On September 21, a Savannah cat was removed from the Whisker City Cat Rescue in Shoreline and brutally murdered and thrown into the rescue's dumpster. That cat's name is Quixote. He was young. His killer is unknown. A GoFundMe account, "Justice for Quixote," was set up to raise a reward for the identification, arrest, and punishment of the human (or humans) who ended Quixote with savage blows to his body and head.

From the cat's GoFundMe page:

The only way we have the chance to do this is with a special DNA test to swab his claws and teeth in hopes of finding human DNA. Neither the State nor the County will cover this cost so we are raising the money for it. This may be our only chance to connect a suspect to this brutal crime. Our only chance to give justice for Quixote.

Though most will agree that it's important Quixote's killer (or killers) be named and exposed to the eyes of the law, there will necessarily be a lot of talk about the amount of money raised for the reward, $29,408.

That's a lot of cash. It's a year's wage for many humans who can't afford to live in Seattle anymore. It could make life easier for a number of homeless humans on the streets of Shoreline. All of this is true, but objections this kind (and we hear them all of time in one form or another—"why are we flying dogs from places devastated by Hurricane Harvey when we need to be helping humans," and so on) only tell us one thing: We live in the wrong kind of world. In an ideal world (which is as concrete as the wrong one—meaning, it's not fantastic but easily obtainable), wages would be high, everyone would be guaranteed a home, and there would be enough money in the public purse for the investigation, arrest, and punishment of people who murder cats for no good reason.