By The Way, Which One's Pink?

[anarchist_nomad]

Back in Oxford again... this time with no plans to leave until Friday.

Spent the bulk of yesterday in London having a day that mixed fun and frustration. The frustration part came first. I drove out to Battersea to register with the Battersea Dogs & Cats Home and get the ball rolling towards adopting a new kitten into our home. I may have well not bothered and saved myself the trouble. The Battersea Dogs & Cats Home will not adopt a kitten to us because of an insurmountable philosophical difference. To wit: they will not adopt a kitten to a family that will keep it indoors, believing that cats are "wild animals" and will not be happy if they are not allowed outside. Meanwhile, none of our cats have ever been allowed to roam outside, as we believe that cars and other hazards pose too much of a threat. The "wild animal" argument is bollocks -- you don't adopt "wild animals" into your home. Cats are domesticated and if they were truly "wild animals," the shelter need not worry so much about people who let their cats go unattended[*]. I appreciate that the Home screens applicants carefully to make sure that their cats are going to a good home. However, this is beyond a question of providing a "good home" and is simply them being overly dogmatic[**]. I have known plenty of cats -- including some of our own -- who live their entire lives indoors and are quite happy[***]. No cat I have ever known has been happier than Foxy as she cuddled next to cheshcat or me on the couch, or Stumpy as she gets her daily dose of scritching, or The Boy just about all the time[****]. Feh. So that was a waste of my time.

The day did get better, though -- that is where the fun part comes in. In the evening, I made my way to North Greenwich to see Roger Waters perform at the Millennium Dome. I have seen him perform several times before -- at Jones Beach in 1999; in Providence, RI in 2000; at at Madison Square Garden in 2000[*****] -- but it has been many years. So off I went to the ugly-as-hell Dome to go to the show. The first act was a nice selection of songs, both from Pink Floyd and his solo work:

1. In The Flesh (The Wall)
   
2. Mother (The Wall)
   
3. Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun (A Saucerful of Secrets)
   
4. Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Wish You Were Here)
   
5. Have A Cigar (Wish You Were Here)
   
6. Wish You Were Here (Wish You -- oh, you figure it out!)
   
7. Southampton Dock (The Final Cut)
   
8. The Fletcher Memorial Home (The Final Cut)
   
9. Perfect Sense, Part One (Amused To Death)
   
10. Perfect Sense, Part Two (Amused To Death)
    
11. Leaving Beirut (not on an album)
    
12. Sheep (Animals)

The second act was, quite simply, The Dark Side of the Moon. I have never heard the album live before. It was... spectacular. For the encore, Waters and company played several songs from The Wall:

1. The Happiest Days Of Our Lives
   
2. Another Brick In The Wall, Part Two
   
3. Vera
   
4. Bring The Boys Back Home
   
5. and, to finish it all off: Comfortably Numb

Twas indeed a great concert! The enormous video screen in the back of the stage was artfully used, with a variety of images that enhanced the music. Most noteworthy was a comic-book sequence that illustrated the true story told in "Leaving Beirut." As one might expect from a Pink Floyd show, there was a floating pig above the audience at one point. At a different point -- during "Perfect Sense, Part One" -- there was also a floating astronaut. Very cool! As one would also expect from Pink Floyd, there was an abundance of pyrotechnics on the stage -- explosions, fireworks, et cetera -- and dramatic use of lighting. The most stunning example of this was a gigantic three dimensional rotating manifestation of the Dark Side of the Moon logo at the top of the stadium at the end of the second act... all made out of brilliant lights!

So the concert did a lot to easy the grouchy mood that the Battersea folks left me with, and it made my trip into London worthwhile. I eventually got back to Skullcrusher Mountain around 2am and collapsed into bed with cheshcat and The Boy soon after. It was a little odd to see Waters perform without The Kiddo this time... but he and I have plans to meet in New York to see Billy Joel's "Last Play At Shea" in less than two months, so that gives me something else musically themed to look forward to.

---

[*] I have also heard people use the "wild animal" argument as justification before when they are tired of caring for their cat, so they just dump it outside. This is a pathetic excuse for a truly reprehensible behaviour.

[**] Ignore the potential for making a pun here, please. Really, it just isn't worth it.

[***] There is also a cultural effect going on here, as most people I know in the UK think it is weird to keep indoor cats, while most cat carers I know in the US keep their cats wholly indoors.

[****] Before Foxy and Totoro died, anyway. Now that he is alone for the first time in his life, he is noticeably less cheerful. The Boy is a very social cat, which is one of the reasons why I want to find him a kitten quite urgently.

[*****] Where, by some stroke of luck, The Kiddo and I ended up scoring some incredibly good floor seats!

Comments

[ms-katonic.livejournal.com]

It is a cultural thing - dr_d's cats have outdoor access. They're both about 6-ish. My grandparents' cats were both allowed outside, and neither died young (it was cancer killed them in the end, I think). And I personally would not feel any guilt about allowing adult cats I might own outside access presuming they'd been neutered and vaccinated thoroughly, the place had access to the outside world for them, and I wasn't on a main road. And if my home was not suitable for outdoor cats... I probably wouldn't get a cat at all. None of which is a judgement on your decisions - your circumstances are different. Your cats have never been outside so would not be able to cope, and your flat's not remotely suitable for outdoor cats - no direct access and it's on the main road out of Oxford! It would be an extremely bad idea for you to let any cat living there outside! It all comes down to individual circumstances, and yours point to indoor cats.

Hope you can find a more flexible shelter - they do exist, I'm sure, and Battersea's have gone down in my estimation for being that insistent. If I'd known about the policy, I wouldn't have suggested them. I'm sorry, hon. Next place you visit, emphasise you live on a busy main road and there's a really good chance any cat you let outside would get run over. Better yet, ring and ask about their policy in advance. Good luck, sweetie.

[anarchist-nomad.livejournal.com]

If I'd known about the policy, I wouldn't have suggested them. I'm sorry, hon.

No problem. I asked for suggestions and you gave me what sprang to mind. It isn't your fault that they are too rigid and unreasonably dogmatic, putting their policies ahead of the actual good of the cats.

Next place you visit, emphasise you live on a busy main road and there's a really good chance any cat you let outside would get run over. Better yet, ring and ask about their policy in advance.

I will definitely ask about this policy from any other shelter before I go there! I have no desire whatsoever to waste another afternoon chasing shadows (and enduring insults). I would have asked this time... except that it did not even remotely occur to me that protecting one's furry charges could disqualify one from being considered "suitable" people for adoption. Feh.

P.S. With regards to "I personally would not feel any guilt about allowing adult cats I might own outside access", I should point out that one does not own a cat -- or any other animal. One lives with cats, one cares for cats... but one does not own animals. They are thinking beings, not property. Just sayin'