Newsday Tuesday – Cats Being Exploited

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In October we talked about why cats are in danger around Halloween and why shelters rarely adopt out black cats close to that holiday. Likewise, shelter operators seldom adopt out kittens around Christmas and Easter because some of these purchases are made on a whim by people who don’t understand the responsibility and commitment that goes along with a kitten.

When I went in search of strange and unusual rituals and practices related to cats, I was stunned. I won’t share the more gruesome and sad stories I stumbled across. But I thought you might be interested in—and we all should be aware of—how cats are exploited. One man, for example, was caught shaving kittens and selling them as Sphinx. I imagine he met his victims on a street corner or behind the pool hall so they couldn’t come back for a refund once the kitten’s fur started to grow back. One woman is reported to be selling faux-Sphinx kittens for $700 each. She not only shaved them, but plucked their whiskers.

One man pretended to be a cat in order to get the attention of a woman. I don’t know if hephotogeorge was trying to woo her or harm her. But he would meow through the intercom to her apartment in hopes that she would let him in. We’ve certainly all heard of unsavory people using a kitten to lure a child into their car or apartment.

Another man uses a cat to hack into neighbors’ wi-fi. Yup, it’s done with a special-made collar. There are also warnings about criminals using cute cat videos to hack into your computer accounts. I suppose there’s even someone out there who has attached a camera to a cat in hopes of photographing up women’s skirts! Ick! And I said I wouldn’t share gruesome and sad stories. Tomorrow, I will share stories of psychic cats—cats who have predicted the future, who have traveled great distances to reunite with their families, and so forth. I’m looking forward to that. I hope you are, too.

Today I’m talking about the Klepto Cat Mysteries on Internet radio. Noon Pacific time (2 central). I’ll be talking to Stacy Harp on blog talk radio. Please join us. You can watch here: http://www.Periscope.tv/biblenewsradio or listen here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/acmedia  

 

 

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