To the Editor:
My husband and I recently lost the companionship of our feline friend, Mr. Spot. Mr. Spot was over 21 years old, possibly 24, as we figure his age. He was originally a feral cat born in the wild and probably the runt of the litter. He lost an eye defending his sister, Miss Winter, in a storm drain from predators.
We adopted Mr. Spot due to the intercession of acquaintances, who in the years that have passed became very dear friends.
All my life, I have had the company and friendship of feral cats. We honor the memory of Mr. Spot and all of the cats we have interacted with as pure gift from The Creator. They have kept rats and mice from our doors, homes, parks and businesses without much ado. With the waterfront all about us here in Bayonne, we could easily be inundated with rats like the people in the “Pied Piper of Hamlin” or the hundreds of thousands of victims of the Black Plague in Europe over the centuries.
My dear cat, “Thorn” died from the bite of a rabid squirrel in our backyard. He prevented that particular diseased creature from entering our home and biting us. Thorn had been dosed with gasoline, set on fire by a local neighbor, and hung by the throat twice from our clothesline previous to this incident for no other reason than it gave my “neighbor” enjoyment to watch him squirm and burn.
Ignorance of the service these creatures render us humans could be playing a part in the mischief and cruelty I have witnessed first hand and read about recently. Are the Bayonne city officials really considering destroying our feral cat population? This will only create more problems in Bayonne and subtract from the environment’s friendly climate.
Build a better Bayonne, dear citizens. Lend your voices to save the feral cat population!
KAREN M. TYLUTKI