Today
Jakarta

Sun, 09/14/2008 10:00 AM | Lifestyle
ADPARA>Good meowrning everyone. My paw-paw Diaz is not here today, he's just left for a weekend away with his friends to a place called Beach. I don't know where that is.
He often tells me about places he goes and what he does but I still have no idea about who Gym is or what Work is. But hey, I'm just his cat. My name is Buckley.
Every once in a while, I like to have a human-free day like today, not being patted like crazy, not being called ridiculous names, not being taunted with bizarre little dangling objects and not being carried on my paw-paw's shoulder as though I'm one of his accessories.
Today is one of those days where I can have the house all to myself. The day where I start with a special Sunday salmon pate breakfast, followed by a sunbathing session on the balcony while flirting with the Persian queen from floor 32, lounge around in my paw-paw's favorite chair where he always sits, watch Animal Planet on TV, eat my regular diet food, yawn, sleep, eat, chase my toy a bit, sleep again and finally to turn to my secret hobby, browsing the Internet!
I've done replying to all my paw-mails on catster.com (yeah it's our Friendster, people!) and have sent flirty winks and treats to some online beautipuss.
When I was thinking where else I could browse today, my clumsy paw accidentally hit on history button, which lead me to paw-paw's Facebook page! Hmmm, tons of his pictures I've seen before, whatta narciss.
There are many little pictures of his friends as well; some look familiar -- and I wonder why some of the others are dressed up like us animals in their photos? Blah! Fashionistas I suppose.
Before long I noticed some applications: fluff friends, pet pupz, hatching eggs, my aquarium, and mouse hunt ... hey, this stuff looks fun!
Seems people really love us animals, eh? They're posting our cartoons and animations all over their website, MOL! (Meowing Out Loud).
But what is this Fun Wall thing? Looks like list of mini TVs with different movies! There's one featuring a cute animal like me! Pawsome! Let me sharpen my nails on my scratching post before hitting the play button. Purrr..
What's this? People with animals in cages but they don't look happy -- they look frightened and confused, much like how I was when I left my home and friends before being taken to paw-paw's apartment.
No, wait. These cages are a thousand times worse than any cage I've ever seen in my life. And those animals are squeezed so tightly inside, aren't they suffering there? I don't recognize these animals except for that they have fur like me.
My heart beats faster just about when people start picking them up roughly. OH MEOW GOD!!! Is this an animal killing field??? Why are these beautiful animals being hit brutally and their fur being torn off as they were still alive? No! No! Nooo!!!
I have to cover my eyes with my paws now, and I feel my whiskers shrinking inside my skin, poking my shivering face.
The humans don't seem to care as the animals cry and scream in terrible pain ... and the bodies of animals with no fur being heaped up ... and the people just walking away with their bloody skins.
Later on, they use the fur to make things that people are putting around their bodies. How can people be so cruel and so obsessed with our fur? Furacious? Holly guacamoley, are those fur scarfs and fur jackets that paw-paw's friends are wearing in the photos I saw earlier on his Facebook?
I can't stand this sadistic scene anymore! I suddenly have furtigo in my little head. Is there such a shortage of clothes that they actually need to kill animals like me to make more clothes? Is this what my paw-paw and his friends do? Is this what he watches and likes? Is he just waiting till I get big enough or my fur long enough and then I will be next? Would he do this to me all for the sake of fashion?
I've built up a long list of unanswered questions under the lengthening shadows as the sun sets over Jakarta and my day has been spent alone and terrified.
Do I just sit here and wait for paw-paw to come home or do I make my escape ... but to where? And would it be a better place where there's a guarantee humans won't torture or slaughter us? I feel so helpless being an animal for depending on humans for my life. But do I have any other choice?
What is it with the whole law of nature? God created some of us to serve human's hunger, and now we have to serve their unnecessary need for decorative fashion too?
This has just confused me. All I know is I feel safe completely when me and my paw-paw are together, so I guess I trust him with my life.
I don't want to think that this person I love, or any person for that matter, would actually harm us. I don't think my paw-paw is ever going to hurt me, I know he loves me and cares for me (except when I throw up hair balls on his carpet).
I will purray to my God for the same fair treatment from humans for all other animals.
We ask for nothing but love and care and to return it equally. Give us a chance to live, people. Can you never be satisfied with what you already have? Realize that you can have your work, your friends, your cars, your gym, your fashion, your entertainments, your drama and your scandals, but we have only you.
--Diaz