(JP)Pet rules spell dog's life for cats

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http://www.asahi.com/english/national/K2002040800515.html

 

Pet rules spell dog's life for cats

 

By DAISHI KAWABATA, Shukan Asahi

 

Cats should be kept indoors and ought to be neutered,

according to new guidelines on pet treatment released

last month.

 

The guidelines, drawn up by the Central Environment

Council, an advisory body to the environment minister,

and released on March 22, also call for owners to love

and care for their pets throughout the animals' lives

and to keep young animals with their parents and

siblings until they are at least 3 months old.

 

The guidelines are aimed at raising owners' awareness

of their responsibilities so that they don't end up

burdening others. But what kind of manners and

practices are really necessary for people and pets to

live together in harmony?

 

Hanako Saito (not her real name) says she once let her

cat have a large litter of kittens, but had trouble

giving them away. As she was living in an apartment

where pets were banned, the cat was a big secret. But

she took no steps to stop the animal reproducing.

 

``I felt sorry for the cat. I thought she should give

birth at least once,'' Saito says. ``Soon, there were

14 kittens. And they were so cute, I couldn't give

them away.

 

``In the end, I gave them to relatives and begged

friends to take care of them.''

 

Now, Saito has only one cat, which she has had

neutered.

 

``Keeping cats locked up indoors is not something the

government should force on people. The idea is so

typical of someone trying to tell others how to live

their lives,'' says Katsushige Miyata, a veterinarian

whose opinion was sought by the council.

 

But Miyata was in the minority in opposing the

inclusion of an indoor care recommendation in the

guidelines.

 

The head of the Environment Ministry's animal

management office says, ``Being indoors is actually

better for cats' health and safety, and for the

well-being of the community. Cats often get hit by

cars. In Tokyo, the number of cats that get hit by

cars-24,000 a year-is double the number of strays that

get taken in.

 

``When cats are outdoors, they have higher rates of

infection with so-called cat AIDS, leukemia and other

diseases. They ultimately live shorter lives.''

 

But the problems are not limited to the cats

themselves.

 

``Their urine and droppings as well as foul odor and

noise often cause problems in the community,'' the

official says. ``There are constant complaints. I

really encourage owners to get their cats neutered to

reduce the number of strays and neglected animals.''

 

The number of stray dogs that get taken in has fallen

drastically over the past quarter century. In 1975,

529,000 dogs were taken in. But following the

introduction of a registration and capture system

aimed at preventing rabies, the number plunged to

145,000 in 1999. In contrast, the lack of regulations

means the number of stray cats taken in ballooned from

68,000 in 1975 to 276,000 in 1999.

 

Cats and small dogs cared for at home live as long as

20 years, but stray cats live a mere three years on

average due to illness and accidents.

 

Public awareness of the need to protect cats and dogs

has increased. About 26 percent of people surveyed in

2000 were against putting cats and dogs to sleep if

nobody is willing to take them in, compared to 20

percent in 1986.

 

The new guidelines have also stirred debate on animal

imports.

 

Hokkaido is overrun with wild raccoons. The North

American-bred animals often become violent when they

reach maturity and run off, or their owners release

them back into the wild, unable to tame or tolerate

their pets.

 

In the wild, the raccoons breed extensively thanks to

the absence of a natural enemy. This has disrupted

Hokkaido's natural cycle, with the raccoons destroying

foxes, raccoon dogs and the nests of gray herons.

 

There were 367 raccoons in 1998, when the government

began trying to rid the area of the animals. But the

number rose to 884 last year, and raccoons are now

being caught in more than 60 towns.

 

Another problem is the increase in the number of

reptiles, which account for half of all animal imports

at about 2 million a year.

 

Following a surge in the animals' popularity in the

early 1990s, department stores are selling 20- to

30-centimeter baby iguanas for 5,000 yen, a price that

makes them affordable even to elementary school

students. But in three years, the iguanas grow to

about 1 meter, and in five years can be as long as 2

meters.

 

Pet shops are inundated with calls from irresponsible

owners, asking the stores to take their iguanas back.

 

Akira Yamauchi of the Yamauchi Iguana Research

Laboratory, who gives advice online about iguana care,

has taken in a number of the unwanted pets, and the

lab now has 10 iguanas more than 2 meters long.

 

``I can't take in any more,'' he says. ``To keep

iguanas in a room, I have to keep the temperature

above 30 degrees. The heating costs alone are

bankrupting me.

 

``I hope both iguana sellers and buyers will study the

reptiles' habits and take responsibility for their

actions.''

 

Meanwhile, an increasing number of Tokyo condominiums

are allowing residents to keep pets.

 

The Urban Development Corp., a major public housing

developer, recently built a condominium in Tokyo's

Koto Ward, its first to permit residents to keep pets.

Each household can keep one pet that will weigh less

than 10 kilograms even upon reaching adulthood-a rule

that would allow 66 breeds of dog. Another regulation

is that cats kept in the building must be neutered.

 

Despite the rules, the condominium received over 10

times more applications for housing in the building

than was available, and the 144 units were soon

occupied. About 40 percent of the residents have pets,

and another 40 percent plan to get them.

 

``Before, most condos made people feel embarrassed

about having pets by posting signs in elevators saying

animals were not allowed to urinate there,'' says a

63-year-old owner of a Maltese dog. ``But here, I feel

free to have a pet.''

 

``I used to negotiate with landlords and sign

contracts saying I'd pay for any damage caused by my

pet,'' a single woman in her 40s recalls. ``I was once

yelled at by my neighbor when my cat got into her home

via the veranda. Now I feel much more comfortable

about having a cat. ''

 

Kiyomi Hoshikawa, of the Companion Animal Information

and Research Center, a nonprofit organization

promoting co-existence between pets and humans, has

the following advice for pet owners:

 

``About 50 percent of residents living in condominiums

where pets are allowed to keep pets. The biggest

problems in condominiums and other types of housing

are unnecessary animal noise, hairs and odors. I would

therefore advise owners to be careful about these

things.

 

``Owners really must be more sensitive to their

surroundings and make sure their pets are not causing

problems.''

 

Last year, about 17,000 Tokyo condominiums, or 19

percent of the total, allowed pets. That figure is up

from just 709 in 1998.

 

A senior official at the Japan Society for the

Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, says it is important

that would-be owners know what they are getting into

before they buy a pet. He has devised a checklist of

10 questions people should ask themselves before

buying a pet, including, ``Do all members of your

family like animals?''

 

``I really want prospective owners to consider two

things before deciding whether to get a pet: whether

they can love and care for a pet for the rest of its

life, and whether they can do so without causing

problems for their neighbors,'' he says.

 

``Having a pet can be extremely therapeutic for

owners, but they should never take their

responsibilities lightly. Unless they're ready to take

care of the pet for life, they end up getting rid of

it.''

 

Shukan Asahi is a weekly magazine published by The

Asahi Shimbun.

 

(IHT/Asahi: April 8,2002)

 

(04/08)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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