 Hello there, it's Thursday at noon. I know it is Do you remember our arrangement Thursdays at noon on CFUV Are you ready to get started? What do you have in mind? What I want to do now is called first-person plural You make it sound excessively attractive That's what I have in mind It seems like a simple idea at the time we had done a dog show So why not give equal time to cats? We could ask people how do you know someone as a cat person? And then talk about how people identify with their pets and the ways in which people divide the world between cat people and Dog people we thought about it meeting dog owners is not difficult at all Especially in a town like Victoria go out to the park along Dallas Road on any Sunday afternoon And you will meet dogs and the people they own being a dog owner is a very public thing to be Dogs must be walked and in an urban setting that means on the street or in a park Cat owners are harder to find of course We could have walked around downtown and stopped anyone with cat hair on his or her clothing It is the tell-tale sign, but that seemed a bit difficult and without the cat present How do you start the conversation anyway? I noticed that cat hair on your lapel as luck would have it about an hour after Thinking about the cat show meaning our radio show on cat owners We found a brochure with a cat show announcement the island cat fanciers society Victoria's local chapter of the American cat fanciers association would be holding its Easter parade show That's P. You are our ADE of course at the Archie Browning Sports Center and Esquimalt How do you find cat owners willing to talk about their cats and show them off? We decided to do our cat show at the cat show. It was nice and neat and simple, right? Well, even the most simple concepts often become complex ideas before your eyes Especially when you were using your sociological Why thinking we would spend an hour and meet some cat lovers and find out what makes a cat person a cat person and then Leave we found ourselves hanging out for several hours and becoming more intrigued with the social Organization that goes into putting on a show such as this more than a gathering of like-minded people This group had cohesion and complexity and well both formal and informal Organization it was wonderfully complex and worth exploring we learned that it takes money and several specific kinds of effort To produce a show we also learned that having such a group in a community like the greater Victoria area is a Real asset to the larger community this year's spring show was marked by a tragic fire Only a few blocks from the Sports Center on Sunday a fire broke out at a four-story apartment building on Furnhill Road A number of pets were in the building at least four cats were lost to smoke inhalation Several of the island cat fanciers went to the building to help rescue the cats Then they went back and raised money at the show to help the SPCA Take care of the rescued cats seeing how the cat fanciers were able to mobilize so quickly Reminded us of the concept of social capital and specifically about Robert Putnam's claims about the decline of civic society In his now classic book bowling alone the collapse and revival of American community Putnam asserts that social capital is valuable to have quote when a group of neighbors Informally keep an eye on one another's homes That's social capital in action when a tightly knit community of ascetic Jews trade diamonds without having to test each gym for purity That's social capital in action barn raising on the frontier was social capital in action And so to our email exchanges among members of a cancer support group social capital can be found in friendship networks neighborhoods churches schools Bridge clubs civic associations and even bars the motto and cheers where everybody knows your name Captures one important aspect of social capital close quote Social capital or crews from a sense of joining with other people not all associations However provide social capital for example Allowing to the Canadian Association for retired persons or carp would be distant because no local meetings take place belonging to the Fairfield Senior Center Would provide a sense of joining because it has a meeting place where members frequently encounter each other But no further research that people have stopped joining most associations made are distant and impersonal No matter how much material capital exists in a community this distance will have consequences because it will deplete the social capital Some communities need in times of crises to put it in terms of the books title People are bowling alone rather than in leagues and this lack of association has civic consequences After hanging out at the cat show and watching how easy it was for the existing association to mobilize itself in quick response to a community crisis We decided that we had seen dependency on social capital in action Judging from the results it looks like it was a good investment on the part of the cat fanciers and Represented something greater than simply a log for a path today on first-person plural We will share excerpts from our conversations with different people at the island cat fancier society show as well as get an update From the SPCA regarding the Fernhill road cats that were displaced by the fire as we discussed the social capital of social cats in an episode We call rolling for kitties You're listening to first-person plural on CFUV 101.9 FM Victoria To understand better the social capital we observed we will present our conversations in three parts in this first part We asked people how someone knows that a person is a cat person What emerged was a warmth and pride and an obvious connection not only with the other cat fanciers But with the cats themselves it should not be forgotten that it was their relationships with their cats that brought everyone together That April weekend pets represent an important part of our social world Morris Holbrook Exams the experience and irony of being a quote pet consumer close quote in a 1996 article entitled Reflections on Rocky published in the journal animals and society Holbrook writes about his cat Rocky quote I choose the term friend carefully for Rocky the cat is far more than a pet He is sometimes naughty sometimes cranky sometimes uncooperative But like a fellow person who may also be naughty cranky or uncooperative He is a friend in the true sense of that word He follows Sally and me around the apartment wherever we wander often just for the sake of sitting and watching us go about our daily lives Each evening after dinner he sits and watches me do the dishes just to keep me company When I struggled through my calisthenics He sometimes flies behind my head on the exercise mat oblivious to the throat choking consequences of his allergy-inducing effect on me As I write this essay he does is peacefully by my side curled into a big ball of cat fur in these and countless other ways Rocky becomes an inextricable part of our daily lives as consumers and sometimes he manages to transform our shared life of Consumption into something truly extraordinary or even magical Consider for example the occasions of Rocky in the bath because of my allergies We must bathe Rocky on a regular basis But cats do not like to be drenched with water Lathered with no tears baby shampoo rinsed under a hose bundled into a bath towel and dried with an electric hairblower Rocky is no exception at first. He resists mightily indeed. It takes two of us to hold him down But as the event unfolds I am astonished by the philosophical Composure with which Rocky settles down attracts his claws and submits himself to our will I do not know if mere words or even three-dimensional photographs can convey the emotional strength of the consumption Experiences that we feel at times like these dear reader You have not lived until you have bathed a trembling squirming struggling kitten Soaked his writhing body with warm water rubbed him gently from top to bottom with soapy bubbles Rinsed him clean and sweet smelling from head to foot Tenderly cradled him in your own large fluffy towel blown him dry and also ineffably soft to the touch and felt him Quietly purring in your arms closed quote The breeders and cat owners who talked with us at the cat show knew exactly what we met when we asked how they knew Someone was a cat person their descriptions of their pets their breeds or lack of breeding and of the quintessential cat person Revealed the warmth and love they felt for cats. It was definitely a fancy on their part Here is what the cat fanciers told us about cat people And he is a sphinx. He's the hair what's considered the hairless cat. He has some hair, but very very little They're very warm to the touch very soft They feel like warm suede is what people tell me when they touch him and how old is he raising his two years old and He's a grand champion having been on the show circuit for a little while How do you know a cat person? I think a cat person is the person that you see that has that shows joy in seeing a cat a cat is an independent person in his own right and You see people who like that independence and those are the cat people. They like something unique and independent How do you know a hairless cat person? I don't know but take a good look This may be one. They're very unique in that they're very monkey-like and you have to enjoy the monkey-ness about them They're very busy. They're very active and they're extremely intelligent. They like to know what's going on around them He does enjoy the show and I think the only reason he comes is so he can be played with with toys He likes to be admired though, too. As you can see he's into that. All right. Tell me your name, Talisa You're here with raisin with your grandmother, right? The question of the day is how do you know who is a cat person? Because they like always talk about their cats and stuff like that. They very most cat people are really happy and stuff So about it. Thank you very much. I appreciate it. Oh, my name is Verna Bullitt and I live in Souk and I have Hollow Hills Cattery and this is Harry Potter spelled H-A-I-R-Y-P-A-W-T-E-R But we call him Muggles. This is his first show and he's doing very well. He's not too traumatized He's just like can I have a sleep now? I've had a rough weekend. How do you know somebody is a cat person? They're covered in air most of the time in your food on your furniture on your clothes everywhere But if it's in your food, it's just a little extra roughage He likes to cuddle doesn't he? He's a very cuddly kitty. He says oh Sniff sniff. What do I smell? Huh? What is that? Oh, okay. He's sleeping. He wants his bed. Tell me your name and his name and tell me about the category household pet My name is Carol Scheidel. This is my cat or I am his person. This is Spike the Marshmallow He is a three-year-old household pet. A household pet is a cat with no either no pedigree or papers or a purebred cat That has some fault that prevents it from being shown as a pure in the purebred class whether it is a body fault an eye fault, which is the color a kinked tail or There's one here or it's a couple here that just don't have papers They can't get the papers. So then you can't be shown as a household as a purebred Spike is almost four years old. He'll be four years old on the 12th of May He's a brown McTab a mackerel tabby and white which is the the pattern wonderful temperament lovely Lovely boy Absolutely delightful cat and ready for a cat nap. Oh, yes. He is He is a very very relaxed cat and that's very important for for showing if you have a cat that is really high strong is Well rip off the judges face and hand them their lips. This is not a good show cat You want a cat that does not mind being in a cage does not mind a lot of people coming up to it petting it All the noise and whatnot movement of around Spike grew up at a veterinarian clinic So he is totally at ease with a lot of people coming going lots of animals Being in the cages we used to have to get him out of the kennels all the time He and his sister would jump in the kennels. Did you rescue him? He was left at the clinic but with a bunch of kittens I adopted it originally adopted two of his brothers and the clinic kept his sister and him And he was named spike because he was this little runt of a kitten all the other kittens were beating on him So the vets children named him spike to make him tougher. It didn't work. He's a real mushy cat We had at one point. We had a feral cat, which is a wild cat come in We were going to do a spay operation on her and then Release her but she was pregnant. We couldn't do the spay So she had five kittens at the clinic at four weeks We removed the kittens from her because they were weaned starting to wean at that point But they were getting her feral tendencies. We wanted to socialize the kittens for adoption Spike took over the litter. He let them climb on him. He would lay down with him. He would let them suck on him That that's the kind of cat he is we would have tours coming into the clinic that he would let Elementary children listen to his heart with a stethoscope look in his ears And he would never stop purring the entire time He is a very very good boy when he came to live with me when the clinic closed Which is very unfortunate. He moved in like he had been living there all his life So the question we've been asking everybody today is how do you know that somebody is a cat person? That's very hard to say you can't tell if someone is a cat person if a cat person Is outgoing and friendly like a cat They're Affectionate they're open Cats the cats don't hold anything back if they don't like you they're going to let you know And a cat person will do that too if they're not happy with you if they're mipped at you if they don't like you They'll let you know But we don't walk around they can't say a cat person We don't walk around with with little fake whiskers and we don't have little ears and cat costumes that we wear I don't know about you, but we wear cat hair a lot though. Oh, yes Cat hair in in my house. I have a sign that says the two signs actually I have one that says the only self-cleaning thing in this house is the cat And in my in this house cat hair is a condiment Someone sent me this really funny thing on the internet called cooking with cat hair And it tells how you should match your cat hair with the entree and with the dessert and with which with which wine you want to serve It's also a belief that cat hairs cats have a Big sense of humor and they will shed in direct opposition to what you're wearing If you're wearing dark colored clothes, they will shed all the light hair If you're wearing light colored clothes, they'll shed all the dark hair my husband's in the navy Unfortunately have cats with a lot of high white on them And they will get dark hair on his white shirt and they will get the light hair on his black pants never fails I had a friend one time show up at my house when I had a black and white cat with a black and white shirt on And looked at the cat and said there take that That's perfect. I think we should come up with tabby striped clothes And calico striped clothes just so it matches But I think cat hair is a sign of a wonderful person That means you're a caring loving person who will give of yourself and you don't care if you've got cat hair on yourself Wear it as a badge of honor Thank you very much I have six household pets. They're all foundlings. That is they found us But I have no purebred cats. I enjoy mine. They're my pets, right? Do you ever bring them to show I have shown them in the past, but they got tired of it So I just went that's fine. That's not what I have them for leave them at home And we've been asking everybody that we've talked to today One central question and that is how can you tell when someone is a cat person? How do you know a cat person when you see them? Well, generally they wear lots of cat clothing I find overall that cat people are generally fairly outgoing Very easy to approach friendly. So that's generally how I can I can spot them And they usually as I said earrings or something like that as a giveaway I have a question for you that I've been asking everyone that I've talked to today I'd like for you to tell me how you know A person is a cat person It's that glint in their eye when they see a cat. It's the same as a dog person What makes a cat person just they're fabulous They have such love and attention for their animals and they care so much about their breeds and the success of their breeds And they love to compete and they love to be recognized and we're really proud to be a part of the show this weekend My name is Tara. This is Keltoi's desert thunder otherwise known as thunder He's a five-year-old male. He's just been neutered He's a chocolate spotted You can see these wonderful spots. This is what we breed for He's staples. He's a baby. He loves sitting in here. He just likes to be kenneled in his box here in the show a little nervous The original breeding the original recipe is abyssinian and sigmes and then they add a little american short hair So now we get 12 color combinations. So whatever your room is like we can get you a cat to match And They play forever. They are the biggest sucks the biggest toys the biggest games They're busy cat. They're very affectionate. They'll be close by you no matter what you're doing They want a part of your life and yet they're not obnoxious. They're not a real in-your-face cat Mine at home sleeps at my feet when i'm working on the computer. He thinks he's a dog They fetch and retrieve they walk on leashes and harness As much training as you put into them is what you'll get back out They are one of the most brilliant breeds And we've bred everything from sigmes to domestic short hairs and this this is the breed we've been stuck with for about 20 years. We're really happy with them It looks like he's one actually. This is his daughter's ribbons It was her first show. She's won five so far And uh, she's decided now. She's done. She doesn't want to do this anymore, which is fine We'll put her in a home and she'll be somebody's wonderful pet We've been asking everyone that we've talked to today to answer a specific question for us How do you know a cat person? Tell us who a cat person is you usually tell by the fur on their clothing That's the first thing Cat people are usually soft spoken And very slower moving very gentle to touch the cats And they're madly in love with them. They're usually wearing some kind of cat jewelry or a cat shirt But usually you can tell by the fur that's all over their clothing He's my big boy So a lot of people have been telling us that one of the ways that you know a cat person Is that they wear cat things on them? How many people have you seen since you've been sitting here who have cat stuff on them? I don't just mean cat hair A lot of people they wear lots of people bring cat sweatshirts or have a bag with a cat that kind of stuff Just so you know that they're a cat person A lot of jewelry? Not not as much as I was expecting like I usually see lots of people with Julie, but not this time So what's the wildest thing you've seen today? That's a hard one I'm not I couldn't tell you like so other than wearing cat stuff. I've been asking everybody What makes a cat person? How do you know a person is a cat person? I find that cat people are usually quite friendly like and they're usually up people. They're not very down people They're very hyperactive. They Tell me your name and the name of your friend here. My name is Angie Farrell and this is my cat Kabuka He's a rag doll seal point and white and he's six years old So they still show as they get older And he's my best friend. He's done quite well at the show today, right? It's done very well very well We're very pleased. How do you know a person is a cat person? Most animal people are very friendly and caring people They just are nice to animals as well as people. It's nice to To deal with them They're gentle It's a little oriental short hair. So and what's his name? Her name is princess Circe Noir And you call her Circe Circe Circe was goddess in the odyssey And she turned men into pigs So we have to be careful And she just won eight Yeah, she's she's been best second best fourth She's done, you know different things in different rings We've been asking this question of everyone at the show that we've talked to Tell me what you think makes a cat person. How do you know a person is a cat person? I think you know a cat person because it's a person who is able to Respect an animal for its individuality Um cats are independent in that they all have different personalities And they don't just do what you tell them to do They have to have a great deal of understanding and love A gathering of cat fanciers with their cats required more organization than simply notification of a time and place to gather The twice yearly shows are a highlight of an ongoing organization that is both local and international in scope Island cat fancier society is a chapter of the american cat fancier's association or a cfa the a cfa was formed in 1955 quote by a group of cat fancier seeking greater flexibility in the development of cats The activities of cat lovers and greater freedom for growth and harmony with contemporary needs of the individual breeders And the broadening horizons of the cat fancy at large Close quote seeking to form a democratic organization They organize themselves around policies and bylaws that sought to promote breeding from the grass roots For example the inclusion of altered animals and household pets open up their shows to a greater variety of cat fanciers Another innovation that allowed a wider participation of cat exhibitors is the averaging system employed at the master show level Cats are assessed on the average points they receive at the shows they attend Quote the unique part of this system is that every cat fancier can afford to compete for the top awards each year Since it is not a total point system exhibitors need not incur the expense of campaigning a cat every weekend To be in competition as is the case with other award systems currently in place close quote Local chapter meetings are held monthly and the membership costs are a reasonable $15 per year show entries are additional of course Margo man, and i'm vice president of the island cat fancier's association Tell me a little bit about the island cat fancier's association It's a club that's affiliated with the american cat fancier's association, which is a worldwide club Or association and we are the local club for victoria and we put on two shows a year Tell me a little bit about what goes into putting on a show. There's the money involved a lot of a great deal of money involved It costs us around $16,000 to put on a show We have to pay for the judges fees to judge and their airplane tickets to get here And their hotel expenses and food while they're here We have to have all this equipment to put on the show And so it costs us this great deal of money people pay at the gate and also people pay to enter But you have to raise money in other ways, right? That's correct. We do a great deal of money People uh contribute for instance iam's cat food contributed a great deal of money to help us put on the show But breeders often contribute to to the show And what's the importance of having shows like this? To promote good care for all cats because since we also have household pets category, which is a very popular category We are including all cats and we want people to understand that today's cats need a great deal of care What's your best advice to a cat owner? Keep your cat in Don't let it out because it's just too many dangers out there And sometimes they eat microphones too My name is Tara Burstick and i'm the influencer account manager for iam's canada my territory is british columbia So one of my main functions is to sponsor events So dog shows and cat shows and I look after the consumer shows as well So we chose to be here with the the cat fancier's association to help them along with their event Now part of what you do is help them financially. Is that correct? Yeah, we uh, we contributed financially and we're here in support of the breeders. So while i'm here I'll um, I'll give out food and samples and I'll talk to them about any particular educational issues They might have a concern with distribution of the product even And new products we've got a new product that we're showcasing at this show the salmon flavor. So Just anything concerning their business. I like to assist them with salmon seems appropriate for the british columbias It's very popular. We've uh, we've had great success with the formula over the last couple of weeks and a lot of really positive feedback Money is important to putting on the show But volunteers are also needed to make this work officers of the chapter Did a lot of behind the scenes work to make this show happen In addition while judges got paid their clerks were volunteers who kept the show running on schedule other jobs had to be done as well Tell me how you got roped into sitting up here Taking people's money. I'm here because I like to I help my nana and this was one of the best jobs of the thing Believe me. Why is it the best job because it's either Cleaning cages sitting beside a judge all day or handing people drinks. I think I like this one better So Anything else you want to tell us about the cat show that it's a great place to go It's different than a dog show, but you still get to see all the cute kittens and that it's great What's your favorite kind of cat? Uh I have two actually a sphinx and uh, main coons. I knew a sphinx would come up because of your grandmother Yeah Of course much of the focus is on the awards and because the point system is in place Someone has to keep track of the points that person is called the master clerk Tell me your name and tell me your position here and what organization you're with i'm kerry proud love I at the show i'm master clerk And i'm with island cat fanciers prior to the show. I also do the entry clerking What do these two jobs entail? Well entry clerk, uh when people want to enter their cats they mail them into me I have to input them into the system Make sure that their colors are right their genders right their classes are right Send confirmation back to the people and then make any changes in the catalog Once I get to the show as master clerk people will come to me and make changes if they need to make them in the catalog I also double check what the judges put down on their sheets And uh, I make two copies of the catalogs here one for us as a permanent copy for the club and one goes back to ACFA head office for them to put the results into their programs now part of what you're doing is real time Right. They're sitting around waiting for you to confirm everything. That's right, especially at the end of the show They have the best of the best awards But I've uh created a spreadsheet in excel that helps you with that to do all the adding How long has it been automated? Uh, I've been doing the automated part of that for Probably four or five years now that I've done that Imagine it's much easier now. Oh, yeah, and lot not quite as likely for making mistakes I have a little trouble with adding on my own Thanks very much. Thank you Lyda Judson Hanifin first used the term social capital in 1916 in his discussions of rural school community centers to describe Quote those tangible substances that count for most in the daily lives of people close quote Hanifin was particularly concerned with the cultivation of goodwill Fellowship sympathy and social intercourse among those that quote make up a social unit close quote Hanifin's use of the term limited the focus to something quite local The cat fanciers would be said to be developing social capital Simply because of the roles they are willing to play within their organization and most particularly at a specific show You're listening to first person plural on cfu v victoria's public radio 101.9 fm 104.3 cable and on the internet v.uveng.ca Giving sociology an edge Robert Putnam's use of the term social capital however has expanded the concept to mean more than simple group membership Putnam asserts that social networks are created to strengthen social bonds the coincidence of the fire with the cat show Demonstrated Putnam's meaning quite well on the day of the show that the fire occurred We interviewed the cat fancier member who would take in charge of relief efforts for the cats affected by the fire My name is Kathy Ermshire and You are coordinating an effort today something kind of tragic happened this morning across the street from the Cat show. Can you tell us a little bit about what's going on and what your organization is doing? I'm coordinating an effort to try and help some of the cats from across the street from our venue that have been burnt out The spca was in there early this morning rescuing some cats And unfortunately some that didn't make it and we're trying to help out the people That did the cats that did make it. We're going we're collecting up money and food And any donations that we can get we're also raffling off a scratching post To raise as much money as we possibly can to help both with the medical expenses the food and also some medication That these cats may need that they've been unable to get out of their building for one reason or another A gentleman came over this morning that I found in the rain Who had his cat out in the rain was waiting for his other cat to be rescued He came in basically his pajamas and house coat The cat was 15 years old and it was out in the rain and he had nowhere to take her We took her in We placed her out and got her dried off had a vet look at her And we are trying as hard as we can to get as much food and as much money as possible to help the spca with The cats that have been rescued Now we probably won't be able to air all of this until the 24th of april So i'm wondering how long you're going to need help and where people who hear this a week or two from now might go To offer assistance my understanding speaking with the spca is that these people will be probably Unable to find housing for two to three weeks, which really puts us past the end of april And anything they can do to help they should go to the spca Take any donations cat food cat litter Anything like that and if they have an extra five dollars in their pocket They could take it to the spca to help cover some of these additional expenses I do know from the spca that as of about an hour ago they had At least nine perhaps 11 Cats that had not been claimed yet that they were taking to the shelter On burnside and that they would of course that is going to put a heavy weight on the spca and that's what we're trying to help with It's the victoria spca. I believe in their shelter, which is on burnside But that's the the spca that it would go to They on burnside will be able to coordinate everything anyway because that's the coordination center. Thank you very much cat Thank you very much and anyone that can help thank them as well These efforts were quick decisive and effective not only to the cat fancier members assist rescue efforts real time They were also able to mobilize a raffle and fundraising to give support to the care of the cats while the spca connected pets and their owners 10 days later we interviewed spca spokesperson penny stone who gave us an update on the fire victims and alerted us to a new crisis She also took some time to reflect upon the island cat fancier society's role in assisting the community with abandoned cats and cats in crisis We had the island cat fancier show the day of the fire in a squimalt Could you tell us about the disposition of the cat that were left homeless as a result of that fire? Well, we had about a dozen cats that got brought that were brought in here Doesn't cast alive and out of those dozen. We found the owners have claimed them all They were not in great shape. Um, we had one cat with four little kittens who wasn't doing very well very It was actually in the apartment next to the one where four cats were found dead because of the smoke inhalation So obviously the little kids weren't doing very well, but they've recovered and they're doing pretty good We have them in a foster home until the people who were burned out find a new home People from the cat fancier's raised a lot of money and they brought it down here for us so that we could help with Later boxes and food and stuff to give to the people who were burnt out so that they would be able to start again with something some food and some Cat toys and litter and even some cat purges What kinds of advantages does having organizations like island cat fanciers offer to your ongoing efforts? Um, cat fans here are actually really good for us because they provide us with a lot of foster homes They know the people that know cats so if we get cats in Quite often we get Kittens in that are a day old or two a day old or the mum's been killed or the mum doesn't have any milk or things like that And we don't have the resources to be able to feed or the volunteer staff or or paid staff To feed these cats every hour every two hours that they need in the beginning And some of them need to be forced but because they don't know how to eat and The cat fanciers they provide us with An awful lot of support and an awful lot of names to people to call on for foster homes and that So they've been very helpful to us and they did they went around with Completely on their own at the day the the cat show and a raise quite a bit of money From from the cat show just to bring down to us without you know, we didn't even have to ask It was just they were wonderful Okay, we understand now that a new crisis has arisen. Yeah Could you tell us about that and you tell us What people who want to help can do to assist you in handling the crisis? Sure Early on good Friday morning 22 cats from one home were dropped off at our shelter doors. They were left in a cage They're elderly a lot of them are in need of medical attention What it is is a lady who was trying to rescue cats and I guess she got overwhelmed with She probably started out as a good deed on her behalf She was trying to arrest through all these cats and then it became an overwhelming thing for her to deal with And she couldn't deal with it anymore and she brought them and dropped them off She did the right thing by bringing them here. We would like to To let the public know though if they are going to bring animals here It would be really nice if they did it when we were open because anything could have happened to the cats while they were out in our They were actually in our parking lot in a in a kennel. I mean someone could have come along and let them out Somebody could have you know a dog could have got out them a lot of things could have happened Another thing is these cats are aged six to about 18 years old some severely badly matted A lot of medical attention is needed for them and if we had histories on them It would have really helped us because some of them were starting from scratch And some of them are obviously very ill and we don't know where it's very pricey for us to run all the blood work And that so we're more than willing to take animals like this. So if someone In the future, I know she probably did what what she was able to and we thank her for taking care of these cats for For so long, but if she could have dropped us off medical information about them, it would have really helped For the public who wants to help us. There's a few things that we really need We need donations to go for for these cats They can drop it off for the good neighbor funding and specify it for the cats And that would help us with the medical because medical for a cat The blood work on one cat can run up to about five hundred dollars for the different things We're going to have to test before we don't know if they were indoor outdoor cats We don't know if they're feeling like tested. There's different things. So We need we could really use some money. We could really use We're eventually going to need to put these all these animals into home. So and we normally have about a hundred cats here Which about 80 of them are older than five and now we've got another 22 added to the mix. So it's we're quite overwhelmed with cats What is the bc sbca's role in dealing with abandoned cats? Well, it is actually against the law to abandon an animal like we There could be charges But in this case we won't because the lady what the lady was trying to do was the best Like she was trying to do the best for her for us to go after her now. I'm sure she's been through enough Having to give up these animals But our role is to find the new homes to to get them as healthy as we can within our limited budget And try and find someone to a lot of these cats will need ongoing medical attention for the rest of their lives some of them will be They could be diabetic they could Just a a lot of them. I think we've shaved four of them because they were so badly matted and they were There were species in the map because they were so badly matted They couldn't urinate without getting it all over themselves. So there's just a lot of that But you know, like there's a lot of grooming. There's a lot of Taking care of them. They're all considering what they've been through They're all really really sociable cats Like they're they're in really sweet very loving for considering what they've been through and Being left here and being thrown in we've actually don't have enough cages and kennels for them So we've put them in an office. They have a whole office that we've emptied the furniture So they've kind of taken over But um, they're really great cats. They will make great adoption cats once we get them all Healthy and I think they're what's what what's what with them, but they are older cats The prospective owners have to provide the cats with their own offices when they're adopted You know, but it'd probably be really nice We have a cat that has essentially taken over our home office. Oh cats do that Dogs will join you in your office, but cats take over the office She's making reasonably good use of the fixtures, but we'd still like it back At least a couple of days a week. Yeah No cats take over that's for sure How many cats are abandoned in the greater victoria area each year? Oh We um, I couldn't even venture a guest But I can't tell you of all the strays we pick up and we probably get In a week, we probably get 50 or 60 strays only 10 of those are ever claimed and those are just straight And we get a lot of people drop and we probably in we probably once a week get animals abandoned at the front door We've come in where there's been dogs tied up. We've been we came in once when there was a cardboard box inside It was a three-legged cat that someone had obviously spent a lot of money on because it had been the one leg He's been surgically removed. So someone had spent a lot of money trying to save this cat's life But then they dropped off here in a box Like it's amazing sometimes with no papers no explanation. No nothing nothing And and like I said, we we will take any animal What's sad for us is when we get them with no history It makes it a little more difficult to adopt them out We know nothing about them. We don't know if they like kids if they like dogs if they like So it's hard to place them in a home people come to adopt if they think this is a beautiful cat But they've got four little kids and we can't tell them if this cat's ever been with kids How this cat will react in a room full of kids and sometimes that kind of information is Paramount to being able to adopt them out How can people in the community get involved if they want to help with the ongoing problem? Well, first of all spay and neuter your animal spay and neuter spay and neuter spay and neuter It's so important. Um, we're just hitting kittens season And we'll probably be getting in four or five liters of kittens a week And a lot of those of every litter of kitten if they 10 kittens only one or two of them Will make it to two years of age. They'll be hit by a car. They'll be abandoned and killed So many things happen to them not very many kittens You know, you see a basketball kittens and you think it's so cute But only one or two of those will make it to an adult cat So spay and neutering is the most important. Um, I'd like people to really consider keeping their cats indoors Because there's so many things out there nowadays that um, there's Every day we get four or five cats in here that have been killed by a car They've either been killed or the injuries are so bad. They have to be euthanized So if you know, we think that it's cruel keeping them inside, but sometimes it's cruel letting them outside Do you have any cats of your own? I have I Hold to yourself I'll do myself and three dogs The dogs help out with the cats. I know they chase them, but they all love each other And right now I have eight kittens in my home that are Kittens that someone dropped off here and they weren't old enough to be able to put up for adoption So they're at my house getting healthier and better. They have they have their own bedroom too at my house Well, that's nice to have Well, thanks a lot pennystone for agreeing to speak with us today. No problem If there's anything else you'd like to add now would be a good time No, just that stay new to your cats cats and dogs Take care of them get them health checked. That's about it. Thank you again for agreeing to be with us today. Okay. Thanks for speaking with me Okay If you want to help the victoria sbca with either time or money, please contact them at 3887722 That's 3887722 We learned that having such a group as the island cat fancier society in a community like the greater victoria area Is a real asset to the larger community Robert Putnam asserted that social capital is important not only to the individuals who acquire the capital But also to the greater community He writes quote a third way in which social capital improves our lot Is by widening our awareness of the many ways in which our fates are linked people who have active and trusting connections to others Whether family members friends or fellow bowlers develop or maintain character traits that are good for the rest of society Joiners become more tolerant less cynical and more empathetic to the misfortunes of others close quote Who knew that the love of a cat could produce so much every cat fancier, of course Small The police state is using its fallow-centric organ the corporate media To control ordinary people like you You have been listening to first person plural because how people get along with each other still matters First person plural is a show created for community radio By carl wilkerson and dr. Patty thomas to examine social and organizational issues Music for first person plural is performed Composed and produced by carl wilkerson except where noted For more information about first person plural dr. Patty thomas or carl wilkerson Visit our website www.culturalconstructioncompany.com or email us at fpp at culturalconstructioncompany.com This show was made in honor of all the cats We have known and most especially the one to whom we currently belong whose name is anivine