It wasn’t the first dead cat I’ve seen on the road. At first glance, it looked so peaceful you might have thought it was asleep. But it wasn’t. The tiny, lifeless body was stretched out in the middle of busy
It wasn’t the first dead cat I’ve seen on the road.
At first glance, it looked so peaceful you might have thought it was asleep.
But it wasn’t.
The tiny, lifeless body was stretched out in the middle of busy Kuhio Highway.
Sandwiched as I was between speeding cars in Friday morning traffic, I couldn’t slow down to see the extent of its injuries. But I knew they must have been significant. The little cat probably never stood a chance.
It may not have been the first dead cat I’ve seen on the road, but for some reason its image stayed with me long after I passed on my way to work.
Its coloring reminded me of Princess, our family’s scrubby little calico. Color was the only thing they had in common. Their daily lives were worlds apart.
Princess moved in after my grandson fell in love with her at a neighborhood pet shop.
She was so homely, his parents tried to convince him that the world was full of much prettier kittens.
But Dustyn’s mind was made up. She was the one he wanted. Beaming from ear-to-ear, he proudly carried “Princess” all the way home.
He was so tickled with his new friend, he didn’t even notice that family members meeting her for the first time rolled their eyes and hid a smile before congratulating him.
He cheerfully agreed to add “Scrubbette” to his cat’s name, oblivious to the fact that in a roundabout way, it labeled her a “scrub.” We resigned ourselves to Princess Scrubbette’s presence and hoped her looks would improve with age.
Dustyn, it turns out, was a great judge of character. Princess will never be the prettiest cat on the island, but she’s definitely one of the sweetest.
She purrs if you hold her. She purrs if you brush past her. She even purrs when she’s dangling by her neck from a toddler’s arms.
Her life is carefree and full of fun. Her pal, Dustyn, may be only 5 years old, but he rarely forgets to feed her.
That’s his job and he takes it pretty seriously.
The ultimate proof of her secure status in the family came just last week when Princess took a long ride (in a bird cage) to Salt Pond to be “fixed.” Now she will forever be the only little Scrubbette running around in our yard.
Friday’s Kuhio Highway casualty will never know how it feels to have a family love her like Princess’ does.
Obviously, that cat was abandoned and left to fend for itself in the wild.
There were no homes nearby that it might have wandered away from.
Animal lovers, especially everyone involved with the Kaua’i Humane Society, are untiring in their efforts to educate people about the importance of having pets spayed or neutered to prevent the birth of unwanted litters.
It must be frustrating for them to think about the number of helpless and innocent kittens and puppies still being tossed out of pickup trucks in remote areas by people who don’t care.
Animal advocates are often accused of putting pets before people. Some probably do, knowing animals need all the help they can get.
I love animals. I love people, too. I’m proud of my family for doing the right thing. I’m happy to know that they won’t be compounding Kaua’i’s pet overpopulation problem or abandoning unwanted kittens on some back road.
I urge those who don’t bother to consider the consequences of their irresponsibility to take a good, long look at the next dead cat or dog they see in the middle of the road. It may look familiar. You may have helped to put it there.
Eventually, I’ll forget about what I saw last Friday. After all, it wasn’t the first dead cat I’ve seen on the road.
Sadly, it probably won’t be the last.
Rita De Silva can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 241) or rdesilva@pulitzer.net.
