Contrary to what many people believe, a cat only has one life. When I was on on my morning errands today, I saw a cat that had puts it life at risk by sticking its head into a single serving snack bag that had been carelessly discarded. I pulled the car to the side of the street and got out to see if I could help it.

It was a feral cat, or at least a very unfriendly one. I could not catch it at first. The noises I was making to try to calm it down drew the attention of a big free roaming dog who came to investigate. I have no idea how cruel his intentions were, but between my admonishments and the defensive stance of the cat he decided to back off.

I was able to get next to the cat while it was more worried about the dog. Unfortunately it dodged my first attempt to grab the bag.

I could see the bag sucking in as the cat was breathing. I honestly don’t know if the cat could have removed the bag itself eventually. With the dog and cars being such an immediate threat, I figured it was important for me to try my best. I trailed along behind the cat and my chance came when it decided to try a sqeeze through a wrought iron gate in a driveway. I was able to reach through an grab the end of the bag.

There was no grateful pause, only shear panic when the bag came off.

Plastic litter can cause the accidental death of many different animals in many different ways. The six pack ring around a duck’s neck is no joke. I actually discovered the remains from this exact scenario near a levy years ago. I am quite glad to see that many breweries choose to go with boxboard instead of the plastic thing. Taking the time to cut these rings apart if you find yourself responsible for their disposal is a good idea.