Chrysler Isn't Cool for Cats

Robert Farago
by Robert Farago

I can’t say that I’ve seen everything. But sometimes I feel as if I have. For example, the morning after we publish Bob Elton’s piece on Chrysler’s wanton destruction of its historical archives, the Detroit Free Press runs a piece on the future—or lack thereof—for feral cats hanging out on the grounds of Chrysler’s Sterling Heights factory. As a former English resident alien, I know what’s it’s like to live in a country where animal welfare gets more play than the challenges faced by humans. Still, this is one for the record books: “‘We try to help them out a little,’ said Claudia Valentine, 55, a veteran skilled trades worker on the night shift at the plant. She said workers feed the cats nightly and do such things as setting insulated crates outside in winter. But the cats have multiplied and are causing safety problems, a few being run over by workers or caught in the conveyor system.” We also learn, “Feral females spend most of their lives pregnant or nursing. In seven years, one female cat and her offspring can yield 420,000 cats.” In the same sense, I suppose, that Chrysler can become profitable. Just sayin’.

Robert Farago
Robert Farago

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  • Venator Venator on Jul 27, 2009

    And here I was thinking that Chrysler are going to the dogs...

  • PeteMoran PeteMoran on Jul 27, 2009
    Spay or neuter your goddamn pets. That line always gets me thinking of the Gary Larson carton where a dog is bragging out the window of the car to his dog friend "I'm going to the store now, and then this afternoon, I'm going to the vet to be tutored".
  • Juniper Juniper on Jul 27, 2009

    derm81 : "This piece shows the priority of the Free Press. Bob, you have to understand that the average reader of the Freep is probably undereducated and possibly of a blue collar background." Yes, instead of reading the paper after work, those blue collar undereducated people should be blogging in the middle of the day like highly educated white collar people. PeteMoran good one!

  • Nick Nick on Jul 28, 2009

    The employees that help the cats out are to be commended for their kindness. I am sure if they posed a hazard the company could do something productive like paying someone to trap them and have them spayed and neutered, and perhaps helping to find homes. Or would something like that really be too rational a solution for them. Judging from Mikey's post, the answer is probably yes. where animal welfare gets more play than the challenges faced by humans. They are usually more deserving. Take a look around.

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