The question this month actually came from a conversation I had with the manager of the Durham County Animal Shelter, Shafonda Davis Price. Shafonda was looking at various shelter statistics and last year 532 animals were "returned to owner"; meaning of the thousands of animals that came into the shelter more than 500 were lost animals that were then found at the shelter by their owners and reclaimed. The staggering fact, though, is that of that 532 there were 495 dogs returned to owners but only 37 cats.

This of course begs the question, why? Do people not value their pet cats as much as they do their dogs? Many cat owners, like myself, have difficulty understanding why this would be. If one of my three cats were to somehow go missing, I would be distraught and do what I could to find him or her.

One theory is that while most dog owners know where their dogs are at any given moment, either safe in the home or, in sad cases, chained or tied up outside, many cats are not kept indoors or come and go as they please. We, of course, encourage people to keep their cats inside. The average lifespan of an outdoor cat is dramatically shorter than an indoor cat. Outdoor cats can be attacked by other animals, pick up diseases, be run over, and cause harm to birds and wildlife. Besides that, by Durham law cats are not allowed to be off their owner's property, yet most of us do see our neighbors' cats roaming. Perhaps when one of these cats goes missing the owners just assume they've run away. Yet 2,000 stray cats came to the Durham shelter last year, and nearly all were never reclaimed by their owners.

Often when I give tours to people in the shelter and we enter the cat rooms I'll hear negative comments about cats, occasionally even as blunt as "I hate cats." It's rare I ever hear anyone say that about a dog. Where would a hatred of cats come from? Cats are every bit as able as a dog to be social, friendly, loving and cuddly. Sure there are some grouchy cats (I've had a pretty mean cat as a pet myself!) and cats may not always be as obvious in their delight to see a person, but all cats are as sensitive as dogs and are just as deserving of care. They are exquisitely beautiful and fascinating animals.

It is puzzling but it is a nationwide phenomenon. Animal Sheltering magazine, a publication of the Humane Society of the United States, addressed the question with a cover story. Even in animal shelters cats usually have fewer volunteers working with them and get less attention paid to them. At the APS of Durham we make a continual effort to see that our cats get the care and attention they deserve.

It's about time cats stopped getting the short end of the stick and be given the same place in our homes and hearts as we give to dogs.