"The surest way to make a monkey of a man is to quote him." ~ Robert Benchley
To the OP, what a mean spirited thread. What compelled you to try and 'rouse up bad feelings about cats. Bet you've kicked a few in your day, haven't you?
I am more of a bird person (penguins especially). But I like cats as much as I love dogs. Dogs are a bit more expensive to take care of in my own personal experience. My parents spent quite a lot to maintain/take care of my 2 German Shepherds. (So sad them one of them passed last year due to sicknessOn the other hand my cat friends hardly spent much on their pets. Especially the toilet trained cats.
I love my cat. He adopted me 16 years ago and has been a loyal companion ever since. He sleeps with me, sits next to my keyboard when I'm at my desk (he's here right now), follows me around like a puppy and keeps a close watch on me. Whenever I come home he runs to greet me. He gets along well with my dog... they're buddies. They'll eat and play together.
Cats are wonderful companion animals. I couldn't imagine my life without one around.
I love my 2 kitties, brothers from the same litter. One is a pussy and the other is an 18lb alpha beast. The pussy prefers me and the alpha beast is actually somewhat protective of my partner. He follows him to bed at night, sleeps at the foot of his bed when he is not prowling around the house, watches him go to sleep and then once thats accomplished he will roam.
Each cat has their own personality. Both are very pretty, intelligent, and communicative. I think the deal is you have to learn to communicate with them, speak "cat". They let you know when something is wrong, and they let you know when they need something. Also they are both pretty independent, you can leave for a weekend and go out of town, as long as they have plenty of food, water, and fresh litter, they should be fine. They might be a little pissed when you return, but they get over it.
Ive noticed both cats seem to sleep a good portion of the time. Ill admit it seems they are lazy and sleeping their life away, but who couldnt use more sleep? I do try to keep them active by playing with them (laser pointers make good fun, so do toys which stimulate their natural reflexes) and occasionally give them catnip.
I love dogs but there really is no way i could leave a dog inside the house while im away at work. Also i would never want to leave a dog outside when its freezing out or if its 110 degrees, we have ridiculous weather swings here where we live.
What's not great about a cat that enjoys a bath...
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"The surest way to make a monkey of a man is to quote him." ~ Robert Benchley
True.
This also explains why dogs train faster than cats under human command. Dogs were domesticated to perform a multitude of tasks of people, so they have evolved to learn fast. But on their own, they don't learn as much.
Cats are the opposite. They were domesticated for something they already knew how to do. So they don't really care to learn from people, though cats can be trained with extensive training.
Left to their own devices cats often learn much faster than dogs do. This is why you can find cats perform odd tasks without ever being taught to do them. This includes opening doors, using the toilet like a person, flushing the toilet, opening/closing a faucet, etc.
This cat traveled 200 miles to find his home.
Read the rest here.Nobody knows how it happened: an indoor housecat who got lost on a family excursion managing, after two months and about 200 miles, to return to her hometown.
Even scientists are baffled by how Holly, a 4-year-old tortoiseshell who in early November became separated from Jacob and Bonnie Richter at an R.V. rally in Daytona Beach, Fla., appeared on New Year’s Eve — staggering, weak and emaciated — in a backyard about a mile from the Richters’ house in West Palm Beach.
“Are you sure it’s the same cat?” wondered John Bradshaw, director of the University of Bristol’s Anthrozoology Institute. In other cases, he has suspected, “the cats are just strays, and the people have got kind of a mental justification for expecting it to be the same cat.”
But Holly not only had distinctive black-and-brown harlequin patterns on her fur, but also an implanted microchip to identify her.
Except hunting for dogs and cats is instinct driven so it doesn't have anything to do with intelligence. To say dogs are trained to hunt makes little sense. This implies that dogs didn't know how to hunt before they were domesticated. This is obviously false, because they would not have survived if they didn't know how to hunt.
Dogs are trained to hunt for & with people, which is true. But this again goes back to dogs being better at picking up commands from people, because they were domesticated to perform services they didn't usually perform. This includes herding sheep, helping disabled people, sniffing out drugs, etc.
Try going on a hunt with a feral dog, it wont work. But it will still chase around squirrels. They know how to hunt. They have to. But the feral dog will not understand anything we expect pet dogs to understand, such as commands to sit, stay, etc. It needs to be taught these.
The household cat's ancestor, the african wild cat, also is an accomplished hunter. But this has nothing to do with intelligence. It's instinct driven. If the ancestors of domesticated dogs and cats didn't know how to hunt, the wild population would have died out long ago.
Cats and dogs each keep food costs down in Asian restaurants.
^It's bred for the trait, selective breeding with desirable traits. It's the same way you get all the different breeds of dogs, looks & size wise. Genetically they are the same species. The expressions of genes (phenotype) differs.
To sum it up:
Absolutely nothing -_-What's so great about cats?
That we are capable only of being what we are, remains our unforgivable sin.
- Gene Wolfe
My current cat is one of the coolest cats I've ever had, and one of the smartest.
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Respect, bitches.
Lex
They are evolving...
You show courage the brave dream of
Gallop on my old warhorse
In his autumn, before the winter, comes man's last mad surge of youth
Because it employs dancers, and dancers are sooooo hot, and when it came to town, I got to have crazy hot sex with one of them. He must have been the most muscular guy I've ever bedded. I've never watched the show, but I'll always be grateful to T.S. Eliot and Andrew Lloyd Weber
I don't know much about cats. I've been allergic to them since childhood, so I won't judge them or the people that like them.
I will say that those who think dog-people are controlling or dominating are incorrect.
Dogs and people have fun together. Sometimes, that involves persuasion. I avoid negative reinforcement myself, but it's a human habit when working with animals.
I think it's far more correct to characterize our relationship with dogs as a partnership. We work together. Dogs are not merely our tools.
Somali OstrichThe worst thing...is not energy depletion, economic collapse, conventional war, or the expansion of totalitarian governments. As terrible as these catastrophes would be for us, they can be repaired in a few generations. The one process now going on that will take millions of years to correct is loss of genetic and species diversity by the destruction of natural habitats. This is the folly our descendants are least likely to forgive us.--e.o. wilson
My ex is terrified of my Mum's cat but doesn't dare admit it. He cringes every time I take it near him.
The only Cat I will ever Kiss is Pussy but this pic is Awe-worthy..
Nothing! Cats suck.
Cats attack also.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...eral-cats.htmlWarning to tourists in France after attack by feral cats
About six cats pounced on the unnamed dog owner as she walked her poodle in the city of Belfort, in the popular Franche-Comte region, on the Swiss border, dragging her to the ground and mauling her.
The next SyFy movie?
(My cat does a Hannibal Lecter about once a month.)
Thanks for the thread revival - it reminds me that a lot of pet owners think their shit doesn't stink.
"There’s death on the horizon,
and I’ll run to behold your sacrifice..."
Ahhh, some people are cat people, and some are dog people. I used to consider myself neither, expect that I've ended up with both (one dog, two cats), and I like them all, but for different reasons. I quite admire the individuality of cats, just as I like the sheer loving of the dog. If you don't like cats, or dogs, or ferrets, or Republicans, don't own one!
-T.
"Thank God for tea! What would the world do without tea? how did it exist? I am glad I was not born before tea." (Sydney Smith)
The Irony of the OP's statement is particularly delicious given the 'I Hate My Dog' thread of the last few days.....
I think the only advantage of having a cat over a dog is that they're less of a commitment.