Thailand is currently facing its worst flooding in 50 years. Flood waters have swamped more than two-thirds of the country, submerging rice fields and shutting down hundreds of factories while over 900,000 families and businesses have been impacted and hundreds of lives have been tragically lost. National relief efforts are now focused on providing essential food, clean water and shelter to displaced people and restoring damaged infrastructure to the Kingdom of Smiles and including animals !
Some cats and dogs was lucky. They can leave the place with their owners.
But not all of them were lucky like this !
Some were street dogs and feral cats who had found shelter and a bit of food at local temples and stayed since their basic needs were met and they were not harassed by those living at the temples. This is posing a bigger problem for rescuers trying to get them away from the flood waters as many of these dogs and cats are not used to such close contact and interaction with people forcing rescuers to create makeshift muzzles to keep the scared dogs from biting them as they are brought to safety.
There are several organizations that have mobilized around Thailand to help bring aid to the animals in need. Some are putting together care packages for the pets and their families and bringing them to their homes because there is no access to stores or food supplies. Other organizations are going out and bringing in as many cats and dogs as they can. The organizations are then getting them veterinary help if necessary, getting them vaccinated, and then to government shelters were they will hopefully be adopted.
Here’s Maksim after the world war II, looking for a handout.
A family in Leningrad had a cat named Maksim and a parrot called Jack. During the German siege of the city, almost every day, their uncle, who lived with them, wanted to make a meal of the cat, and each time the rest of the family went out, they always locked the cat into the storeroom. As time passed, the cat grew malnourished and sickly because of poor food. Once, Maksim managed to jump onto the cupboard and opened the cage that the parrot Jack lived in. The family thought that the cat would eat Jack, but instead of doing so, the two pets huddled up to one another for warmth and fell asleep. After that, the uncle didn’t try to make anything bad to the cat. The parrot died soon afterwards, but Maksim lived until 1957, dying of old age.
Animal-assisted therapy, whether formally administered via prison programs or informally through the adoption of feral cats, can have a transformative effect on inmates.
At many prisons, inmates have experienced a metamorphosis as a result of their interactions with cats. The following are some particularly noteworthy examples of the benefits of pet therapy at correctional institutions.
The Cat Program at Saxierriet Prison
Saxierriet penitentiary in Switzerland has implemented an innovative pet therapy program called the Cat Program through which inmate volunteers are provided with a pet cat. Strict regulations are enforced to ensure the welfare of these therapy animals, and inmates may take their pets with them when they are released.
Having trustworthy, nonjudgmental companions has reduced the loneliness of participating inmates. Taking care of an animal is the only socially acceptable way of showing affection in prison, and the opportunity to do so has made the prisoners more receptive to psychological treatment. A study of participants found that they had higher self-esteem and self-confidence as a result of the program.
The Feral Cat Colony at Pollsmoor Prison
Pollsmoor Prison, a South African maximum security facility housing a large number of hardcore criminals, is also home to a feral cat colony whose members have had a transformative effect on the inmates.
Prisoners first invited the starving feral cats into their cells by hanging sheets from their windows for the cats to climb and sharing their food with them. Rita Brock and Mandy Wilson of The Emma Animal Rescue Society (TEARS), who originally came to rescue feral cats in the area that local authorities planned to eradicate, now have the ongoing responsibility of working with the prisoners and wardens to ensure that the cats receive sufficient food and medical care.
Pollsmoor inmate Wayne Hutchinson says of his cat Spookies, “she’s totally stolen my heart and changed my life around....I was abused as a child, and she has taught me how to love and learn the errors of my ways” (Sandy Robins,“The Cats of Pollsmoor Prison,” Cat Fancy Magazine - reprinted 16 April 2009 by Linda Tellington-Jones).
To read the full story of the Pollsmoor Prison cats, visit Tellington-Jones’ website.
The Cat Program at Indiana State Prison
Cat Behaviourist Diana Korten visited the Indiana State prison to interview inmates and staff about their cat program. Korten notes that it was the cats that initiated the program when they made their way onto the prison grounds and began having kittens there.
Indiana State is a maximum security facility and many of the offenders are in for murder, but the men are fiercely protective of their cats. They construct elaborate cat furniture, make cat toys, and take excellent care of their charges, cat-sitting for one another as needed. The prisoners receive unconditional love from their pets and believe that the cats have changed them in positive ways, reducing their anger and increasing their capacity for self-control.
Inmate James Stone confided to Korten, “I have a temper. One time some things happened and I was feeling pretty serious about doing something....But Raol put Jinxster in my arms, and I just held him until I didn’t need to do something anymore....During my first 15 years here, I was trouble....But Jinx changed all that. I’m a different person now.”
Administrator Vince Morton told Korten, “I’ve been here for over 25 years, and I have seen a lot of offenders transformed by the cats.” The program costs the taxpayers nothing – prisoners pay all cat-related expenses through work programs or family support.
To read the full article on this remarkable program and its effects, visit Diana Korten's Cat Odyssey blog.
The Pen Pals Program at Pocahontas Correctional Unit
The Chesterfield, VA, Pocahontas Correctional Unit Pen Pals program enables trusted inmates to care for abandoned feral cats. Participants socialize the cats, after which they are adopted out.
Pet cats that found themselves homeless after Hurricane Katrina were also cared for by the Pen Pals. The inmates were happy to help the sick, traumatized animals, and to do something tangible for the hurricane relief effort (Associated Press, 19 October, 2005, “Inmates Welcome Cats Orphaned by Katrina”).
The Cats of Bang Kwang Prison
Bang Kwang Prison in Thailand, like many other prisons, has become a gathering place for abandoned feral cats. Lonely inmates, many of them in jail for life, are comforted by the 700 feral cats that live on the prison grounds.
A warden at the prison said “with these cats around, inmates with brutal crimes such as murder have reduced much of their aggression and become gentler.” The cats are particularly popular among former gunmen. According to one, “when I first arrived here, I was very edgy, so full of worries and bad tempers rushing in and out. But when I began raising and playing with these cats, my mind grew calmer.” In addition to having a positive effect on the inmates, the cats earn their keep by eliminating prison rats (MCOT English News, 23 July 2008, “Bang Kwang Inmates Find Comfort in Cats’ Company”).
What happens when you set 100 cats loose in an IKEA furniture store after all the customers have gone home? Well, predictably, you'll get some fur on the couches and linens, you'll have a few kitty swatting matches and you just may end up needing to punch a hole in a hollow wall to remove a wayward cat that somehow managed to climb inside. That's all par for the course.
It's also the idea behind a new IKEA commercial that is, however obliquely, intended to sell furniture and uses the company's new tagline, "Happy Inside." The advertising firm behind the commercial, London-based Mother, also released a "making-of" video, above, that has proven to be more popular than the commercial itself, garnering more than 2 million views on YouTube in just two weeks.
The making-of clip, titled "Herding Cats," is "an ingenious piece of meta-advertising that includes its audience in (some of) the details of its own production," The Guardian's Leo Benedictus wrote in a review. He sums up the campaign:
What they say: "Happy inside"
What it means: "Advert, what advert? ... Oh look! Cats!"
According to Mother, the commercial and the "Herding Cats" clip are "part of an integrated campaign with elements that launch later this month," including an opportunity for IKEA customers to guess the piece of furniture a cat is sitting on to win the item. "The idea behind the work is that cats know better than anything what makes them feel happy inside, they live their lives in pursuit of their own comfort," Feh Tarty, Mother's creative director, told The Guardian.
After the jump, see the finished commercial, complete with woozy music by U.K. singer-songwriter Mara Carlyle. Or, more succinctly: "Oh look! Cats!"
Now Human intruded our cat world by using the digital camera hanging on our neck. But lots of us become to be famous even have an feline exhibition to show the pictures which took by us cats.
This weekend the mystical moon cat club will hold a cat show in Port Richey, but there's on cat that's really turning some heads. This Guinness Records cat holds a record as one of the largest cats ever.
San Diego's world famous Cats' House is open to the public. Admissions benefit the FACE Foundation, a non-profit that provides financial assistance to pet owners who are unable to partically or fully cover the cost of their pets' life-saving veterinary care.
Special Preview
Saturday, April 17th, 6:30-8:30 PM
$30 for individual tickets, $50 for couples
Admission includes free print and behind-the-scenes tour
Open Cat's House
Sunday, April 18th, 1-4 PM, Admission $5, children under 5 free
Bob Walker will be signing The Cats' House book both Saturday and Sunday
Angelenos can get to San Diego by car, or by Amtraak, whose Surfliner trains take approximately 2 hours and 45 minutes to get to San Diego from Los Angeles' Union Station. The Cats House is approximately 6.72 miles from the train station.
