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Post by brutalis on Jan 17, 2021 23:28:23 GMT -5
It's hard to work with someone standing over your shoulder; it's even harder to work with a cat standing on your shoulder! It's impossible when he decides to lay down on your arm an shoulder. The purring is pretty soothing, though... That is the price of being owned by a cat. A life of being their furniture, scratching post, litter box cleaner and personal chef. If there is reincarnation then my vote is for coming back as a house cat. Pampered, loved and despotic ruler of your own personal world. That is true power and proof cats are probably the smartest creatures in the universe. |
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Post by EdoBosnar on Jan 18, 2021 7:23:24 GMT -5
That is the price of being owned by a cat. A life of being their furniture, scratching post, litter box cleaner and personal chef. If there is reincarnation then my vote is for coming back as a house cat. Pampered, loved and despotic ruler of your own personal world. That is true power and proof cats are probably the smartest creatures in the universe. Well, maybe. But William Faulkner had a different opinion:
From The Reivers (1962).
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Post by The Captain on Jan 18, 2021 7:25:45 GMT -5
It's hard to work with someone standing over your shoulder; it's even harder to work with a cat standing on your shoulder! It's impossible when he decides to lay down on your arm an shoulder. The purring is pretty soothing, though... That is the price of being owned by a cat. A life of being their furniture, scratching post, litter box cleaner and personal chef. If there is reincarnation then my vote is for coming back as a house cat. Pampered, loved and despotic ruler of your own personal world. That is true power and proof cats are probably the smartest creatures in the universe. The difference between cats and dogs is this: Dogs beg. Cats lay claim. |
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Post by Jeddak on Jan 18, 2021 7:56:00 GMT -5
Dogs - Wow, they feed me, give me a place to live, take care of me, give me toys and scratchees. They must be gods!
Cats - Hmm. They feed me, give me a place to live, take care of me, give me toys and scratchees. I must be a god!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 18, 2021 12:34:08 GMT -5
"You need a dog to adore you and a cat to ignore you."
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Post by junkmonkey on Jan 18, 2021 12:50:00 GMT -5
I don't need a dog at all. Never understood why people keep them around - unless they're trained working dogs there's no need for the things at all. Cats on the other hand kill the rodents which otherwise would invade my house and eat my wiring. That's why I keep one around. That and to, ultimately, teach the kids about loss, the brevity of life, and the meaningless of existence.
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Post by Prince Hal on Jan 18, 2021 13:53:06 GMT -5
I don't need a dog at all. Never understood why people keep them around - unless they're trained working dogs there's no need for the things at all. Cats on the other hand kill the rodents which otherwise would invade my house and eat my wiring. That's why I keep one around. That and to, ultimately, teach the kids about loss, the brevity of life, and the meaningless of existence. Re: Rat-killing You’ve obviously never owned a terrier. |
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Jan 18, 2021 14:02:05 GMT -5
I don't need a dog at all. Never understood why people keep them around - unless they're trained working dogs there's no need for the things at all. Cats on the other hand kill the rodents which otherwise would invade my house and eat my wiring. That's why I keep one around. That and to, ultimately, teach the kids about loss, the brevity of life, and the meaningless of existence. I never had a dog, but had a good relationship with my sister's faithful mutt; she was as much a part of the family as any of us. (The dog. Not my sister). From what I can tell... dogs are love. Pure, unadulterated, unconditional. My cat is used to my company, sure, but probably couldn't care less if I was there or not, as long as someone else took care of feeding it and stroking it just so when it requires it. A dog will be the happiest creature on Earth just because you showed up. I prefer cats myself (softer, less maintenance, quite auto-sufficient as far as poop/walks/cleaning goes, and they purr...) but I will never expect from a cat the kind of love I've seen in dogs. |
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Post by Icctrombone on Jan 18, 2021 14:35:56 GMT -5
I don't need a dog at all. Never understood why people keep them around - unless they're trained working dogs there's no need for the things at all. Cats on the other hand kill the rodents which otherwise would invade my house and eat my wiring. That's why I keep one around. That and to, ultimately, teach the kids about loss, the brevity of life, and the meaningless of existence. I never had a dog, but had a good relationship with my sister's faithful mutt; she was as much a part of the family as any of us. (The dog. Not my sister). From what I can tell... dogs are love. Pure, unadulterated, unconditional. My cat is used to my company, sure, but probably couldn't care less if I was there or not, as long as someone else took care of feeding it and stroking it just so when it requires it. A dog will be the happiest creature on Earth just because you showed up. I prefer cats myself (softer, less maintenance, quite auto-sufficient as far as poop/walks/cleaning goes, and they purr...) but I will never expect from a cat the kind of love I've seen in dogs. Dogs are great. |
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Post by Rob Allen on Jan 18, 2021 15:50:09 GMT -5
I've had cats most of my adult life, or more accurately, my wives have had cats. I got along with all of them just fine, but I have a special bond with one of the two that we have now. He's "my cat" in a way that none of the others have been. In some ways he behaves more like a dog than a cat. Anyone who thinks cats aren't affectionate should see him with me.  |
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Post by Batflunkie on Jan 18, 2021 20:05:45 GMT -5
I was used to Cats growing up and didn't experience Dogs until later. My grandparents had a Manx named Julie that kind of acted like a dog and was really friendly. I now have Pit-bull mix named Lynette that's very goofy and fits in with our little family quite well  |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 18, 2021 20:38:24 GMT -5
One of these came crawling out of a pond, went into someone's yard and snacked on a pup. They like to laze around and bask in the hot sun with their mouth wide open and get up to 2.5m in length. I wouldn't mind one as a pet but he'd have his own territory.
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Post by codystarbuck on Jan 18, 2021 23:02:36 GMT -5
I grew up with both cats and dogs (though longer with dogs). The cats we had when I was a kid were outdoor cats and kind of wild. They killed everything in sight and would wander away and eventually disappear (we lived in the country; it was the 70s, that's the way it went). Never had another cat until my girlfriend moved in with one. Our relationship (the cat and I) was that I would try to touch her and she would try to open a vein. She called it play, I called it first aid training.
My girlfriend wanted to get a companion for her cat and we went to the local humane society to adopt a kitten (figured her cat would be less territorial with a youngin). She pointed to a little black guy on the top if the pile and he was brought to a room to meet us. He proceeded to bounce off the walls and attack my shoelaces and I dragged them after me to fill out the paperwork. He came home the next day and proceeded to tell me he had adopted me and I was his human. He hung out with me, curled up in my lap, pawed at me to lift the bed covers to let him snuggle underneath, and to scratch where he nudged my hand. We had about 8 years of him being my fuzzy little buddy, before kidney disease took him away. Every night and every morning, he would meow at me to scratch him, tell me where, then get up and jump down when he was finished. At the end, he could barely stumble. On his last night, he came over to me and pawed at me and I gently lifted him up and we had our ritual and when he decided he was done, I gently lifted him down. The next day, before taking him to the vet, I put him on the bed so my wife could say goodbye. He settled himself down on her laptop (he liked the warmth and would do that until he was kicked off) and somehow tripped a music file of Blue Oyster Cult's "Don't Fear the Reaper." Every time I hear that song, I think of him. He passed away peacefully in my arms; his ashes rest in a box next to a photo of him hanging out on top of my old computer monitor.
I never had a dog do any of that.
A few years ago, we decided to adopt two new cats (my wife's cat had passed away, after a long life) and rescued an 8 year old and an 8 month old. The older cat, Derek, came right up to the bars of his cage, at the humane society, and said hello. The other guy (we called him Punky, as he didn't look like an Eduardo), was a timid little thing, but, he climbed up and was immediately loving when we met him in the little room. We took them both home. The older was a bit of a jerk to the little guy, until he established his dominance and chilled and the two would romp around together. Punky would climb up on my chair and want to hang over my shoulder and just purr. Derek would come by and say hi, and we'd play a bit, but that was about it. When we moved, the POS Walmart pet taxi broke open and they got loose, as I was loading them into the car and they got loose. Derek stuck by and I got him back in the cage quickly. Punky hid in a corner. A friend of my brother tried to get him and he ran from him. He tried to chase and punky took off like a rocket and disappeared. I spent the evening and the next two days trying to find him and never did. We hope he found a new home and he is safe. In the new place, Derek soon began to jump up on my chair and want to hang out like Punky did. Pretty soon, he was resting on my chest and belly to hang out and then he was sleeping on top of me. Now, he hangs out on my chair, near my chair, on top of my chest or my shoulders and sleeps on top of either my hip and thigh or my crotch, depending on my sleeping position (I turn in the night). When I turn, he gets up, lets me get settled, then repositions himself. As I have typed this, he has been resting on my shoulder and arm, purring. Soon, he will beg for treats.
I had dogs around the home; but, they were never "mine." I have had three cats who said I was "theirs." They may have been noisy, demanding, occasionally scarring; but, they have shown me more unconditional love and affection than any other creature with two or four legs.
My favorite author is Terry Pratchett. He understood cats. He passed from this world with his cats curled up at his feet. That's how I want to go, someday.
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Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,202 
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Post by Confessor on Jan 19, 2021 10:28:08 GMT -5
Anyone who thinks cats aren't affectionate should see him with me. With cats, you get out of your relationship with them what you put in. There's none of the unconditional affection that you get with dogs. I've lived with cats my entire life (my Mum even used to foster them for the RSPCA for a while), and I've never known a cat who isn't affectionate or who loves being around people. When I hear people say that cats are unaffectionate and cold I always think that says more about them than it does the cat. |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Jan 19, 2021 10:50:27 GMT -5
I grew up with dogs and cats, but the cats were largely outdoor cats and out in the country they tended to be transitory. My wife is a cat person so I've come to appreciate them. We had a dog for my boys and they both showed dogs for 4-H, but she has since passed at age 14.
Dogs are work. They demand attention. They want to be walked and exercised. They can't be left for a long weekend unattended. Cats do take some work but it's a lot less. We recently took in a stray that had shown up living in our side-yard. Eventually caught her, got her fixed and she moved inside the house. She is affectionate on her terms. She doesn't sit with you like the other two. But she comes up and sleeps with me for a bit at night. She's just super independent, which makes sense as she was a stray for close to a year.
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