Australian Cats and Other Oddities

2004-07-13 Aussie Catnip Controversy

Are all Australian cats immune to the charms of catnip?
So inquires investigator Len X. Finegold. This involves a question of genetics. For background on the matter, see
http://www.thedailycat.com/mind/happycat/archive/heavenly_catnip/

Is it true that Australian cats don’t react to catnip?

Well, I finally saw “Fahrenheit 911” over the weekend. I’m rather torn, since I found quite a bit worth talking about in the movie, and yet I avoid putting anything of potential inflammatory content in my public diary entries. Some of the safer comments I can make:

 I was pleased (and very surprised) that Michael Moore was less “in your face” than he was in “Roger and Me” and in “Bowling for Columbine”. In these previous two movies he managed to bring himself into the controversy, making the movies less about his subject matter and more about him as the subject. Moore is definitely present in “Fahrenheit 911”, but he’s more willing to let the people on screen to speak for themselves, without attempting to put words in their mouth or spinning the words they do say. That isn’t to say that he doesn’t do any of that in this movie, but he manages to keep it far lower key than in previous opuses.
 No matter how biased he is, Moore has done some impressive research for this movie. He’s come up with historic photographs and video that I had not seen before. Some things, like how the Patriot Act was ever passed in the first place and why we invaded Iraq are clearer to me now. And yes, before anyone jumps down my throat on this one, I am aware that I got a biased, one-sided approach to this. And yes, I am aware that Moore omitted some facts, and only told some partial truths in some places. But fitting what he said with what I already knew, some things did fall into place for me.
 Regardless of whether or not you ultimately agree with Moore, he brings up some valid points that deserve consideration. It doesn’t matter whether or not you agree with Moore. What matters is listening to both sides of this issue, and then deciding on your own what to believe and how to feel. Do I like Michael Moore? No, not really. I don’t like people who make arguments with battering rams. But if you go into the movie with your bullshit filter firmly in place, and sift through all the rhetoric, you’ll find that there is a solid base of facts worth considering, and that there are a lot of open questions that could stand to be answered.

Bottom line, I surprise myself by recommending the movie. I’ve spoken to people who have told me that they will refuse to see the movie. I think that is a mistake. If you agree that the war is wrong, you will find additional information to back your opinion. If you support the war, you will gain a better understanding of why people oppose it, and that’s half the battle of working up a cogent refutation to their arguments. The cries of “War is wrong” or “If my president says it, then it must be right” simply don’t cut it any more. Sometimes war is not wrong. And sometimes the President can be in error, or have ulterior motives not necessarily in the best interests of the country.

Saturday I did a few hours work for the local cat shelter I’ve gotten involved with. The town one over from mine had a pet fair, and I manned the booth for our shelter for the morning hours. We brought three of our adoptable kittens with us and set them up in our KittyWalk. Here’s a picture from Foster and Smith’s online catalogue:

We threw a tarp over one end, so the kitties would have shade and a place to escape from inquisitive little (and not so little) fingers poking at them. The three seemed to love the attention, though the two little grey tabbies slept through much of the excitement. A little orangehead named Leo spent his time basking in the limelight, though, and spent as much time out of the KittyWalk on his foster mom’s shoulder as he did behind the netting. We sold raffle tickets for a basket full of kitty treats, and talked to people about pet adoption. Unfortunately, it’s kitten season, and our kitties had competition from some of the other booths that also had kittens for adoption. The place I work with is stricter than some, and requires you to complete rather extensive adoption paperwork, including providing pet references. We also ask for a $45 adoption fee for kittens ($50 for adult cats), although that has been waived, depending on circumstances.

I had been asked to push our new “Support a cat” program. For $10/month you can help support a cat in foster care until it can find a new home. A picture of your cat, as well as a monthly letter from your cat, will go to the supporter. We’ve been promoting it as a way for someone to help can’t outright adopt a cat but would like a cat. I fear the $10/month price is a little steep though, and I wasn’t able to find any takers Saturday morning. I’m thinking of talking to a couple of the directors about offering a smaller version of this, where for perhaps $40 someone could get a picture and one letter of thank-you from their foster cat. I’m also going to suggest that we purchase five or so KittyWalks, and have them on hand for our next fund-raiser. We could have sold half a dozen of those things on Saturday. If we buy a few, and then mark them up twenty dollars or so, we’d rake in a fair profit for the cats.

I’m still waiting on the profile questionnaire that the vet from the state was going to forward to me. I’ve had other potential opportunities to leave my job for a new position before, but none have excited my imagination like the current chance has. I think a good part of the reason for this is that I’m burned out from work at the moment. I’m not getting much cooperation from the departments I work most closely with, and I’m tired of handling everybody else’s attitudes. I’m too busy handling my own.

I am eager to at least interview for this position, and see if it is something I could see me doing long term. I’m anxious to start adding some experience other than that I’ve already had to my repertoire. To be honest, I’m eager for the ego boost I’ll get from being able to introduce myself as Dr. Salamander, with the new title that would go with the position.

Part of me is getting ready to move on. I hope that part isn’t too disappointed if this doesn’t pan out.