A Manifesto: Keep Kittens Together

 

Manifesto:  a public declaration of policy and aims

Perhaps you have seen several of the manifestos about cats that are on the Internet:

Special interest group about Wild Cats

Battersea Manifesto for Dogs and Cats

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Manifestos for cats (UK).   CLICK HERE FOR THE PDF

Excerpt:

In brief (From Cat Protection)

Breeding of cats for sale: Reduce the number of unwanted kittens.

Cats and the curriculum: include animal welfare in the public school curriculum so that all children learn about responsible pet care. 

Cats and housing providers: Allow people to keep their pets and avoid heart-breaking separations of cats from their owners. WE NEED MORE pet friendly tenancy clauses.

Cats and personal wellbeing: Pets should be recognized as an important part of the individual’s household.  Let's admit that pets contribute to an individual’s wellbeing.

Products toxic to cats: clear labelling of flowers, plants and household products that are toxic to cats.  LARGER LETTERS, PLEASE on labels.

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FROM THE MANIFESTO in the United Kingdom:  Children are the pet owners of tomorrow and it’s essential that they leave school with a basic understanding of how to care for and respect animals. Developing an understanding in children of responsible pet ownership would result in an improvement in some of the animal welfare issues which impact on our society today, such as the increasing numbers of stray and abandoned cats and cruelty cases. Education is a priority for Cats Protection. With the help of education volunteers we delivered 448 educational talks across the UK in 2013 to schools and community groups. Making animal welfare and the five welfare needs a mainstream topic included in the National Curriculum would help teachers to incorporate animal welfare within the school timetable. To help us reach marginal audiences Cats Protection would welcome joint working with Government and professional bodies to gain accreditation for our education resources.   Click here to see more

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The Manifesto about Keeping Kittens Together

Have you seen a mom cat with her babies before humans come to separate them? Keep kittens together.  Don’t separate kittens. Put the whole group up for adoption together.

Some of these words appear on the website www.TINYURL.com/AnimalsComeFirstSite, also seen at www.AnimalsComeFirst.org

CLICK HERE for the Battersea Manifesto

Here is an excerpt from the Battersea Manifesto

LONELINESS AND SOCIAL PRESCRIBING 

Battersea prides itself on being there for every dog and cat, but we also know that our pets can be there for us too. The Government should conduct further research into the benefits of dog and cat ownership (currently being investigated by All-Party Parliamentary Group on Cats), in addition to allowing and promoting dog or cat ownership as a viable treatment option, or social prescription, for loneliness. The term ‘social prescribing’ allows local agencies to ‘connect people to community groups and statutory services for practical and emotional support’. We believe pet ownership could be a useful social prescription tool. Dog or cat ownership may not be suitable or possible for everyone, maybe due to long working hours or housing pet policies. 

Rescue charities like Battersea often offer volunteer roles. Volunteering offers an opportunity for people to interact with animals and meet new people, in addition to offering structure and routine which can be helpful in alleviating loneliness.