The National Geographic channel is airing a special about Cat House called The Lady With 700 Cats, which makes it seem like Lattanzio is just some bat-shit old animal hoarder. Now, I haven’t seen the program so it’s possible she and her mission will be treated respectfully, viewers will become educated about homeless cats and responsible pet ownership, and Cat House will be flooded with support. I certainly hope that’s the case. But it’s disheartening that so much Cat House coverage is snarky and dismissive.

In the past year or so, my leisure-time focus has shifted a bit from blogging and hanging out in the feminist blogosphere to taking on more responsibility with the rescue where I volunteer and following animal welfare news. Caretaking, whether for people or animals, is primarily women’s work. The animal rescue community is easily 90 percent female, even though the “big names” are mostly male.

The “business” of rescuing and/or advocating for animals is undervalued. Animals are not valued. Especially cats!–which are coded feminine and thus, disdained. Squeeing at animal pictures on the Internet is OK, but people who devote themselves to animals or invite multiple animals into one’s home are deviant. This applies to people who have veg*n diets, people who want to protect wildlife and people who fight all manner of animal cruelty. But that’s a whole ‘nother post.

In conclusion, it’s a sexist shame that people are so eager to shove an amazing woman like Lattanzio into the dismissive “crazy cat lady” box. There’s nothing wrong with being a crazy cat lady anyway! All the best to her and the kitties.

Another tough day at work. Photo by PhDork

I got seriously smacked down yesterday afternoon with a migraine that is only now ebbing, so I spent the day doped up and trying to sleep through it, missing a whole lot of funny going on here yesterday, prompted by our latest troll.

On the few occasions I did wake up, I was always greeted with the sight of my littlest cat, Foot Foot, curled up in the crook of my arm, or draped over my side.  I may have been feeling awful, but she was thrilled to have her momma all warm and still and supine in the daytime.  Footie is a snuggler and a darling, and sometimes a horrible little beast (especially to her two big brothers), but her snoozy presence was a great comfort yesterday, as it is most days.  I spend a lot of time sitting and reading or writing, and a warm kitty is a wonderful companion.  Except when it isn’t, because it wants to sleep on your keyboard or chew on the pen you’re trying to write with.

In any case, today’s FFT is a chance for you to brag about your pets (or pets you have known), past or present.  Cats, dogs, fish, ferrets, rats, birds, horses, turtles, whatever you got.  Tell us a story, link to a picture or a video*, admit all the stupid lovey-dovey nicknames you give them (Foot Foot is usually called “Weasle”  or “Squeezle,” and she answers to both), whatever.  Warm fuzzies about our warm fuzzies.

Harpies love pets.  And not just for dinner!

*Your comment might go into the mod queue depending on your link.  We’ll keep an eye on it, but if it doesn’t go up right away, give it a little time.

Dr. Temple Grandin

I am super excited about the upcoming HBO biopic Temple Grandin, based on the life of lecturer, best-selling author, autism advocate and professor of animal science at Colorado State University, Dr. Temple Grandin.

Grandin, who is among the most famous individuals with autism in the world, was diagnosed with autism as a child in 1950. She overcame many personal and educational challenges before becoming an inventor and earning a Ph.D. in animal science. As an adult, she is an advocate for people on the autism spectrum, speaks regularly at autism conferences and offers advice to parents with autistic children. Grandin has also devoted much of her career to improving the treatment of livestock animals.

At age 18 she invented a device called a Hug Machine – a deep pressure device designed to calm hypersensitive persons. It is typically used to treat individuals with autism spectrum disorders. She came up with the idea after noting the way cattle were vaccinated while confined in a squeeze chute on her aunt’s ranch. After pressure was administered to the animals, they calmed down, and Grandin correctly predicted that such a device might settle her own hypersensitivity.

Grandin relates easily to animals and has to work hard to interact socially with other people. She says:

I’m a visual thinker, not a language-based thinker. My brain is like Google Images. If someone says the word factory, most people think of a vague place. I think in detail of every factory I ever saw, like the John Deere plant in Moline. Animals are sensory thinkers, thinking in pictures, smells, sounds. They don’t think in terms of language. I don’t either.

Grandin harnessed her “disorder” to better understand animal behavior, and became one of the top designers of livestock facilities in the nation. She advises the livestock industry in animal behavior and has created improvements to animal handling systems in meat plants.

[T]he things that scare a prey/species animal like cattle are a whole lot of little visual details that people just don’t tend to notice. And one of the big problems they used to have is the people just wanted to get out there and yell and scream and push and shove and you know more and more prods. Rather than remove the things that the cattle were afraid of.

A few years ago, American Public Media accompanied Grandin on slaughterhouse inspections she performed for McDonald’s. The resulting story is fascinating, describing the influence Grandin has had on the meat industry and providing a glimpse into her everyday life.

I so strongly admire Dr. Grandin’s philosophy, her talents and her career. I bet she has to deal with some nasty sexism in her field, too. Temple Grandin is based upon Grandin’s memoirs, Emergence and Thinking in Pictures. It airs on HBO on Saturday, February 6.

That said, when the Washington Post ran this picture, I thought, “Okay, this is fucking ridiculous.”

Photo by Don Chernoff for the Washington Post.

I recommend the accompanying article by Liza Mundy about deer in suburbia. It raises a lot of good questions.

I'm important. Via SarahMC

In reaction to news that Washington state may extend domestic violence restraining order protection to pets, some Jezebel commenters expressed outrage that people allegedly care more about animals than women and children.

Ignore, for a moment, the fact that this potential law is not even an effort to help animals; it’s an effort to help people. Abuse victims often stay in abusive situations in order to protect and remain close to their animals. Including pets in restraining orders removes one roadblock women face when attempting to flee their abusers.

The notion that working on behalf of group A is tantamount to privileging group A over all other groups and evidence that one’s priorities are out of whack is not only illogical, it’s insulting. Has anyone ever demanded that you stop caring about some “little issue” in order to focus on the so-called big issues?
For example, “Who cares about sexist commercials?! There are more important things to work on, like genocide in Darfur!”
This is a silencing tactic, and it’s typically used by people who care about neither sexist advertising nor Darfur. They are simply uncomfortable with people who agitate for social change. It’s also used by people who mistakenly believe that compassion is a limited resource that would be best spent on their issue of choice.

I care about animals. I care about humans. As you can see, I’m a dedicated feminist. My concern for animals does not deplete my compassion reserves. I do not believe that humanity must solve the world’s endless problems that *do* meet the arbitrary criteria for Worthy Cause™ before I devote my time, energy and money to the issues near and dear to my heart. In many cases, I can do both.

Many of us who fight on behalf of animals are also fighting on behalf of women, and children, and any number of other oppressed and marginalized groups. The only people who deserve comdemnation are those who live apathetically and fight only on behalf of themselves.

*Related: Liss’ Feminism 101