WITH the negative news that came to public scrutiny recently involving cat haters in a Makati City posh subdivision, I would like to focus on the positive aspect that highlights kindness toward cats.
For Liz and David Lam, changing their little corner in their host country is done one paw at a time.
She was born in the Philippines, but belonging to an expat family, grew up abroad, while he is from the United States, of South American descent. They met while she was doing her postgraduate studies in New York City. They wound up in the Philippines due to work and other concerns that made the move viable for them as a family.
They grew up having pets, mostly dogs, and for the first eight years of their married life they had dogs due to her bias toward them, probably brought on by the distant memory of being badly bitten by a Persian kitty, in spite of the rest of the family being partial to cats.
The shift was brought about by an unforeseen event. When David stopped the car while in the slow moving traffic on Edsa to rescue a kitten that was almost run over by a motorcycle. Not the prettiest sight, as the kitty, hissing, was scared out of its wits, dirty and stinky from being stuck in a storm drain.
Their daughter’s plea stopped them from releasing her in the Urdaneta Park, where they thought it might be a safer place. The intent of keeping her just one night turned into a temporary adoption when even their Pomeranian showed kindness to the stray.
The intention was to nurse the kitty back to health and release her in Salcedo Park, where they knew some expat ladies are routinely feeding the cat population there.
But when Liz unexpectedly experienced purring from their little ward, signifying total trust and contentment, temporary became permanent, and the newly christened Kitt was the first cat in a dog-loving family.
To this day, they collectively experience the stress-relieving benefits of a purring cat morning and evening, Kitt being the most consistent in doing so.
A few months after they met a gentle fellow in S&R, while they were shopping for cat litter, who placed a benevolent curse on them of never stopping at rescuing just one cat, they saw it come to fruition as they rescued their first foster cat.
Stella, who was subsequently adopted by a Belgian family, flew smack into their car after being kicked by a security guard.
Their love for cats was apparent as plain as day when one of their rescues followed their daughter from the park into the elevator and straight into their place.
Kitt and Stella were rescued about two years ago. They now have rescued dozens, adopting some outright and fostering others, while actively searching for good homes for their wards. Showing kindness to animals does elicit different reactions, from like-minded people to haters. What they see is lack of education as the root cause for hatred. They see fear of dogs and cats passed on from adults to children. It would be best to educate the young to care for all creatures because they do grow up to be more compassionate adults.
It is a way to introduce ethics and values that should include all creation understanding the role of animals and humans in our environment and society as a whole. We need to keep in mind that, historically, infamous serial killers had their start torturing animals before moving up to humans.
Speaking of the role of cats in our ecosystem, they contribute to keeping vermin under control, contrary to some people’s belief that stray cats themselves are vermin to be eliminated.
Fortunately, intolerance seen even in the most civilized corner of the Metro is balanced by the kindness of like-minded people who try to make a difference.
The Lams also maintain a group on Facebook, Manila Expat Pet Lovers, as a means to support families who cannot bring their adopted fur babies with them on their next assignment.
This was brought about by a Facebook ad wherein Jo, an expat lady who was moving out of the country, was looking for someone to care for four newborn kittens, to which Liz promptly rose to the challenge even though she had no experience in handling them.
Liz relates how she has met the kindest fellow expats after she embraced fostering and adopting cats at the vets or while feeding strays in the park, like Francesca, who, having a nursing cat, provided a home for one of the newborns.
Some of their rescues have gone to distant shores, but thanks to their virtual support group, they keep tabs on each other, exchanging advice and more. They do support the spay and neuter action to keep the cat population under control through an active campaign providing leaflets, in the hope of educating others.
Seeing a badly injured animal find a new loving home, knowing that they made a difference in their little corner, is the best reward for the Lams, who, together with other like-minded expats in the Philippines, do their best to enrich their experience here.