Poison Ivy

I'm sure you recognize the shiny leaves. It's poison ivy. Perhaps you found it in a handful of weeds as you gardened. Perhaps you brushed against it while strolling in you local wildlife center. Maybe... Maybe your CAT rubbed it on your face! HISSSSS

How do we cats do that? Easy. According to the John Hopkins University Student Health and Wellness Center, only humans and other primates are sensitive to the nastiness in poison ivy, a chemical called urushiol.

http://www.jhu.edu/~shcenter/poisonivy.html
 
According to Mohan JE, et al, at the Department of Biology, Duke University, climate change may make poison ivy into a bigger problem for you. We already know that CO2 stimulates growth in plants. Mohan says, '... high-CO2 plants produce a more allergenic form of urushiol. Our results indicate that Toxicodendron taxa will become more abundant and more "toxic" in the future, potentially affecting global forest dynamics and human health'.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16754866?dopt=Abstract

Isn't Death a Form of Cruelty?

Another stone-cold predator:

What would you think about an $35 MILLION a year company that does these horrible things...

• Preaches animal rights with big public campaigns, while in a van out back they murder animals as fast as they are brought in?
• Traps and euthanizes feral cats, and BLOCKS laws that would allow Trap, Neuter and Return programs?
• Takes animals from research facilities, hoarders, etc. and uses them for big publicity fund drives, then quietly euths the animals they supposedly saved?
• Exhorts members - mostly the very young - to catch outdoor cats (maybe yours!) and take them to the vet to be euthanized?
• States it has the right to round up and kill cats, even if they are healthy, simply because they "believe" they might suffer someday?
• Supports pit bull bans despite CDC recommendations to the contrary, and recommends automatic destruction of pit bulls?
• Sets up displays outside grade schools to traumatize children with NON-age appropriate materials about animal cruelty?
• Circulates comic books teaching children that their moms and dads are murderers who might kill their own pets?
• Fails to clarify that ending animal cruelty doesn't equate to saving the lives of animals.

I bet you're writing them a check even as I speak.

Isn't Death a Form of Cruelty?

I was inspired to write this because the Huffington Post FINALLY has taken note. Kudos, guys.

Shocking Photos: PETA's Secret Slaughter of Kittens, Puppies