Cat Legality

For over two centuries the United States government has been faced with difficult decisions. Everything from gun control to the use of tobacco products, our government has had to walk the thin line between protecting United States citizens and oppressing those citizens. However, there is one topic that is so hotly debated that even our founding fathers were too afraid to address the issue. It is time for the government to stop worrying about what is popular and do what is right: it is time for the government to outlaw cats as pets.

Proponents of cats as pets will argue that the low maintenance and the companionship offered by cats make them excellent pets. Some make the claim that owning cats can actually improve someones quality of life and health. Clearly the faulty logic of these groups is the downfall of their argument. Not only do cats make horrible pets, but they pose a threat to both physical and mental well being in humans.( Serpell)

If a dog were to lounge around the house all day, get drunk, jump onto the table, and sleep on top of the refrigerator he would be a bad dog. However, this sort of behavior is expected of cats. Almost all pets are expected to serve humans in some capacity, whether it be a dog guarding and protecting the house and yard or a bird singing on a sunny day. Pets contribute to household to improve the lives of their owners. Cats, however, do no such thing. A cat never greets its owner at the door or barks when a car pulls up, a cat just lays in the window sill and judges everyone that it sees. The only time a cat even acknowledges the existence of its supposed owner is when the cat wants something. This goes to show that the cat does not submit to the human, and therefore is a horrible pet by its actions alone.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has conducted numerous studies that show the negative effects that cats can have on humans. Aside from allergies, the two most notable and harmful disease that cats carry are Cat Scratch Disease (CSD) and Salmonella. CSD is a disease that is found on a cats claws and in a cats mouth. This is transmitted to humans when the cat scratches (as the name indicates) or bites a human. Symptoms of CSD include infection of the lymph nodes, especially in the upper body and throat, headache, fatigue, fever, and sometimes lead to life threatening illness.(Cat Scratch Disease) Even worse than CSD is Salmonella, a multi-drug resistant bacteria that often turns fatal. Another study by the CDC proved that cats can carry Salmonella in their feces.(Cats as a Risk) Since most pet cats use a litter box inside the owners house, it is possible for the cat to then spread the disease in the house and for the owner to become infected with Salmonella as well, further illustrating the dangers of having cats as pets.

Finally, a persons mental health is often times negatively affected by living with cats. In the United States the term Crazy Cat Lady is a common phrase, but Well Balanced, Perfectly Sane Cat Lady is never heard. People who own many cats are most often in ill physical health due to unsanitary living conditions and suffer from poor mental health. It is easy to see that the weak grasp on reality that those people have is due to the large quantities of cats. The exact cause of this phenomenon is still unclear, but you never hear about someone dying in a house with forty dogs or forty turtles, but you are not surprised to hear about someone dying in a house with forty cats.(Engber)

The real question now is: Why hasnt the government taken action? If our government finds it necessary to regulate substances such as cigarettes and alcohol because they can be harmful, then they should also protect United States citizens by passing laws on cat ownership. Cats as pets should be outlawed.