Dear friend,
I’m sorry.
Yesterday you sent me a note and spoke from your heart. You told me how you feel.
You’re probably not alone. I know you meant well, but it hurt.
You said you used to love the awesome photo work and photos of me. You said that it has all changed.
You told me that Tuna Melts My Heart and Lil Bub both raise money for great pet causes and just use their social media to spread joy .
You said they have a great line of products that go to pet causes. You said that I, “call people out” and post, “the same thing day after day.”
You told me I bash and disparage people.
You told me I can catch more flies with honey.
You said that I can still have my cause, spread the word, raise money for kitties, without personally calling people out.
You’re right about a couple things. Tuna and Lil Bub both melt my heart because of the good that they do for animal causes.
And things did change because my eyes were seeing too much torture and wrong being done to cats, to look away.
And here I stand.
Passionately living and breathing what I do in a space that makes some question my methods enough to leave. Yet knowing that the majority of my friends are passionately fired up and empowered by the positive change we are making for the welfare of all cats.
It’s wonderful how life can be, where human nature can take such drastic and opposing courses over the same thing.
As they say.
Perspective is everything.
The ones who stay know that together we have truly have crossed the “verge of something big” bridge and are now seeing a humane change. Yes, I feel it in my heart that the winds of change are blowing in our favor.
Those of you who stay and join us are the ones who understand the power we have together to truly help save cats from so much real pain and suffering.
And when we are at the end of our lives and on our last breath, trust me, we will all be proud. It matters that you save even one kitty or hundreds.
Yet here I stand, wanting to please all of you. Wishing that everyone, like this person, knew how big of a struggle my mom and I face everyday to post happy and fun photos and yet know that so many kitties are in imminent danger from unnecessarily going through one of the most cruel, painful, and inhumane procedure known in the animal world….in the hands of “doctors” who know better and who took an oath to heal and helps animals.
Sadly there is a very dark side of the noble profession of veterinary medicine in North America and it involves declawing. Most of the rest of the world is appalled that around 25% of cats in America cruelly have their toes unnecessarily and cruelly amputated.
I’m not calling out veterinarians who do it as a last resort (even though I know it shouldn’t be done by any “doctor”) I’m calling out the worst of the worst declawers. Some of these unethical vets offer coupons and promote it to be something that is good for a cat. Many of these vets don’t counsel their clients on the negative consequences of amputating a cat’s toes and don’t care that they are disabling and torturing them. Many of them lie and even some in high positions who are trying to stop our declawing bill in NJ. [button href=”https://citythekitty.org/njvma-spokesvet-defends-cat-declawing-with-big-fat-lies/” color=”red” newwindow=”yes”] NJ Spokesvet lies about declawing to legislators[/button]
Some even talk their clients out of using the humane alternatives. [button href=”https://citythekitty.org/3-kitties-declaw-story/” color=”orange”] Teeger, Abby, and Ryder’s horrific story[/button]
Many of these declawed cats end up back in kill shelters from the issues from being declawed. Many of these vets just want to keep making money from this horrific procedure. Many don’t care about the welfare of cats as much as they do dogs. Many would rather just keep their cat clients happy and declaw their cats when they ask, than counsel them about the humane alternatives and how bad declawing is for a cat. 
I shine light on that dark side and if doing that helps save even a few kitties from that terrible fate, isn’t it worth it?
And 99% of the time I don’t post the name of the vet or their practice. I just want to expose how so many vets are trying to mislead cat owners with false information about declawing that makes it seem ok and good to do to a cat.
That follower said my mom is a wonderful photographer and can create beautiful products. She’s very right about that. But my mom made a choice to give up working on all the creative endeavors with me for this important cause.
There were just too many blatant and unethical things in front of her that were calling for our help. Cats’ lives were being ruined daily. We had to give it 100% and that’s why she still does it as a volunteer, 16 hr days, 7 days a week. Yep, when she wakes up she goes to work and when she’s done, she goes to sleep.
She focuses on a goal and wants to make it happen. As she quickly found, this isn’t an easy battle because we are up against the very people who sadly should be on our side but are trying to stop us because greed has filled their hearts more than the vow they took to help and heal animals.
We gets note from angry cat owners who say they have a right to keep their furniture safe from destructive cats and that I shouldn’t try to take that right away from them. They make fun of the way their cats walk from the pain after being declawed. They post photos on instagram saying “LOL” and how cute their kitties are in a cone and with the big bandages. They act like it is a manicure and say their cats are happy and don’t even know their toes and claws are gone. They treat this mutilating and painful procedure like it is ok and fine to do to their cats, mostly because their veterinarians never educated them on the horrific facts about how it is amputating all of the toe bones in a cats paw. 
We have endured threats of all kinds and have had our good name slandered. . Doesn’t that seem crazy that we have to worry about our safety just because we are trying to save kitties paws from a well known form of torture?
And we even get bullied and slandered by some of the big veterinary associations and some of their semi-famous vets who should be on our side and helping us end this procedure that goes against the veterinary oath to heal and help animals. [button href=”https://citythekitty.org/dear-david-how-did-you-overcome-goliath-love-city-the-little-orange-kitty/” color=”orange”] Dear David, How did you overcome Goliath. [/button]
My mom didn’t want to sell me out and chase the money and fame. Even though she had been laid off from her job that paid the bills.
We wanted more followers, simply so we could change the world for the better and make it a lot safer for the next generation of kitties to live their lives with the parts of their body that are so important to their health and well being.
Yes we are on a path that is different from all the other famous cats, but we are proud to call it ours and own it for what it’s worth.
And in my heart and soul, I know that if we have helped to save even just one kitty from going though that unimaginable thing, then we have succeeded.
So yes, dear follower, I wish I could post all happy and fun photos but that will happen when this horrific and inhumane procedure ends in North America.
In the meantime, I hope you understand and embrace me even if I am different from the Lil Bubs, Tuna Melt my Heart, and Grumpy cats and dogs of the world.
I have a purpose and it is my own path to follow.
Love,
City the Kitty
In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends. MLK