“Good karma feeding” kill cats

Has anyone told you they feed cats because it’s good karma or “god will bless you”, or the cats are soooooo pitiful?

Dawn just blogged briefly about this phenomenon. The first comments are exactly what’s wrong with such thinking about feeding: “Most people feed because they took pity on the strays. They feel good after doing a “good deed”. To them, feeding is so “convenient”. They simply place food wherever the strays appear. They do not care about sterilisation or cats being rounded up due to their irresponsible feeding. Asking them to sterilise or pick up the crumbles after the strays eat inconvenice them.”

The commentator ends by saying “What can I say? These people just want an easy way out. Feeding makes them feel good. So apart from feeding, they do not want to have anything more to do with the cats. When confronted with a problem, they just stop feeding altogether.

I think it’s going to be a tall order to change this group’s mindset.”

Definitely, we agree that it’s a tall order, a bloomingly tall one, to change this group’s mindset. Unfortunately, our experience has also been this: such people DO NOT stop feeding when confronted with a problem or approached to change their feeding behaviour. Witness WPDS: The impervious midnight litter-bug feeder.

The drama morning feed auntie (DMFA) is another kind of worse. She feeds pigeons by scattering bread crumbs, in broad daylight, in Martin’s tuft. And she announces her arrival with loud calling and hand gesturing. She also leaves food for the cats. DMFA has done this even through the SARS culling days – the tension and stress of worrying for Martin’s gang’s safety during that period is indescribable.

To date, she’s still doing it. We saw her as we were leaving Martin’s on Sunday.

We did not say a word to her – but she was definitely happy to have an audience, calling and gesticulating like there’s no tomorrow. We did not say a word because we’ve given up. Throughtout the SARS cull, and after, numerous attempts have been made to get her to stop scattering crumbs for the birds, and to stop leaving food. To no avail. She is as impervious as Wolverine’s adamantium skeleton.

We are at wit’s end about her, and people like her. If you have a solution, share it please, we’d pawn our souls for it.

At this point, I bet all the kibbles we’ve got that you’re asking: Why not let them feed as they please? What’s the big hairy deal?

The deal is this: Good karma feeding kills cats. IRRESPONSIBLE FEEDING kills cats. Good karma feeding is IRRESPONSIBLE FEEDING.

The key question you should be asking is: What is Responsible feeding, and how it is different from irresponsible feeding? Read Feeding essentials.

BTW, if you feed or know who feeds, please please take note that even though homeless cats may sometime starve, it doesn’t mean they should be fed ANYTHING and EVERYTHING, eg: Salted Fish, Ikan Bilis (whether raw or cooked) , food gone bad

UPDATE

• “Good Karma” feeders in our midst: 11 Nov 2006
• Feeding essentials (added May 07)