The struggle for kittens in Kampala is real. You know those little ones around your ankles at the kafunda begging you for scraps? These Kampala kittens, they have white fur with patches of grey or brown or black, and eyes that speak to your soul and persuade you to drop a grisly bit of meat into their little paws, as if doing so could be counted as a tithe to God, just by helping out another living being in need with what you’ve been given.
My dogs killed my kitten. I love my dogs and I want to defend them as if #NotAllDogs would do such a thing, but they did. I think the problem was that all of them were served their food at once, and one of my biggest dogs killed the kitten to assert its dominance and have all the food for itself. I don’t know because I was in Ibanda when the incident occurred and my investigations with house management have been inconclusive, but you know dogs. They are animals. The biggest and strongest one becomes in control of everyone and eats all the best meat himself. That’s Toby for us. He was probably the one who killed Cordelia, may she RIP. A friend told me today that his dogs once killed a kitten too, which kind of normalized the idea that dogs are always killing kittens by nature, though I’m not sure that conclusion would hold up with a statistics expert.
One day not long ago, I turned onto Tank Hill Road from Barnabas and saw in front of me a kitten, bloody and jerking back and forth on the road as if it had just been hit. I had two seconds to make a decision. This animal looked as if it was suffering while dying. Do I drive around this kitten or put it out of its misery? What would you do? I mean really, if you were driving and you saw this scene, how would you react?
I did not kill the kitten, but for a second I considered whether it would be a reasonable act of mercy. Maybe the car behind me didn’t see it and splat. Maybe the kitten suffered longer. Maybe it miraculously made it to the side of the road. Maybe it survived! Unlikely, but possible. At least there was a chance.
The struggle is real for kittens in Kampala, I tell you. They are so small and weak and dependent. Dogs kill kittens. Kids abuse kittens. As an “auntie,” I have had to teach young children that holding a kitten by the neck is not ok. That empathetic logic is apparently not inborn. We have to teach each other to be kind and gentle, or else our animalistic nature will just allow that big is big and kittens will be killed.
My dogs killed my kitten. I love my dogs and I want to defend them as if #NotAllDogs would do such a thing, but they did. I think the problem was that all of them were served their food at once, and one of my biggest dogs killed the kitten to assert its dominance and have all the food for itself. I don’t know because I was in Ibanda when the incident occurred and my investigations with house management have been inconclusive, but you know dogs. They are animals. The biggest and strongest one becomes in control of everyone and eats all the best meat himself. That’s Toby for us. He was probably the one who killed Cordelia, may she RIP. A friend told me today that his dogs once killed a kitten too, which kind of normalized the idea that dogs are always killing kittens by nature, though I’m not sure that conclusion would hold up with a statistics expert.
One day not long ago, I turned onto Tank Hill Road from Barnabas and saw in front of me a kitten, bloody and jerking back and forth on the road as if it had just been hit. I had two seconds to make a decision. This animal looked as if it was suffering while dying. Do I drive around this kitten or put it out of its misery? What would you do? I mean really, if you were driving and you saw this scene, how would you react?
I did not kill the kitten, but for a second I considered whether it would be a reasonable act of mercy. Maybe the car behind me didn’t see it and splat. Maybe the kitten suffered longer. Maybe it miraculously made it to the side of the road. Maybe it survived! Unlikely, but possible. At least there was a chance.
The struggle is real for kittens in Kampala, I tell you. They are so small and weak and dependent. Dogs kill kittens. Kids abuse kittens. As an “auntie,” I have had to teach young children that holding a kitten by the neck is not ok. That empathetic logic is apparently not inborn. We have to teach each other to be kind and gentle, or else our animalistic nature will just allow that big is big and kittens will be killed.
