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Lady-Tori β Alive For A Reason
Published: 2011-09-30 09:44:26 +0000 UTC; Views: 31897; Favourites: 2588; Downloads: 0
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Description
I was driving past in the car and saw this adorable little kitten in the care of some Africans. It must only be a couple of weeks old.His/her mother? Dead. I asked what happened to her. The Africans hunted her down for food after she gave birth so you can only imagine what this little ones future holds.
Edit
For those of you saying I should have saved the kitten, I wish I could have! But there's one thing I've learnt out here and that is that you can't save them all. There's hundreds of stray, starving dogs hanging around, some even puppies. There is literally nowhere to take them.. no dog homes, no shelters, nothing like that. The people here can barely feed themselves and their family so I'm sure if you were in that position you'd find whatever food you could to survive.
No one is more sad about this than I am; I see this EVERY DAY but it's just the way this country is for now.
I'm leaving the country soon so what would I do with the kitten? Give it to another African? Because I can't take it with me. The same as if I picked up every starving dog... There's only 2 vets in the town which refuse to take in strays because of their fear of rabies. It's very sad, I know. It's taken me a while to realise they're not doing it to be cruel, they're doing it to live.
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Comments: 541
Well, they have to eat, don't they? Just because we don't kill the animals WE eat ourselves doesn't change the fact the animals died to feed us. Doesn't matter if it's cats or cows, they're lives, we just feel bad about the cats because humans are biased against animals with cute eyes. I love cats, but humans think of themselves first before others, no one will stop eating meat just because they care about lives.
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aww :C i know what you mean about saving strays ;; i just hope you petted it or something... π: 0 β©: 0
I am crying outside inside read description
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Some "pets" live a better life than some people. At least more comfortable. This picture shows both sides of the coin in many ways, ours and the poor kitten's.
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My first image of the lifestyle in Africa was very depressing because of commercials and other media. And those surrounded mostly people. But now that I know of what they do to what we Americans call pets... this is beyond heart-breakin'.
But then it makes me rethink about how OTHER creatures are treated. I mean, most humans eat cow, pig, deer (ugh, NEVER for me DX), and a variety of other living things. And how do most of us think of them? Just food. That's what Africans are thinkin' of cute... adorable... weak... agonized... scared... kittens: FOOD.
It hurts way too much... However, we all accept the truth, whether we want to or not.
Life is sometimes a cruel bitch, isn't it?
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This is a beautiful picture: the juxtaposition of making something sad look so beautiful. You did a really amazing job. Thank you for sharing!
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Seconded! 
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This picture immediately caught my attention when I entered Deviantart, because it looked totally different than all other kitten pictures Iβve seen here. The kitten has a really sad expression, and the title also intrigued me.
Reading your description of this picture made me think of many things. Life is really cruel in some parts of the world. Maybe in those places being alive must be more painful than dying, and what keeps people alive is only the natural instinct of fighting for life.
Itβs impossible not to be sad with the situation of this little creature. Itβs so fragile it makes us want to protect it. But we only see the kitten here, and not the people who are also involved in this situation.
Many people here are saying βI would have taken itβ. But they were not there in your situation. Would they really take this kitten from those people, knowing that it would be the food for people that probably fight against hunger every day? And what if they were the people that only have a cat to eat? I love cats, they are one of my favorite animals, but I wonder if I would care about cuteness if I were hungry. I donβt think I would kill a baby cat, but I also donβt think a cat for me would be different than a chicken or fish.
I know I may sound insensible, and people may think that I donβt care about animals. But itβs the opposite. I care a lot about them. However, in our highly developed industrial countries, thereβs much more cruelty being done to animals, either the ones that provide us food or the ones that are tested in laboratories.
Of course it doesnβt make the situation of this kitten less sad. I hope those people find something else to eat and leave the kitten alone, so that he can live and grow up.
I think you couldnβt have chosen a better title for this picture, itβs really meaningful. Thatβs what I call art: something that makes us look beyond the surface, and think about deeper things. Besides, these colors are amazing! This surely deserves a fave.
Hope it wasnβt boring to read such a long comment. ^_^
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Thank you for your comment. And I agree.
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This comment is an oasis in this parched land of ignorance.
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Not boring at all. Your point is extremely understandable.
I love cats as well but like you had said, if I was dying from hunger, I would eat anything that could provide enough sustenance. I really liked it how you pointed out that we don't see the people suffering behind this poor kitten's fate. They more than likely have no choice and probably see the kitten as nothing more than what we may see in a baby calf.
It is sad for me to know the truth behind what may happen to this kitten but that is because of how I was raised which was to treat dogs and cats like pets. Not food. In other parts of the world though, you can't take the risk of treating something that could provide you food like it's a part of the family, sadly.
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Thanks for the intelligent comment. I can't help but think that all the people going "I would have saved the cat!" are so incredibly sheltered that they would never, ever wind up in Sierra Leone in the first place.
Or else show up and be shocked when there wasn't television or air conditioning. -__- They just have no idea.
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If they really want to rescue that cat then they should save up some money, buy a plane ticket, and get over there only to see how people really live. (And maybe even get mauled by a starving mother leopard trying to feed her own cubs XD.)
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*is now wondering if they even have leopards in Sierra Leone* I have no clue about the terrain. Dad deployed there at least a decade ago and I just remember him coming back and telling us that they sold chains meant for human beings in the stores.
Doesn't sound like the country has made much progress, which is sad because I was hoping it would even as a kid of ten or so.
Take what I say about SL with a grain of salt, though; I'm going on a very old memory and haven't done further research (I should). I think it might end up being an independent "homework" assignment this semester:
"Learn about Sierra Leone so you don't spout off information you might later regret". XD
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You can always replace it with "hyena" "lion" "wild dog" or what have you 
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silly how people don't understand the way the world works
i would rather cats and dogs be eaten than people starve
just because its taboo in some countries doesn't mean it is for every country
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The story made me cry... π: 0 β©: 0
awww. 
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Simple. Because there aren't enough resources to sustain an exponentially increasing human and animal population 
Now do the math again for every species in existence, and don't forget to account for things like spiders, mosquitoes, and ants, because even though they're not "cute" they're still animals and deserve the same kind of respect.
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I know. I just don't think it's fair that the world can't. >.< But I guess they'll all die eventually, so there isn't any stopping it anyhow. :/ What a cruel, hard world. The picture is really cute though.
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This little kid looks strong....but very sad.
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What an incredible story. The truth of life is sometimes very, very basic.
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how could they kill something so cute? makes me very sad in a way words can't describe
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people can barely feed themselves... they don't care if it's cute or not
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couldnt they kill a mouse or something? i wouldve smuggled the cat on the plane.
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a mouse
A MOUSE?
you realize that a mouse is just scarcely a mouthful compared to a cat, and it wouldn't keep you alive. I have cats, 6 to be exact, and if I had to(as much as it pains me) I'd eat them if I had to survive.
just because it's cute, doesn't mean you shouldn't eat it.
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I think mice are freakin' adorable so by your logic they shouldn't be killing those either
Go live with an African for a few months and see if your views don't change when you are constantly on the brink death from starvation (which I also hear is quite a slow and sucky way to die).
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Because a mouse--approximately one hundredth the amount of meat on a cat--is an excellent meal for your entire family.
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okay jeez everyone stop freaking out
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I don't think anyone's freaking out.
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I'm so glad you're replying to some of these. The amount of braindead comments on this picture is making me lose faith in humanity.
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Why thank you! It's a pleasure to be acknowledged. c:
But don't lose faith! The Internet just naturally brings out the worst, and dA has a large population of sheltered young'uns. They just need to have their eyes opened to the greater (and at times frightening) world that lies beyond their first world sanctuary.
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My life dream was to become a Veterinarian. When I lost the cat I grew up with, I realised I wouldn't be able to handle taking care of animals in an emergency situation... I wouldn't be able to hole my emotions together... Still to this day I burst into tears when I talk about my kitty.
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Lets see you live in Africa for a few months and see if that changes.
Its a cruel world, but think, starving family's think this kitten as an equivalent to your thanksgiving turkey. Its a gift, not a privilege. Without food, you would probably eat whatever you can find to survive as well.
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This really reminds me of home. When I left seven years ago people used to kill dogs and cats and pigeons for food- especially in the winter when the animals were cold and starving and easy to catch.
That's just how life is in places like that- tough. And when you live somewhere like England for 7 years you begin to think that not letting something like this make you cry means you're a jaded, cynical bastard but you soon realize there's a reason for everything.
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aw to think its gonna die :< i cant help but cry.
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I intern in a clinic at an animal shelter. And people don't realize how strong you have to be. I totally understand, sometimes there's nothing you can do. Beautiful picture.
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So they eat the cats in Africa and this kitty is future food?
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