An Egyptian God or Just a
Useless Cat?
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.
Teresa P.
Thompson
Cyclopse38@aol.com
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