The Paw Project

I am aware that cat de-clawing is not the greatest tragedy in the world, but I watched the movie anyway just to be better informed.  I was shocked by how uninformed I actually was.

De-clawing does not mean simply trimming a cat's nails, or even surgically removing them at the root.  Cat claws grow directly out of the last bone in the toe, so that entire bone is removed.  This results in severed tendons, abnormally short toes, and often chronic infection as the nail attempts to grow back inside the toe.  De-clawed cats are often more insecure, resort to biting, and have difficulty using the litter box because of the pain in their feet.

Proponents of de-clawing are often veterinarians who make $1,000+ per hour for the procedure, and well-intentioned people who believe a de-clawed cat is more likely to find a home.  They are usually unaware of exactly what the procedure entails, and shelters report that de-clawed cats are often abandoned as a result of the behavioral problems caused by the de-clawing.  

My libertarian mind is on the fence about whether or not I'd want to see de-clawing outlawed, but I'm certainly in favor of spreading awareness.  Clearly cat owners are not going to get unbiased information from their vets, so they should get it from somewhere.  De-clawing is a barbaric practice that can cause a lifetime of pain and complications.  It is also completely unnecessary when there are alternatives like claw sheaths available. 

See the movie.  It's streaming on Netflix and YouTube.  Or, make a donation at www.pawproject.org and they might send you a copy.

Death By China

I've been watching documentaries again.  Here's a goodie, available on Netflix and YouTube.

I knew the situation in China was terrible, I knew the cheap stuff was inferior quality and possibly dangerous, and growing up I had some vague notion that if everything was made in China our economy would probably suffer.  For a while I was just apathetic, because there didn't seem to be too many ways around it.  There aren't too many products out there with a "Made in USA" alternative.  But now I'm just mad, and determined to look for an alternative whenever one might possibly exist.  This will tie in with that later post wherein I will scour Target and Wal-Mart for those elusive "Made in USA" items and compare the two.

Oh, and I'll never order fish at a restaurant again, at least not unless I can verify it came from this hemisphere.  Not that fish farming anywhere is AMAZINGLY healthy.  Bah.  Fish are difficult.

Stress

They're right.  I've spent most of my life being stressed over nothing.  You imagine stress taking a physical toll, but we don't generally realize that chronic stress actually damages brain cells responsible for memory and unravels your chromosomes.  There are some things that will just have to start taking a backseat from now on while I find some time to unwind on a daily basis.

Money and Medicine

I'm watching Netflix again.  At 2:30 in the morning, I'm too tired to do much else.

Today's recommendation, "Money and Medicine" by Roger Weisberg.  More interestingly to me, they didn't talk about the cost of heathcare so much as the much pooh-poohed risks and side-effects of unnecessary treatment.  It's a worse problem than I thought.

Because of my bicornuate uterus, it has been medically recommended that I get a CT scan to investigate whether or not I was born with only one kidney.  The impetus behind this recommendation seems to be no more serious than curiosity and general information, and after hearing what sort of radiation punch those machines are packing, I think I'll pass.  My kidney(s?) has never bothered me in the past, so I really don't see the urgency.