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Furor on Red Line over strollercat

Strollercat

Robby snapped this photo of a cat on the Red Line this evening. A cat in a stroller. A big-ass stroller, apparently. He tweeted:

What's wrong with this picture? Many things ...

Another commuter, AH, also took to Twitter, around 6:20 p.m. and was more specific:

Lady with a cat in full-sized/meant for children stroller preventing me and 8 other saps from going on T. #wtf #catbitch #mbta

Ah, but the cat owner tweets, too. In fact, Coco Koh has blogged about her adventures on the T with Jacoby the Abyssinian. So she tweeted right back:

FYI snippy woman on the Red Line: cats (& dogs) ARE allowed on #mbta as long as they're properly contained!!!

MzKeating chimed in:

[H]ave you ever tried to get a cat to walk on a leash?

Robby answered:

No, that sounds ridiculous. That was her rationale as well, along with cat does not like the escalator. ... Let's recap, cat, stroller, peak hours, capacity train. No, still not reasonable. Thing was gigantic.

Keep up to the minute by doing a Twitter search on #strollercat.

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Comments

who ooohed and aahed over that stupid snake when it was on the T, but some lady with a cat in a stroller.....not hip enough.

The cat and the lady are only in your space for a short period of time. Live with it and go on.

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But not to buy a car? Good to know. Reminds me of my roommate who tells me that the landlord is on his case for his overdue share of the rent, yet comes home every day with a 12-pack of Miller High Life.

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Certainly not equivalent of a car payment and insurance, cripes.

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One letter.

At least my parent's cat gets better meows-per-gallon than their car.

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Besides the fact that cats cost less than cars and go farther on less fuel..... My wife and I have no car but have 2 cats. And a baby. And a big fancy computer. What of it? We spend money on thing we value and that bring us joy. A car? Not a priority

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I don't know about strollercat - but my guy would heave all over his fellow passengers on the T if I took him on the subway in any kind of container. I don't care about the stroller or the psycho owner - but the poor cat looks petrified. Maybe it's just the picture? Put that thing in a proper cat carrier where he can crawl under blanket/towel and hide or call the MSPCA.

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Just don't be a self-centered rube like this lady when you end up on the T as a result.

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They do make tiny pet strollers, actually:

http://www.petsupplies.com/item/travel-lite-pet-st...

These have wheels, but they are essentially a pet carrier without actually having to carry an 8-20 lb animal.

She has a full-size child stroller there, and the cat isn't in an enclosure. You ARE supposed to fold strollers on the T ... not that it is enforced, mind you, but ... with a cat???

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We have three cats. They each cost around $100 to adopt from the ARL. Food and litter are around $50 per month. They are fairly healthy, although one gets random health crises, so we probably spend around $500 a year in vet bills (averaged over time).

I'm pretty sure our car costs more than that.

And it's quite possible to get a cat for free and not take it to the vet (which is not a particularly responsible choice, but...), so one could plausibly own a cat for less than the cost of a monthly T pass, never mind a car.

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A proper cat carrier?

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I feel badly for the cat who looks frightened.

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The best question, I think, is why is the cat on the T to begin with? Cats are amazingly self-sufficient. Why must it be riding around rather than at home enjoying a nap?

(Yeah, I could read her whole blog for background and possibly find the answer. Maybe later.)

Suldog
http://jimsuldog.blogspot.com

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I assume that cats on the bus/subway are going to their vet appointments.

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There was an incident a couple of years ago that she has on her blog about how one day her kitty was -- get this -- running up the escalator at their home station, Broadway. Kitty didn't realize the escalator was ending and got her paw caught between the landing and the top stair of the escalator.

I couldn't read any of the post after that. I was too busy trying not to lose my lunch at the thought of a cat trapped in an escalator.

Responsible cat owner? I don't think so.

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I was always the one to take my kid out of the stroller so I could fold it and make room, so I'm horribly biased against them. But then I thought maybe this lady can't carry a cat carrier. Those things get heavy. But then I kept reading, and this is apparently a "thing," so I'm just speechless at this point.

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Fold the kid, I mean.

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taking my now dead cat for a subway ride unless he were heavily sedated. Maybe give him some whiskey nips before hand or something. He would have FREAKED out over the crowds.

My dog used to go nuts when having a car ride under EL trains. He'd hear the train but of course not see it, and it drove him crazy. But he could calmly take a subway ride. The cat, no way.

And the stroller gimmick is un-called for, especially when it's crowded. I've seen women try to get on packed rush hour trains with those big ass two-fer baby strollers. Commonsense just goes right out the window.

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Why would anybody take a dead cat on the subway? Or bother sedating it for that matter?

[ba-dum-bum]

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I have taken a cat on the T, but always in a proper carrier which can put held on my lap or tucked under the seat. And only while headed to/from the vet. That stroller is simply ostentatious frippery. Color your hair with rainbow colors to get the attention you crave and leave room for your fellow (human) passengers.

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It's simply frightened.
The T could be the best part of its day.

Good Lord

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It's not a cataclysmic event like Sandy.
The poor thing does have saucer eyes but I'd like to think Adam isn't milking the story for more than it's worth.

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...I didn't realize you could milk cats?

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You can milk anything with nipples.

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50% of the population has non-lactating nipples (or according to my stats professor who liked to play with your mind - 49%)

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I checked cat lady's blog. She takes this cat everywhere and often in a stroller. That is what we call attention seeking. Also, she keeps referring to it as her baby... Why not just wear a shirt that says "My Clock is Ticking" to make it easier?

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I was going to the airport a few weeks ago, on a Friday night, and she had the cat with her on the Silver Line. He was on a harness/leash and in a carrier, but she pulled him out of the carrier and put him on her lap for the bus ride. She said that she was just doing a "trial run", but also said that she doesn't have a trip planned with him and that someday she would like to take him to visit her mother. She said she takes him on the bus all the time and he loves the bus, but she was nervous about being in the airport and walking around the airport with all the people, so that's what she was going to do for a few hours.

As a fellow cat owner, here's a tip: DRUG THE CAT WHILE YOU TRAVEL. I'm not joking, vets will recommend this.

Also - re: the pet policy on the T: I thought that you weren't allowed to have pets on the T during rush hours? Did I make that up?

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Pets on the T

Service animals are allowed on the T at all times.

During off-peak hours, non-service dogs are allowed at the discretion of T vehicle operators. Dogs must be properly leashed and are not allowed to annoy riders or take up a seat. For safety and convenience during rush hours, small domestic animals must be carried in lap-sized containers and out of the way of exits.

http://www.mbta.com/riding_the_t/pets/

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he is very curious as Abyssinians usually are. He is a purebred, not a Domestic Shorthair that most of us have at home. My cat runs when I take his carrier out. This breed has been bred for a certain temperament and she has clearly trained him to stay in the carrier.

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...then why the hell is it riding in a child's stroller?

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The big question I have is why does this woman have a need to place one of her cats in a baby stroller? This is disturbing to me. Why not place the cat in a cat carrier with a nice soft blanket and a toy. And why is she just taking the cat on T rides and for what reason? Is she lonely and wants to chat up folks since it is a bit unusual? Does she want attention? Got me.

The great thing about owning cats as opposed to dogs is that they are more low maintenance so I am not really sure why she wants to take her cat in a baby stroller on a T ride.

The only time I took my cat out was in a carrier and usually to a vet appointment.

Ok, now I have a change of heart: The T rule says that your domestic pet must be in a lap sized container during rush hour. It would be nice if this person could adhere by that rule when she is on the T during this time period since she is not the only one riding on the T and her cat does not need to be in a baby carriage. (Hey, if you wish to take a cat for a stroll in a baby carriage out on the streets of the city, by all means, go for it.)

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So everyone is somehow grossly offended by a woman using a baby stroller, for a cat who is well behaved, on public transit, possibly to get attention in a non-confrontational way?

Really. Really?

If this was a cyclist with a mohawk on their helmet with a kid in a carrier on their bike during rush hour would you all collectively pitch a hissy-fit about that?

She's not being a jerk, or in people's face, or drunk - she's merely taking her beloved pet out with her & getting some attention in the process. Abyssinians are uber-curious and very active, so honestly, the cat's fine.

Rush hour is rush hour. If you're ticked that she's taking up space for 2 extra bodies, and want her to fold up the carriage, how about you calmly suggest it to her, instead of passive aggressively glaring at her and cranky posting quips about her in absentia.

I'll take her and the big-gay-dj-dancer on the T any ol day, instead of the jerks and sociopaths.

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And how does she feel about exposing people with allergies to her cat? Some folks, MY WIFE included, have severe allergies to animal dander. It's one thing to have a service animal corrupt your breathing, but quite another to have some dope who thinks a cat is her baby be the cause of your slow suffocation.

Suldog
http://jimsuldog.blogspot.com

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Do you confront T riders who bring their puppy-bagged pooches on public transit too?

The T has no time/money to enforce their simple rules about animals on the train. It's kind of self policing at this point. I'd suggest you say something to the owners, in a reasonable way. If you're not comfy with that, you're kind of s.o.l.

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a puppy-bagged pooch?

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Those bags/purses that are meant as a pet carrier for your dog.

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At least without lots of provocation. I'm not freaked by the cat, in any way. I'd probably be amused by it, actually. But I know people who would suffer collateral damage because of this person's pseudo-baby and that's the point I was making. The same point applies to people carrying packaged pooches.

Suldog (Please don't put me in a handbag! I am not a lipstick! I am a living thing!)
http://jimsuldog.blogspot.com

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Something tells me that this particular person isn't capable of conversing in a reasonable way.

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So, I definitely qualify as a crazy cat lady (although I do have a husband). We have four cats and we take way too many pictures of them and may or may not ask them how their days were when we get home.

That being said, I'm also a rational adult and responsible pet owner. I know it's probably not in my cats' best interest to have them out of a carrier on the T. I also know that it's just not polite to take up more space than needed.

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From the T's website:

"Pets on the T

Service animals are allowed on the T at all times.

During off-peak hours, non-service dogs are allowed at the discretion of T vehicle operators. Dogs must be properly leashed and are not allowed to annoy riders or take up a seat. For safety and convenience during rush hours, small domestic animals must be carried in lap-sized containers and out of the way of exits."

Note the words: "small domestic animals" "must be carried" "in lap-sized containers."

I did not say she was a "jerk" or "nuts" or "drunk" or anything of the sort. I just find it a bit strange that she is pushing her cat in a baby stroller. But, hey, live and let live, right? And personally, I have no quams about the lady carrying her cat in a baby stroller but since carrying a cat in a baby stroller is not usually what the said strollers are used for (note the word "baby" before the word "stroller", "baby" meaning the issue of a human being and not a cat) and she was riding on the T during rush hour, which usually is a bit crowded with strollers carrying human babies in the first place, and the T rule says that her abyssinian should be in a lap-sized container, well, it seems pretty clear to me. But, hey, we don't need no stinkin rules, right?

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what a catophany this has caused... why is there more uproar on uhub than in the train it happened on?

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Imagine if she was walking along the waterfront and a Segway ran into her. UHub would explode!

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A bike and bike lane must be involved too, then uHub would explode AND spontaneously combust.

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Cat-Ass Trophy

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