Feral cats and dangerous dogs

Recently I ran across this image, which in one sense is just another entry in the “meme” trend, which began by imagining “how my parents see” various jobs. The feral cat meme is not as funny as some, but it points to some weighty issues in animal rescue.

Whoever put together the meme obviously knows the debates about feral cats. Most conservation groups do indeed consider the cats to be dangerous threats, just as homeowners often view them as pests and advocates see them as innocent victims of human neglect, no less deserving of care than other cats.


What most caught my eye was (no surprise) the image of how “your local animal shelter” sees feral cats: a pit bull. This image sparked some of the more interesting comments under the Facebook posting I saw.* Some commenters objected because they saw the dog’s image as an example of the prejudice that considers pit bulls bad dogs. Others, however, believed that the meme’s creators did not mean to condemn pit bulls but rather to show parallels in the stereotypes about feral cats and pit bull type dogs. I think that is a more accurate reading, or at least one that opens up the way to a more interesting conversation.

The conversation starts with comparisons between feral cats and pit bulls. What do these critters have in common?

One similarity, as one of the commenters put it, is that “they used the Pit Bull specifically because it is a misunderstood animal. This graphic is about a misunderstood animal after all.” Feral cats and pit bulls are misunderstood, at least in the eyes of their advocates, because they are seen as representatives of largely negative stereotypes, e.g. all feral cats are afraid of people, or all pit bulls are aggressive. Stereotypes cause harm because they erase individual differences and are often used to justify harmful treatment.

Another Facebook commenter pointed out a second similarity: “a lot of places don't really treat [pit bulls] like dogs and kind of assume they're damaged goods before they even know the full story. It's unfair, but I can see where the comparison of feral kitties to pit[s] comes in when you consider that a lot of people assume that they're ‘broken beyond repair’ before giving them a chance.” The notion that these dogs and cats are “broken beyond repair” is why many shelters and adoption groups automatically exclude them from the category of “adoptable animals.”


A third similarity is that both “feral cat” and “pit bull” are social constructs. In other words, the meaning attached to those terms is based not on objective criteria (such as DNA evidence or rigorous temperament evaluations) but on the perceptions, assumptions, and biases of the person or group assigning definitions. These definitions are not mere semantics. They are literally matters of life and death, because both feral cats and pit bulls are so often excluded from opportunities for rehabilitation and adoption that are given to animals defined in other ways.

Puppy mill survivors, for example, are often psychologically and physically damaged, both from inbreeding and, even more, from the horrific conditions that many are forced to live in. Many require a great deal of medical and behavioral treatment before they can live like “normal” pets. However, puppy mill survivors are seen, rightly, as victims deserving of sympathy and care; they are not routinely excluded from the “adoptables” section because of their label or their history – even though some of them have lasting damage that makes them less than ideal pets for most families.

Feral cats and pit bulls -- even those who have suffered greatly at the hands of humans - rarely receive these gifts. Things have gotten much better for pit bulls in the past few years, however, especially since the successful rehabilitation of almost all the dogs seized from Michael Vick's fighting operation. Now even dogs from fight busts sometimes -- though still not often enough -- get the chance to be evaluated and cared for as individuals.

(Georgia, rescued from a fight bust in Florida)

Because they are stereotypes and social constructs, the labels “feral” and “pit bull” are often applied without knowledge of a particular animal’s genetics, history, or temperament. Some cats picked up at feral colonies are former pets who have been living rough for a while and could easily, with a little time and patience, live happily as pets again. If they are identified as feral, however, at many shelters they will automatically be euthanized (or at best, neutered and returned to the dangers of a free-roaming life). Similarly, dogs identified as pit bulls are often defined as “vicious” or “dangerous,” at least by custom and often by law as well. Even when there is not a law prohibiting the adoption of pit bulls, a large number of public and private shelters and rescue groups voluntarily refuse to adopt them.

This means that most pit bulls who enter the shelter system are euthanized and that they do not count as deaths of “adoptable animals.” For example, in early versions of the agreement between the San Francisco SPCA and the city’s public animal control department to pursue “no kill” status, pit bulls and feral cats were the two groups excluded, en masse, from the category of “adoptable,” along with animals judged individually to be too sick, too aggressive, or too damaged to be rehabilitated. Under those terms, the city could kill 100% of the dogs called pit bulls and the cats called feral – a very large proportion of their overall intake – and still call itself “no kill.” This policy (which is no longer in force in San Francisco, at least for pit bulls) is repeated at many “animal welfare” groups. Some groups do adopt out pit bulls but have special requirements, such as a fence, the absence of other pets in the home, or previous experience with “bully” breeds. These policies are often well-intentioned but perpetuate the notion that pit bulls are radically different from other dogs and need special handling. Obviously, this deters many potential adopters. The result of all these obstacles to pit bull adoptions is that fewer of these dogs are living in our communities as neutered, well cared-for companions – thus perpetuating the vicious cycle that identifies them as anything but the pets of “nice” people.


Finally, the animals labelled "pit bull" and "feral cat" have in common their relationship to animal rescue more broadly. These animals are at the edge of rescue, literally and figuratively. Their advocates are often people who are willing to go where mainstream animal welfare groups fear to tread. Not only are the animals themselves thought to be risky, but both feral cats and pit bulls are often associated with or thought to inhabit social worlds far from “nice” middle-class communities. Edges can be dangerous, but they are also the key to the expansion that is necessary for genuine social change. Feral cats and dangerous dogs push us out of our physical and metaphorical comfort zones, demanding that we reconsider our own assumptions, our relationships to both animals and other people, and our capacity for effective action where it is most needed.


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*http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=299204683467106&set=a.167394789981430.45853.110911218963121&type=1; posted by Vox Felina on Feb. 17, 2012.