Hermione and Crookshanks

[moongirlk]

No: HPFGUIDX 35978

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., Kim Heikkinen <catlover at n...> wrote:
 
> Obviously, you have never owned a cat. 

>From the perspective of someone who has had a cat in her life pretty 
much non-stop since the age of 3, let me pipe in.  When a person 
takes on a pet, he or she takes on a responsibility for its well-
being and for it's behavior.  I agree with what many have said that 
it's common knowlege that cats tend to do exactly what they want to 
do, that it's difficult to restrain them, and that they are crafty 
and creative in getting their way.  But I think that means that if a 
person is not prepared to take appropriate steps to keep the pet safe 
and/or prevent it from causing trouble for others, they should 
probably go with a goldfish.  I live in the city, so I keep my cat 
indoors, often against her desires and endless attempts to the 
contrary.  If I didn't make that effort, it would be a matter of time 
before she was hit by a car and killed.  It is also accepted by most 
pet-lovers that one spays/neuters a cat unless it is meant for 
breeding.  This despite the fact that it is an unpleasant experience 
for the cat and that, in many cases, the cat is never intended to be 
allowed around other animals.  These are precautions, and they're the 
owner's responsibility.  The closer the community, the more we need 
to respect each other's needs, not less.

> Previous posts have pointed out how 
> much easier it is to keep a sick rat, needing rest, in a room than 
a 
> healthy cat. If Ron *knows* his rat is sick, why doesn't he keep it 
in a 
> quiet, dark, secluded space? Why let it be at large? Why drag it 
around in 
> his pocket, bouncing it this way and that? 

I adopted Piglet (my kitty) from a shelter, and she got really sick 
shortly after I brought her home.  I made a little sling out of an 
old shirt and carried her around like a baby for a week to keep her 
warm and to be close, in case anything went wrong.  Had I left her in 
a quiet, dark, secluded place, she would be dead of respiratory 
arrest now.  I bounced her around for a week because I loved her; as 
a result, she's still here for me to love.

Why doesn't RON create a spell 
> that will keep Crookshanks out of the boys' dormitory? "Nope. Not 
buying 
> that one."

Now this really *does* sound insensitive.  I'm sure it wasn't meant 
to, but seriously - say my neighbor has a really big dog.  Say that 
neighbor considers it my responsibility to keep their dog from 
hurting my cat, and say my cat then turns up missing.  How should a 
cat lover feel then?

Kimberly
a cat lover (and dog lover!) herself who believes love of a pet 
involves more than indulgence.