The Quandary of Idealism
Nate LipkaIssue date: 4/23/09 Section: Blogs
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It all started when this yet-to-be-named (or gender-identified) cat wandered into a close friend's apartment complex looking for food and a warm place to curl up. The friend welcomed the feline with open arms, buying cat food at his own expense, his clothes-cluttered closet serving as the perfect bed.
Problem is, the managers of the apartment complex aren't so accommodating. The reasoning, as is the case with many apartment complex regulations, is a bit spotty - small, unassuming animals warrant a $600 fine but dope-smoking, loud-partying burnouts are "a-ok" so long as the rent checks are cut on time - but the risk of forking over such a large chunk of change in this dire economic climate was enough for my friend to seek refuge elsewhere for his new-found kitty friend.
Enter yours truly. Having just moved to one of the few area apartment complexes that doesn't view smallish cats as a threat to our collective human existence, my cat-fancying girlfriend and I are perfect adoptive candidates and were the first people my friend contacted when trying to seek out a home for the little guy/girl. After about a millisecond of consideration, we enthusiastically agreed, and our family grew larger by one.
Little did I know that preparations for welcoming our new furry friend would open up quite the ethical can of worms (or kibble, as it were).
While researching cat supplies, I learned that cats are carnivorous. I, in fact, am not.
Being a card-carrying vegetarian (I don't really have a card, but if anyone wants to send me one, it'd be much appreciated), the overwhelming meatiness of the feline diet raised quite the moral quandary. Just weeks ago, I was all but positive that I would never buy any product that any living creature had to die for ever again. There are so many reasons I became vegetarian in the first place - health, non-violence and environmentalism among them, although I usually cite "personal choice" when asked as a matter of simplicity - but I had never considered the idea of having to purchase meat in order to support a loved one.
For once, I can actually empathize with politicians. No matter the party affiliation, elected officials are bound to be lambasted for failing to live up to their campaign promises. There's merit to the notion that they shouldn't make unrealistic promises to begin with, yes, but I empathize nonetheless.
It's a weighty issue, but luckily, a cat and a stray shoelace make for the perfect distraction.
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