Giving up a cat because of a child

This is an article about a woman who had to give up her cat because her son was severely allergic. I think she was as responsible as she could be - her son was suffering, and she had found a new home with her brother.

What DOES bother me though are the people who still think that just in 'case' a child is allergic, an animal should be tossed out of the house. I remember a couple who came to adopt a cat. The then-fiancee was obviously less interested in the cat but was agreeable to the adoption. Things got worse after they got married - and the minute they had a baby, the cat was tossed out. Not because the baby was allergic - just because it was a cat and it had to go.

People often wonder why it is that children seem more allergic these days than in the past - as many of you know if you've been reading the blog long enough, I think it has to do with desensitisation. Farm studies seem to back this up.

Neuroscience with cats!

I found this link via Sarah - enjoy!

Fresh Air Fund

Sara wrote to ask if I'd post this on my blog and though I told her most of you are probably in Singapore, I told her I'd be happy to help. This seems like a nice idea - for children in the inner city who have not had a chance to experience anything other than a very urban setting, be it the beach or the countryside. I have to say that while Singapore is much greener than many inner cities, that a lot of our children also grow up in very urban environments. It's good to know that there are however the parks and nature trails available in Singapore. We are fortunate that greenery isn't far out for most children and that almost everyone can experience the outdoors, whether it be the beach or a nature walk.

Possibilities

I am glad to read that this writer felt that more humane methods should be used than killing pigeons - and that is the main thing. However, the argument that just because something hasn't happened doesn't mean it won't happen in the future means that we will eventually live in fear of everything. If we don't discount ANY possibility just in case it happens, then I think it's going to be difficult to even leave the house every morning.

Consider this - just because your colleague doesn't spread some massively contagious and dangerous disease to you today doesn't mean it won't happen tomorrow. Similarly, just because we haven't seen aliens attack Earth doesn't mean it won't happen. Can these things happen? Of course - but how likely are they to happen? In the meantime, you're far more likely to be killed in a car crash then you are by some as yet unknown and non-existent pigeon disease.

Cats at care community

Cats at care community, originally uploaded by dawnkua.

This morning I went down to a care community - a senior living community. It's a beautiful place with huge gardens and wide open spaces. There are also many facilities including a full dining room and function rooms. They also have regular movie screenings, music performances and speakers who come in. I walked around with one of the caregivers and she seemed to know most of the people there. One of the nice things about this place is that if someone should move in and run into financial difficulties, they have a fund to ensure that no one has to move out.

It is also home to several cats. I went down to speak with some of the caregivers about getting all the cats sterilised. Several of the cats have already been done - but there are still a few that haven't been sterilised yet. Now the challenge will be getting the ones that are more trap shy and handling some of the issues that have arisen. One of those issues is that some of the cats have had kittens in the roofs of some of the homes. Another is the location of the feeding spots.

Here are some of the caregivers watching the Alley Cat Allies video. I was also treated to a delicious home cooked meal by one of the caregivers - which goes to show caregivers are hospitable to all :)

X-Files cat

X-Files, originally uploaded by dawnkua.

Wonderful print that a friend got me - you can see some more of the prints at this website!