Being a counsellor means I have concern for people’s wellbeing and maintain continual awareness of developments in society, their contexts and impacts. For example, I know having pets is good for mental wellbeing and emotional health. Pets often get mentioned by my clients.
The news that Cats Protection League has put their neutering voucher scheme on hold is bad. Being able to access reduced or free neutering is really important for the cats and their people. I know some might argue ‘if you are going to get a pet, you need to be responsible’. I do 100% agree with the words as read, but behind it they often imply you shouldn’t give a loving home to a pet if you are of limited financial means.
I’ve never found love and care people are able to give to be dependent on income. If we say, as some do, I do not, that the poor shouldn’t have children either, it smacks of trying to control basic rights rather than address the causes of hardship. This is a distraction from addressing inequality. Being a counsellor doesn’t mean I can’t be political ‘out in the open’ with my professional hat on, not when it comes to issues around equality, human rights and mental wellbeing. Access for all to counselling and psychotherapy is itself a political issue.
Many people benefit from having animals to love. I’m sure some of us have dealt with clinical depression, hardship and other things that have pushed us into dark places. I’m a counsellor now, and am content in life helping others, but were it not for my rescue cats, I might not be here today when life got too much in the past. My cats kept me safe and determined. While training, I lived on food banks and fundraisers on disability benefits and it was hard. My pets always came first.
Organisations like CPL have helped thousands of people neuter their loved pets, while the PDSA makes veterinary care affordable. Our amazing rescuers prove by their intake that cats and other animals will always be abandoned or lose their owners or need to be given up for many valid reasons. If we don’t provide means to support everyone having pets who would love them, and relied solely on income levels, a lot more animals would suffer. And frankly, there would be mental health issues and suicides avoidable if people had pets to love and be loved by.
I’ve long argued, pipe dream as it may well be, that we should have an NPHS (National Pet Health Service) like the NHS if we are truly a nation of pet lovers. To support others in giving and receiving love, building mental wellbeing and learning responsibilities is a powerful thing. The CPL is off-track with its decision and there is no positive to it. I very much hope it gets back to helping neuter cats soon. Not doing so won’t stop people having cats. Or help address the mental health crisis. It will, however, result in more cats.
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