An Egyptian God  Or Just A Useless Cat Teresa P. Thompson   © Copyright 2002 by Teresa P. Thompson

"An Egyptian god or just a useless cat?" I ask myself this question whenever I see a stray cat that someone has carelessly dropped off on a roadside. How can our modern world be so thoughtless to the same animal that the ancient Egyptians adored so?

No it would not be logical to worship an animal the way the Egyptians did the cat. But, still, is it logical to treat them as they are no more than garbage to be thrown out when we are tired of them?

It is statistically obvious that our society is becoming overly populated with unwanted animals, but there are so many other options to take rather than just setting one along the roadside or in a community.

An animal that is left along the road will more than likely be killed by a moving vehicle, while one that is dumped out in a community will probably meet its fate in an animal pound. Most animal that aren't picked up within a few days from a pound are usually put to sleep.

Humane societies are there to rescue many unwanted animals. But for as many that are rescued, just as many are abandoned to die. There are many children who would love to have that animal that has been abandoned. For a very small cost, an animal can be spayed or neutered to reduce the possibility of adding to their overly-populated species.

There are too many options for this problem with our unwanted animals other than the kind of abuse that they often have to encounter when they are abandoned.

Dogs, just have cats, have enriched men's lives tremendously over the years. Dogs were the first animals to be domesticated by the Stone Age people of Europe 10,000 to 20,000 years ago.

These dogs were tamed to help man hunt game as well as to provide companionship. Just as the cat was once worshiped in its ancient Egyptian origin, the dog also was well cared for and needed by his European master.

Today these animals still faithfully serve the duties that they served all those years ago. The cat is still capable of catching rats and mice. The dog still watches over his master and still posses the same keen sense of smell for tracking from game to a lost child.

Perhaps the real problem lies in our technology, meaning that today we can use rat traps instead of the "old fashioned" method. Perhaps the dog has become useless for his purpose because of the mere fact that there are now burglar alarms to watch over the "masters" or for the fact that we hardly have to track down game for food, as today we are able to go into a grocery store instead.

The importance of our modern technologies goes without saying, but must we let this be the reason for the abuse and abandonment that our animals endure? Even if our ancient ancestors domesticated these animals for purposes that we no longer need, there is still a need that we all share as human beings and that is the need for the love and joy that these animals can bring into our lives.

They are our best friends and depend upon us to return that friendship and love. So the next time we decide that we no longer "need" an animal, do we not owe it to this loving trusting creature to at least find it a home rather than dumping it somewhere to fend for itself?

I have been fortunate enough throughout my life to have the opportunity to love and to be loved by cats. I have been a cat lover since I was a child. The special relationship that I have with my cat Neena is beyond words. She, like every other cat that I have been fortunate enough to own, has been a joy to know.

Everyone should be thankful that God has given them to chance to know that kind of unconditional love and devotion from such a special creature. We should all be thankful that we have them to share our world with.

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