A very short one. About Mitzi the cat.

I was driving past a villa in our compound where a big family used to live, for a few years, until last summer. A dark gray cat was sitting outside. Looking lost.

Look, I said to my big girl, isn’t that the cat those girls always fed and played with?

 Yes, she replied. That’s Mitzi.

 Great, I thought, she even has a name.

When people love animals, they often do things that they think are kind. Like feed stray cats, let them in their homes, take care of them. Temporarily.

People like to consider themselves kind; it makes them feel good about themselves. Some might even think they will go to heaven if they show enough kindness.

Guys! Have you not read The Little Prince?

You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed. 

It is very simple, really.

Like in this fantastic video below.

I don't even like cats. But, as I watched Mitzi sitting outside the ex-neighbours' house, I felt sorry for it.

I mean, it happens to us, people too.  A close friend of mine had to leave the country, very suddenly. So, metaphorically, I often feel like Mitzi the cat, as I drive to all those places I would normally visit with that friend. Only my friend had no choice. Those other guys had a choice. They tamed Mitzi and made her think she was their pet. Only to then leave her behind.

Please, do think a little further and beyond your desire to feel kind, and consider what you are doing to an animal's life long term. Please, stop taming things you have no intention of adopting properly.

It isn't kind. It is cruel.