Tears for Elrond, a wondrous feline child
Elrond in his box (Kim Bartlett)
Kim gives us the backdrop to Elrond’s heroic saga, from Egypt to America and now his sudden return to the universal mystery that awaits us all:
Last Friday we lost a member of the Animal People family, Elrond, Kim and Wolf’s youngest cat. Paralyzed in his hind legs, Elrond nonetheless knew joy in being held, fed, and rolled around the house in his “chariot,” a transparent plastic box mounted in a postal cart. The baby of the household, he demanded much effort to care for, but in return inspired boundless delight through his cuteness and playful, shy yet upbeat personality. He passed suddenly following a severe fungal infection, but was happy in his final moments being held in Kim’s arms. Wolf and Kim take comfort in picturing him reborn with wings, soaring through golden skies with the boundless freedom of motion denied him in this life.
Attached is a happy story written while he was alive, about his name, confusion over his gender, and the possible lessons to be drawn.
By Wolf Gordon Clifton
This adorable creature is Elrond. He’s a paraplegic kitty unable to move his back legs, whom my mother Kim Bartlett and I found at a shelter in Egypt struggling to care for him with very limited resources. We adopted him, sponsoring his care and then flying him to the U.S. where he has lived with us ever since. He has a big padded cage to stay in at night, and spends his days in a cart we wheel around different parts of the house. Because he can’t help but soil himself, he receives baths in the sink twice every day to clean him up.
Elrond as first encountered in Egypt
Until Elrond was examined by a veterinarian in the U.S., we actually believed he was a girl, as his genitalia were damaged such that the Egyptian vets could not discern male organs. We named him Rania, after the queen of Jordan who is a generous supporter of animal welfare causes and one of the most all-around decent monarchs currently in power. His new male name, Elrond, was chosen after the Lord of the Rings character based on his elfin appearance.
Another of our cats, a big macho tomcat named Mango, is very fond of Elrond. He likes to get in Elrond’s cart with him, and to vigorously groom him whenever I set him in a chair or on the ground, as when I’m holding him and need to attend quickly to some chore. Recently I saw Mango put his arm around Elrond, bite his neck, and begin to mount him as if he were trying to mate. This made me wonder if perhaps Elrond is in some sense female after all; if, despite having male organs, he might be internally hermaphroditic, or else produce female pheromones causing humans and cats alike to automatically perceive him as a girl.
Elrond and Mango
Kim Bartlett is a veteran of 40+ years in animal rights advocacy. She earned humanitarian service awards from various animal welfare organizations in Texas for volunteer efforts in the 1970s and ’80s. In 1986, Kim left Texas to become editor of The Animals’ Agenda magazine, a position she held until 1992, when she co-founded Animal People. Her interest in international animal affairs brought Animal People into the forefront of humane outreach to the developing world. While anthropologist Margaret Mead was known for teaching that "a small group of committed people can change the world," Kim believes that runaway human population growth has rendered one-person-at-a-time activism futile. Says Kim, "The growth of the human population in the developing world has outstripped our efforts at awareness building, ever since the rise of the modern animal rights movement in the 1970s. Only in countries with relatively stable populations has the animal rights movement sustained a lasting effect. Mass media, now including online social media, is essential for educating people and effecting change on a global scale."
WOLF GORDON CLIFTON
Wolf Clifton serves as executive director of Animal People Inc, and as editor in chief for its flagship online operation, Animal People Forum. Born and raised within the animal rights movement, Wolf has always felt strongly connected to other creatures and concerned for their well-being. Beginning in childhood he contributed drawings of animals for publication in Animal People News, and traveled with his parents to attend conferences and visit animal projects all over the world. During high school he began writing for the newspaper and contributing in various additional ways around the Animal People office. His first solo trip overseas, to film a promotional video for the Bali Street Dog Foundation in Indonesia, led him to create the animated film Yudisthira's Dog, retelling the story of an ancient Hindu king famed for his loyalty to a street dog. It also inspired lifelong interests in animation and world religion, which he went on to study for college at Vanderbilt University. Wolf graduated in 2013 with a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies and minors in Film Studies and Astronomy. In 2015, he received a Master of Arts in Museology and Graduate Certificate in Astrobiology from the University of Washington.