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Cat Forum / Cat Anecdotes / September 2004Ind. Prisoners Allowed To Keep Cats
http://www.theindychannel.com/family/3727339/detail.html POSTED: 6:04 pm EDT September 13, 2004 MICHIGAN CITY, Ind. -- You'll find some pretty tough cats at the Indiana State Prison. But the real felines have done nothing wrong. They're the pets of prison inmates. Officials say that over the years, stray cats have wandered into the 144-year-old prison. Authorities have allowed some prisoners to keep the animals and now there are 29 cat-owning inmates. According to prison officials, cats have a calming effect on prisoner behavior. At least most of the time. There have been prison fights over the felines. But there's now an unwritten rule at the Indiana penitentiary -- you don't mess with a man's cat.  SignatureThe ONE and ONLY lefthanded-pathetic-paranoid-psychotic-sarcastic-wiseass-ditzy former-blonde in Bloomington! (And proud of it, too)? email me at nalee1964 (at) insightbb (dot) com http://community.webshots.com/user/mgcmdjeep > http://www.theindychannel.com/family/3727339/detail.html > [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > But there's now an unwritten rule at the Indiana penitentiary -- you don't > mess with a man's cat. Wow. That's pretty interesting. I wonder what kind of education they get? It would, I would think, be good therapy. >> POSTED: 6:04 pm EDT September 13, 2004 >> [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] >Wow. That's pretty interesting. I wonder what kind of education they get? It >would, I would think, be good therapy. I think that's a wonderful idea. I'm not a bleeding heart for prisoners or anything, but it sounds like a winwinwin situation. The prison officials benefit by the calmer prisoners. The cats benefit because there's too many dying for lack of a home already. The prisoners benefit because IMO, the *one* thing we don't ever lose as long as there is breath in our bodies is the need to give, and receive love. Sherry >I think that's a wonderful idea. I'm not a bleeding heart for prisoners or >anything, but it sounds like a winwinwin situation. The prison officials [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >thing we don't ever lose as long as there is breath in our bodies is the need >to give, and receive love. I agree. People who learn to love and care for animals are more likely to learn to love and care for people. Prison is about punishment but it should also be about rehabilitation. I see this as a step towards emotional rehabilitation - so possibly less likely to reoffend upon release. A shelter local to me has prisoners from a local prison (low-grade, non-violent offences) helping out. It helps the prisioners as much as it helps the animals. Cheers, helen s --This is an invalid email address to avoid spam-- to get correct one remove fame & fortune h*$el*$$e*nd**$o$ts**i*$*$m*m$o*n*s@$*a$o*l.c**$om$ --Due to financial crisis the light at the end of the tunnel is switched off-- >>http://www.theindychannel.com/family/3727339/detail.html >> [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > Wow. That's pretty interesting. I wonder what kind of education they get? It > would, I would think, be good therapy. Well, I'm sure many of you have watched Animal Planet show about prison inmates being given "service" dogs to train. Very often, people can relate to aniumals when they have problems relating to their fellow humans. > >>http://www.theindychannel.com/family/3727339/detail.html > >> [quoted text clipped - 30 lines] > Very often, people can relate to aniumals when they have > problems relating to their fellow humans. Indeed, some of those programs are starting to release their human prisoners, directly to jobs caring for animals. The early results seem to indicate very high motivation and very low recidivism. > >>http://www.theindychannel.com/family/3727339/detail.html > >> [quoted text clipped - 24 lines] > Very often, people can relate to aniumals when they have > problems relating to their fellow humans. Heh. And NONE of us here knows that feeling of being able to relate to animals over humans ;)) >> Very often, people can relate to aniumals when they have >> problems relating to their fellow humans. > > Heh. And NONE of us here knows that feeling of being able to relate to > animals over humans ;)) My thought exactly, Karen! :) Joyce >Wow. That's pretty interesting. I wonder what kind of education they get? It >would, I would think, be good therapy. I saw a documentary here in Germany some time ago. Prisoners with no record of violence in their criminal history raised puppies designed to be blind leading dogs. They not only put all their heart into the job (and cried when they had to give away the puppies) but after getting out of prison not one of the inmates relapsed. Seems the puppies where not the only ones gaining from the deal. And in a prison for juvenile delinquents - again here in Germany - they have a small zoo with rabbits and ducks and whatever else. It's the job of the inmates to take care of the animals. And they consider it an honor to be delegate to that job. OTOH, today in the news there was a sad story of 4 kids abusing animals because "they were bored", so not all is nice in this country... Sigh, humans... Aleks > >Wow. That's pretty interesting. I wonder what kind of education they get? It > >would, I would think, be good therapy. [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > of the inmates to take care of the animals. And they consider it an > honor to be delegate to that job. I have seen a similar program here (Prisoner's for Puppies or something like that) and I believe I have even seen that they help with the wild mustang preserves also. On Tue, 14 Sep 2004 02:39:23 GMT, "Magic Mood Jeep©" <nobody@nowhere.net> wrote: >http://www.theindychannel.com/family/3727339/detail.html > [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] >But there's now an unwritten rule at the Indiana penitentiary -- you don't >mess with a man's cat. Isn't it great? A while back, PBS ran a special about cats and one of the stories was similar to the Indiana Prison story you posted. I can't remember which state it was, but one of their prisons invited one of the local shelters nearby to bring cats over one day per week, and volunteer prisoners spend time with them, groom them, bathe them and so on to make the cats more adoptable. The cats as well as the inmates really seemed to enjoy the activity. I wonder if the Indiana State Prison has a vet come check the cats out, give shots, etc? -bonbon Magic Mood Jeep© wrote: > MICHIGAN CITY, Ind. -- You'll find some pretty tough cats at the Indiana > State Prison. > > But the real felines have done nothing wrong. They're the pets of prison > inmates. This is great. I only found one fault here. > Authorities have allowed some prisoners to keep the animals and now there > are 29 cat-owning inmates. Shouldn't that be inmate-owning felines? ;o) SignatureMarina, Frank and Nikki marina (dot) kurten (at) pp (dot) inet (dot) fi Pics at http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/frankiennikki/ and http://community.webshots.com/user/frankiennikki >According to prison officials, cats have a >calming effect on prisoner behavior. I think this is absolutely wonderful. It gives them something positive to do. They get a loving feline companion in a dismal place and a feline gets much needed love and care. If I lived near this place, I'd offer to donate some cat food and toys to the kitties. On Tue, 14 Sep 2004 02:39:23 GMT, "Magic Mood Jeep©" <nobody@nowhere.net> wrote: >http://www.theindychannel.com/family/3727339/detail.html > [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] >But there's now an unwritten rule at the Indiana penitentiary -- you don't >mess with a man's cat. I think this is great. Cats do work miracles. Here they are teaching criminals to care for someone besides themselves. As well as respect for someone else's property. -- CATherine > >http://www.theindychannel.com/family/3727339/detail.html > > [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] > -- > CATherine I agree. Joy |
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