From a Mason Jar to Death Row: Homeless New Jersey Cat Is Once Again Fighting for His Life

"We just worked a little on the neck and it popped right off."
-- Thomas Dodd

Another homeless cat has fallen victim to an uncapped glass container carelessly tossed out by someone illegally dumping trash. This time around it was an eight-month-old black and white American Shorthair who was forced to wander around Hunterdon County in northern New Jersey for more than a week with a mason jar stuck on his head.

Fortunately for the yet unnamed cat, he was rescued by Raritan Township Animal Control Officer Thomas Dodd early on January 10th and immediately taken to a veterinarian who used cooking oil in order to remove the jar. (See photos above and below.)

"We just worked a little on the neck and it popped right off," Dodd told Newark's The Star Ledger on January 10th. (See "Cat Freed from Jar in Hunterdon.") The cat had been corralled earlier by employees of Wayne Hunt Real Estate Agency but it escaped before they were able to remove the jar.

Other than being famished and dehydrated the cat appears to be in pretty good shape. He has been taken to the Hunterdon Humane Animal Shelter in Milford where officials say that they will hold him for seven days.

Although they insist that he then will be put up for adoption, that is most likely a lie since almost one-hundred per cent of all feral cats entering shelters never come out alive. Consequently, this poor cat has gone from the frying pan into the fire.

In November of last year a cat named Wild Oats from the Memphis suburb of Bartlett survived an amazing nineteen days with a peanut butter jar stuck on her head. Luckily for her, she was rescued by private citizens and is presumably still alive. (See Cat Defender post of December 18, 2007 entitled "Wild Oats Survives Nineteen Days with a Peanut Butter Jar Stuck on Her Head.")

Individuals who truly care about cats should not give the knackers at either Animal Control or shelters an opportunity to get their murdering hands on any felines. Rescues of this sort are best left to private individuals.

That is not to say that Animal Control did not do a good job in this instance, but by the same token it has been more than amply rewarded for its act of compassion by a blizzard of positive publicity. The shekel counters at The Star Ledger also have benefited from being able to publish another cat story with a purported happy ending.

Therein lies the rub, as Shakespeare would say, in that this cat's reprieve is only temporary. Moreover, it is a sure bet that neither Animal Control nor The Star Ledger will be on hand a few days from now in order to mount either another rescue or to provide coverage of his murder.

Consequently, the only winners in this killing game are Animal Control and the capitalist media; as per usual, a defenseless cat loses again.

As far as illegal garbage dumping is concerned, it is not only unsightly and detrimental to Mother Earth but it often proves lethal to animals. If individuals must indiscriminately discard bottles and jars they should at the very least make sure that they are capped.

It would be far better if municipalities in New Jersey and elsewhere imposed a garbage removal surcharge on all residents; voluntary opt-in arrangements do not work in that they only encourage illegal dumping. This is borne out by the fact that illegal dumping has reached epidemic proportions in the Garden State.

Photos: Thomas Dodd.