Any 'cat people' on here?

I don't agree with that. If you interact with your cat they become less aloof. I have one who was dumped at West Bretton at only afew months old, she was in a bad state when i took her in. I nursed her until she got back into good health and ever since she's been such a loving cat. Comes for lots of cuddles and strokes. Waits until i go up to bed and then she follows. If i go to the loo she follows!

So in my experience my cat gives back what she gets.

 

How did they advertise? nt

 

I lived in a house with two cats. One thought it was a dog (lifted it leg against lamposts, like scrapping, liked being patted on the head). The other was a flimsy, fluffy, tortoiseshell that went to sleep every night on the other one. Despite their obvious appeal and any attempts to interact they didn'y give a toss about anyone else unless food was involved.

 

ok, I'll play

Landlord advertised the house. The cats came as part of the deal. Looked after them for a year or so. Also had a fully working and fully stocked Wurlitzer juke box in the kitchen as well!

 

I'm obviously lucky with my two then. Might be something in the fact that both were mistreated before i took them in. They choose not to go further than the back garden and will only go out when it's dry and not cold, the rest of the time they're in the house. So i spend alot of time with my two as they're not out mooching around

 

That's not playing properly.

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You could have said Mews of the World or something.</p>

 

Guess you are lucky. To be fair I don't have pets. Can't stand the dependence/master relationship that's involved.

 

You get that with Scottish cats.

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Mine didn'y give a toss either.</p>

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I've never gone out and got a cat, they just seem to know i'm a sucker and that i'll take them in. My first cat moved in with me from my neighbours. The second i found at West Bretton when i was looking for the first one when he went missing. He hot-footed it from Barnsley to Birstall when i moved house. I got him back 3 months later. He's passed away now. The last one i took in i saw at the side of the road, I stopped and she was in a state. I took her to the vets and the poor little thing had been shot several times in the head with an air rifle. So my plans to get another dog went out of the window a long time ago!

As for the dependence/master thing. I depend on them as i love them so much and they rule me!

 

Respect what you say/ actions you take. But to me there is something creeping round the edges of morality about the relationship between humans and animals. Emotional interelantionship based on a dominant partner whatever the welfare justifications. Pets have been genetically produced to serve human needs after all.

 

That's a bit too deep for this time! I can't agree with what you've said as you may have gathered from what i've posted how much my cats mean to me. My cats are domesticated so i don't think i'm doing anything wrong. As for the dominant partner remark that's the same in alot of human relationships

 

You are right. Got into a sort of late night philosophical mode. Dominance/submission - all animals have it. Humans have the brains to break away from animal instincts if they want to - except when it comes to relationships with animals! Pets needs owners to give them food.

 

There's no dominance and submission with cats.

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Evolutionhasn't put it there. With the exception of lions (and they play no part in our cats' genetic make up) felines in the wild live almost totally solitary lives. They're not hard wired for co-operation. They don't see the provision of shelter as yours to give. The only hold we have over them is that they're kept in a slightly juvenile state by us feeding them but a lot of cats will grow up and hunt as their programming requires them to. A cat can enjoy being around you and become accustomed to this pleasure but it remains essentially a selfish emotion. This applies to a lot of other pets that don't co-operate in the wild. You could no more teach a hamster to fly.</p>

Co-operating pack animals like canids actually have emotions regarding other pack members. Some people find that hard to believe but it makes a lot of sense that, in a thousand interactive situations a day, simple emotions would guide a dog rather than a conclusion reached by cross referencing and correlation ofits possible actions and their consequences. There's no reason why another highly social creature shouldn't have its important behaviour guided by emotion in the same way that ours is. Natural selection doesn't require that we know why we do what we do.</p>

I kind of see what Bright Red's saying and, when I've given it deep thought,have found myself a little uncomfortable at times with bossing another creature around. I can only speak for myself when I say that I'd be perfectly happy to never have to command them again and just relax and enjoy their companionship, their comedy and their unconditional love. But unfortunately it just wouldn't work - the daily practicalities of the human environment we share are too complicated for a dog to understand, they wouldn't fit in properly, they wouldn't be safe andin the abscence of leadership,some individuals would attempt to dominate - again not good. It's also important to understand that dogs are much happier when part of a clearly defined command structure the lack of which, in the wild, can result in trouble for the pack. The pecking order works for them, they enjoy it.</p>

I think BR thinks we have pets because of a need to dominate them. This may apply to some individuals but not the majority.A dog needs and wants to be part of a pecking order and a cat isn't wired to even accept the concept. For the majority of decent pet owners we're just doing what we need to do to be able to enjoy their company.</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal">The fox would try to keep out of the cat&rsquo;s way if possible (too much of a risk of getting hurt from scratching) more likely the strays trying to take over the territory or it could be a dog or next-door neighbour even taking a dislike <span /></p>

 

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Sometimes you can be a right *****
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Sometimes!!!!

 

Ok, most of the time. 99.9% of the time