin opener and open it for him. but gosh, one post and suddenly you jump to this horrible conclusion about me. G-d is the judge of me, thank you. unless someone is a known liar or a bad person, it's a good lesson to always look for the positive in anything a person does, and to think highly of people always, rather than rushing to pick out flaws in their character which in this case are invented lies. even G-d does not do that.

moonstone

Fri, Jul 27 2012, 10:40 am

black sheep wrote:

Are you serious? OP isn't allowed to feel sorry for a cat because there are hungry people out there too? So homeless animals don't deserve any sympathy? Who are you to tell her who to feel sorry for?

Also, the fact that OP feels sorry for a cat DOESN'T MEAN that she doesn't feel sorry for people who are suffering! What does one have to do with the other? She saw a hungry cat and felt bad for it, so she wrote a post about it. Why are you turning this into something else entirely?

Your comment was rude, nonsensical, and just...strange. You owe the OP an apology.

WhoAmINow

Fri, Jul 27 2012, 12:43 pm

Quote:

whenever I see a homeless person I give him food

Yasher Kocheich!

A number of years ago I got to thinking about the rule that, if a person asks for shelter, work, money, etc., one is permitted to take the time to investigate the legitimacy of the request, but if someone asks for food, you give it right away and investigate later (if at all). I remembered the story about the beggar who died of starvation while someone was checking whether his request was legitimate.

I asked my rav if this means that it is forbidden to ignore someone holding out a sign that says Need Food. He told me that the rule does not apply to a general sign like that the way it does to a personal request.

But I wanted to do something anyway. I admit that I'm reluctant to give money in a situation like that; I never feel confident that I'm not actually harming the person, by enabling them to do something self-destructive. (On the other hand, I never assume that I am, either.) So what I did was start carrying boxes of saltines in the car -- except on Pesach, of course; then it's matzah. When I see someone holding a sign asking for help, I offer the crackers. I'm always careful to speak respectfully; I usually call them "Neighbor". Still, not everyone accepts; a very few are even unpleasant about being offered food rather than money. But mostly they are pleased. To my delight, other people in town have started doing this too.

Obviously this wouldn't work if it weren't that I'm almost always in a car when I see someone like this. I sometimes think that, if I were usually walking, I might get a somewhat bigger purse (oy!) and use one compartment to hold a few boxes of raisins or something like that. In fact I originally carried raisins in the car, until one recipient told me that unfortunately they became inedible pretty quickly, at least for her: her teeth weren't in great shape, and due to the heat in the car the raisins got so hard they were practically crunchy. So I switched to the saltines, which don't go bad and (yes, it's a consideration) are pretty cheap.

[ps: I don't mean to disregard the original issue. I'm sorry you were sad. I send you a hug, and I do hope the kitty will be fine.]

sequoia

Fri, Jul 27 2012, 1:05 pm

amother wrote:

black sheep wrote:

black sheep must have been in a mood or something. Don't pay attention Smile

Obviously caring for animals doesn't mean you DON'T care about people. Otherwise ever single person on the planet who volunteers in an animal shelter, works as a vet, or even has a dog or cat or fish at home would a horrible, awful, uncompassionate person who doesn't care about others. Every single person. All those of us on the pets forum? We couldn't give a toss about the suffering of people!

Clearly absurd Smile

black sheep

Fri, Jul 27 2012, 1:11 pm

amother wrote:

black sheep wrote:

no need to attack me. whoa. are you the only one entitled to an opinion? if my opinion is different than yours, that makes it wrong? you feel sad by a hungry cat. I feel sad by misplaced sadness. I completely understand wanting to feed a stray cat. and I know the feeling of a cute puppy melting your heart. but I guess there is a big difference between providing food and shelter for animals, and letting your heart break over their plight. the latter should be reserved for people in need. I guess you missed the main point of my post, that it is one thing to recognize an animal in need, but waxing poetic about their suffering, taking out a little violin and crying over their poor, sad lives, well THAT is what I find sad. that is misplaced sympathy.

black sheep

Fri, Jul 27 2012, 2:11 pm

sequoia wrote:

black sheep wrote:

sequoia wrote:

black sheep, could you try to make your point without needlessly hurting others? Smile

well I thought so, but I guess you feel otherwise.

Not just I.

You're a good person. But you can be needlessly hurtful at times.

We should all try not to get personal when we make a point. "You don't care about people" is really personal, really unnecessary, and kind of ridiculous since you don't know the OP.

agreed that would be ridiculous. and no where did I say that. I'm not being hurtful just because I disagree with OP.

I see why this can be tricky. OP is pouring out her heart over a hungry cat. I consider this misplaced sympathy. it looks to OP and sequioa and others that I am picking on OP when she is a bit heartbroken. but in fact I am picking on the idea that she is heartbroken in this area at all, not on the OP herself. I love OP. if she were in my backyard, I would feed her.
and for the record, I have a stray cat that often hangs out in my backyard. my kids pet it. we give it food. I am not a heartless cat hater. some of my best friends are cats.

sequoia

Fri, Jul 27 2012, 2:15 pm

black sheep wrote:

sequoia wrote:

black sheep wrote:

sequoia wrote:

black sheep, could you try to make your point without needlessly hurting others? Smile

well I thought so, but I guess you feel otherwise.

I don't think you're a cat hater at all Smile

I think you're hurting PEOPLE'S feelings, which is ironic.

Re-read what you wrote.

It's good to let a post sit a little before posting. You may decide to edit.

marshmellow

Fri, Jul 27 2012, 3:45 pm

give him a home.. I've got two cats and they are pretty easy to take care of Smile

the cat might not have been a stray. you say it was a residential road. maybe he was just walking around. cats rarely stay in the house for long periods. quite resilient creatures.
I agree with the person who said the way a person treats animals is indicative of something.. especially when someone (or children) are either very loving, or cruel, to animals.

you are a good person op, really admire you

Last edited by marshmellow on Sun, Jul 29 2012, 12:23 pm; edited 1 time in total

moonstone

Sat, Jul 28 2012, 2:36 pm

black sheep wrote:

amother wrote:

black sheep wrote:

Wow. I was curious to see if you'd apologized...but on the contrary, you were even more nasty than before. I didn't think it was possible, but you only made things worse. Quit while you're behind. Seriously. I feel very bad for the OP, whose feelings you've probably really hurt, and for no good reason. Your posts on this thread have been unnecessarily mean and hurtful.

imamiri

Sun, Jul 29 2012, 1:15 pm

black sheep wrote:

manyhats wrote:

Black sheep,

I would guess that if OP is sympathetic to stray animals she would feel more so about humans.

Hmmm. Guess you are not right about me. I'm a vegetarian and abhor animal cruelty. I am also very active (read: do more than whinge or throw money at the problem) in helping homeless people as well.

People who can easily and carelessly deal with animals are only steps away from treating humans the same.

IMO, PETA is as an extreme example meant to close the argument. PETA is cruel towards animals too (look up their kill history for abandoned pets) and is pretty much just a political action group at this point.

If you think it is impossible to care about animal AND human suffering, maybe your heart is a bit too small.