Even My Cats Want Climate Change Legislation: Part 2

My three cats are in a good mood.  Although just two weeks have passed since President Obama has taken office, he is already in the process of allowing California and 13 other states to set strict limits on greenhouse gases emitted from cars and trucks and he has proposed an economic stimulus plan that includes creating thousands of new jobs that can reduce the nation's dependence on foreign oil (not to mention he is attempting to make some peace in the middle east).  My cats are thrilled that America is on the path to create some useful climate change legislation.

In fact, it is more important to them than ever.  This last week a team of environmental researchers in the US concluded global temperatures could remain elevated for 1,000 years, even if we stop emitting carbon dioxide today (news.bbc.co.uk). 

Although this news may encourage some Americans to throw in the towel and continue living their lives in a gas-guzzling, resource gobbling way, my cats approach the news with more optimism.   They realize that 1,000 years is better than 2,000 years, so we better get working on this challenge today.  They understand the weight of the problem and realize that this is not something that can be solved overnight.  It is important to move forward, one step at a time, and they believe that we owe that to future generations. 

They also realize that even if we can't reverse all of the effects tomorrow, we need to do all that we can to halt some of the side effects that will happen within the 1,000 years.  One effect that hits close to home for my formerly homeless feral cats is that shelters and animal rescue groups have seen a dramatic increase in the number of litters of kittens being delivered to their facilities.  In fact, "...many experts suspect climate change is helping to fuel the kitty birthrate explosion."  According to Nancy Peterson of the Humane Society of the United States, "The feline breeding season is impacted by temperature...In warmer climates, cats breed three times as opposed to two times a year. And as it gets warmer, they could breed even four times a year" (http://www.thedailycat.com/Health/climate_change-and_cat/index.html).

In July, the Chicago Sun-times released an article about the effects climate change has on cats.  Female cats go into heat when it is warm outside.  Because climate change is increasing temperatures around the world for longer periods of time, there is a longer length of time that female cats are feeling "frisky," which results in more kittens turning up in pounds and shelters. 

My cats know what you're thinking: there are so many problems in the world, who cares?  (They even realize there are some people out there who do not even like cats, who are especially baffled by this blog).  But they remind you to think about the wasted resources that result from the overpopulation of kittens in shelters.   If more kittens are turned in, then that requires more food, litter, medicine and supplies at the shelter.  And unfortunately, we all know what happens at a pound if no one comes to retrieve the kittens-more medicine to put the kittens to sleep and more bodies piling up, which need to be handled and transferred away in more gas guzzling vehicles...and the cycle continues. 

This is just one seemingly trivial side effect of climate change.  Once again, my cats remind me that we are all connected, and our actions affect everything and everyone, no matter how trivial they appear to be.  (My cats are pretty enlightened for cats-they must meditate when I'm at work or something.)

So my cats would like to thank President Obama and you for your efforts, and encourage you both to stay on the path that you're on even though it can be overwhelming when you feel that you can never do enough.  One thousand less homeless cats being born and one thousand less years to reverse our impacts is still important progress.