I saw this meme on Facebook. I guess the person who posted it wants to keep cats safe. Laudable. I’m allergic to cats, and have never had a pet cat. But if I did, I would want her safe. (I would have a female cat, name her Toonces, and she would have a litter box shaped like a car.) But what does safety mean? Does that mean she should never feel sunshine from the sky, not just through a window? Or chase a chipmunk? Or live her authentic cat life? Aren't we all about living our authentic lives today, whether we have one or nine? Or are we scaredy cats - willing to cower at home instead of finding ways to stay strong, be strong. Live strong.

The 2020 lockdown taught us what it might feel like to be an indoor cat.  We discovered that it's a lot like what you scoop out of a litter box.  Mental health tanked. Businesses failed. Families separated. And now we live like the Hatfields and the McCoys pitted against each other in anger and fear, instead of banding together with American spirit of ingenuity.  We are allowed only 1 solution (3 brands, all in a syringe.)

The cat meme invoked the worst case, alarmist information that is fomenting anger across the country.  That if we DO NOT live the indoor life - we face nothing but danger and death.

I can't live that way. Paranoid. Anxious. Full of FUD - fear, uncertainty and doubt. I can live smart. I can make active choices to protect myself and my family. I can make fully informed choices. And like most of us here at AofA, I can NOT afford to be hospitalized, let alone die.  I have taken Covid seriously since the day it appeared on the scene in all its spikey gloomy (sic.)  I still take it seriously. Anyone who thinks otherwise, is a very dumb dog.