Milo

I adopted a senior citizen cat this week and I have dubbed him Milo. Milo came to my attention a couple of weeks ago when he visited my fish pond for a drink of water. He was completely emaciated and whenever food was put out for him he would stagger off like a wary stray without seeing or consuming it.

On Wednesday Milo was once again drinking from my pond but this time when I set food out for him, he came right to me. Obviously Milo was not always a stray because even though he was very weak from malnutrition, he was more interested in cuddling than he was with eating. He was so thin that I was uncomfortable petting him for fear of hurting him in his frail state.

I took Milo to my vet for a tune up and a kick start with some fluids. The vet estimates that if he is lucky, Milo only has a few more weeks to live. He is very old and his kidneys are shutting down. A big bill and an undignified enema later, Milo is back at my place living the good life with a warm bed, his own ceramic heater, and all the expensive kidney food he can eat. I am hoping that his last days are going to be some of his best.

Something my vet said to me has caused me to consider a few things. My vet was touched at the efforts and expense I was putting into an old stray cat. It had not occurred to me to put money ahead of a life but when I thought about how our society continues to treat animals as a commodity and the earth as a resource to be exploited for profit, I realize that my attitude is not the norm and in fact, probably one that will be ridiculed by others.

This whole experience has caused me to consider our contention that we are a just, civilized society who have enough moral high ground to impose our values upon others. I know our hearts are in the right place but our credibility is seriously suspect.

If we truly are civilized with credibility, why are we pursuing biofuels that are taking resources out of the food system and causing deforestation to support our unsustainable lifestyle while others are starving? If we are just, why are we accepting the torture and internment of children without a trial despite signing on to a UN agreement to protect and rehabilitate child soldiers?

We recognize bullying as a serious problem and we devote so much time to combat the issue while at the same time I watch political campaigns use bullying tactics and intimidation as a strategy to generate votes. What frightens the heck out of me is that this strategy seems to be working.

“If one benefits tangibly from the exploitation of others who are weak, is one morally implicated in their predicament? Or are basic rights of human existence confined to the civilized societies that are wealthy enough to afford them? Our values are defined by what we will tolerate when it is done to others.” - William Greider