Well, I feel it is vitally important to start looking in to the legal aspect of the keep cats indoors campaign. I have contacted the Association of Lawyers for Animal Welfare and received a really nice response from Paula Sparks, who is the Executive Chairperson, and has offered to raise the issue at the next directors meeting. I am hoping that they won't just see this as ranting and that I am serious about making such changes - however long it takes. There are so many things that keep me motivated to seeing this through, such as the distant cry of a wild animal being tortured, having to wash out the smell of a cat spraying outside my front door, witnessing a dead cat on the side of the road and posters nailed to trees as yet another cat goes missing. I can see the issues from both sides, I know how hard it is to make changes when something has always been that way,  but that does not make it right ... 

If we take away the fundamental reason behind the campaign and just look at the human aspect of having to make changes it can seem quite scary. New routines have to be put in place, a new way of living emerges in which the old life appears so much easier and less hassle. We will often say it is the non-human animal that won't change, but I would say that it is mostly the owner who is not consistent with making those changes that causes the problems. Some would say it is down to laziness, but I guess that would depend on how motivated we are at the time. Most people will find this resource if there is a hefty fine attached to it, while others because it simply feels wrong. Like my dad has said, people are wholely apathetic, we want to make life better but don't quite make it to actually getting to the point of being pro-active.

Habit is also a major factor, we look at what we have achieved in the past as a guideline as to whether it is possible now. Yet I believe it is better to leave the past behind and start with a clean slate. So it may not have worked previously, that does not mean it will not now. We are more than our habits, we have the potential to do and be anything we want to be - why wait to have those changes enforced upon us, it may seem like a disadvantage but we can turn it around into something positive! Take the Keep Cats Indoors Campaign, you will have more time with your cat, you will feel uplifted that you have played a more active role in organising its time wisely, you won't have the potential health problems and the fear of never seeing him/her again. Change takes time, I know it will be a long time before I see any apparent effect as to what will come of the campaign, but persistence wins out in the end, I feel sure of this.

If we avoid making changes because it is hard work then we tend to live a life only half lived. By making the effort now we save ourselves far more hassle in the future, taking responsibility for ourselves, for the environment, our family and animals is the only way forward for a happier, more peaceful future ...