Fun of Cats and Licenses

Anybody that has ever owned a cat knows that a cat will do as it pleases. I own two wonderful cats that definetly have their own personality. Ashes, our calico, is the definition of a curious cat, loves to be in everything, chases a laser light and loves to lie on her back. Buddy is my scaredy cat, jumps at the slightest noise but he's also the biggest cuddler and a very loud purrer. Together they chase each other around the house and attack each other in a way that can only make a person laugh.

They both like to go outside, though Buddy prefers to sit under the patio set, eat some grass and watch the world go by. Ashes, on the other hand, is very active, talking to the birds, sometimes catching the birds and she even had a snake cornered once. Being as my husband and I both have had animals hit on the road before, we try to let our cats out only on leases. This has worked surprisingly well. Ashes will even "walk" on a leash, much like a dog and doesn't seem to mind it overall.

The problem we have run into, as any cat owner in Le Mars has probably run into, is the licesning of cats. I don't think the license thing is such a bad idea. It's nice to know that if your animal gets loose, he can be found and returned to you. This is especially great with dogs. However, with cats I don't think this law was as well thought out. Most cat collars now a days are designed to break if the cat gets snagged on a branch or something else. This prevents the cat from choking itself, and can save it's life. Because our cats go out on leashes, they both wear harnesses, which do not break away and should be good if they dart out the door before we catch them. Even so, the other day Ashes was out on her leash, walked around a pole several times and was able to wriggle out of her harness and go have a "fun day."

Ashes always comes home, but the point is, if somebody would snag her, she would not have her tags on her. They could keep her, thinking she was a stray (a well fed stray, but a stray) or they could turn her in to the vet and we would get fined for not having tags on our animals, when in fact we did everything in our power to have tags on our cat.

Hopefully I don't have to worry about it, but it is an afterthought for people to think about. So next time you find a "stray" cat, please remember it might be somebody's cat that "escaped" it's identity and is loved by someone near.