(Rerun) Cats as harbingers of doom: The Bird Flu

Note from Cruxley: I'm rerunning this one from last month in light of the TV movie that aired last night. No, I didn't watch it. I'd rather eat my own hairballs. Keep scrolling for newer posts.

I knew it would come to this.

One dead cat, and European countries are telling folks to keep their cats indoors or face prosecution. That's just the beginning. Before you know it, they'll be rounding us up and throwing us in the gas chambers.

When I first heard about this "bird flu" thing, I wasn't too worried. Woman followed it closely and seemed concerned but I figured that's just her nature. Then the story broke in the national media, and that's when things got really scary. Not the virus. That's worrisome enough, I suppose, but it's still one of many distant threats, and there's not much I can do about it. What's really frightening is contemplating the human reaction.

Humans seem to have no sense of danger when they're hurtling down the Interstate, talking on cell phones and cursing other drivers. They eat food that even I wouldn't touch -- deep-fried, salted, sweetened, preservative-laden unidentifiable substances that leave deadly residues and deposits in their overworked vascular systems. They carry guns and make chemical weapons and other terrifyingly efficient ways of killing each other, oblivious to the glaringly obvious fact that their toys and inventions are bound to be used against them. (Of course, I know the value of keeping the old claws sharp and the old reflexes ready. But most of the time, it's best to keep the claws covered and pick your battles wisely.)

I suppose these commonplace dangers have become familiar and comfortable to humans. Not so with this strange "new" threat, which by the way is anything but new. Potential pandemics and plagues are always around, and as smart as you humans have become, you still can't predict which ones will come to fruition and which ones will lose steam.

Sometime in the near future, a bird with the flu is bound to show up within US borders. I can already picture the headlines screaming that "Bird flu has arrived." In the ensuing confusion, some folks will misunderstand and think this means we will definitely have a pandemic. Others will dismiss the frenzy and refuse to take any precautions. And cats will become the enemy, reviled as a carrier of disease, regardless of whether cats contract it or are shown to be capable of passing it to humans.

Over the centuries, cats have been worshipped, feared, hated, generally disrespected and dearly loved. Some of those ancient humans "loved" us so much, they killed us and stuffed us and made idols out of us. Too much admiration can be a dangerous thing.

But one thing is for sure. No matter how much your human loves you, humans are biased to their own kind. I found that out the first (and only) time I gave little Princess a warning swat, and Man promptly dropkicked me across the room.

I harbor no delusions about what would happen to me if Man or Woman perceived me as a deadly threat to their Princess. Thankfully, they tend to have more common sense than some humans. They try not to panic until the danger is truly at the door.

This is Cruxley, reminding you to take a deep breath. There's nothing in the air yet but pollen and pollution.

And please don't kill the cat.