Why do cats have such a bad reputation?

I'd always been a dog person until I met my husband. I was just amazed at how much like dogs these cats can be. They truly are like potato chips, can't stop at just one.

I guess I was operating under the assumptions they were aloof, sneaky, sly. And while that may be true for some, I can't get them off of me. They hang on me like bad fur coats, come when I call them, or when I open the fridge (just like teenagers and stick a head in the door - just lookin' fer chikun- she tells me when I shoo her away). And even more so than dogs, they talk all the time.

I'm absolulely smitten by the kitten, you could say. I've been won over to the dark side.

As for breed, we've got one purebred, an Abby. She's a tiger's attitude in her little 7 pound body. Her health has been a challenge. The rest of the clowder are from shelters, or taken in from the street. They Abby was my husband's wish. Like when I had dogs, fancy doesn't matter to me. I'd rather take in a rescue. I guess the only consideration I have is I prefer anything without a "pushed in face" or long hair.

I was seriously considering a Singapura a few years ago, but they were hard to come by and the Humane Society had an adorable little tabby...so I opted for the one who needed an immediate home.

CATastrophe said:

I guess I was operating under the assumptions they were aloof, sneaky, sly. And while that may be true for some, I can't get them off of me. They hang on me like bad fur coats, come when I call them, or when I open the fridge (just like teenagers and stick a head in the door - just lookin' fer chikun- she tells me when I shoo her away). And even more so than dogs, they talk all the time.

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I've noticed that the more you talk to your cats, the more they talk back! I have one that never talked as a kitten, but now he could host his own talk show.

CATastrophe said:

As for breed, we've got one purebred, an Abby. She's a tiger's attitude in her little 7 pound body.

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Abbys are very active cats, aren't they? Does she like to sit in your lap? My neighbor has a Bengal cat, which I think were bred from Abbys and some other breed originally. It's a beautiful cat with an exotic wild spotted pattern...it looks like a minature leopard. He is always exploring, hunting, and playing. He doesn't like to be held or sit on laps. He's too busy for that!

oarsman said:

I've noticed that the more you talk to your cats, the more they talk back! I have one that never talked as a kitten, but now he could host his own talk show.

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That is so true! I've been talking to Lucky for 9 years and he's quite the talker and has gotten more demanding at to what he wants and wanting it NOW!

awatkins said:

I knew someone once who swore this was true. I had a beautiful Russian Blue named Smoky when my daughter was born and my friend nearly had a heart attack because I wouldn't get rid of the cat. "It'll smother that baby!" she said over and over. My daughter is now 28 years old, so somehow she managed to survive that 'murderous' cat. *sigh*

Has anybody ever heard of a case where a cat smothered a baby? I never have!

And, Fern, yes. It certainly seems that many writers have cats.

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I've heard of an instance where they tried to blame the cat, but it turned out to be CIDS. Fred, my husband, woke up one morning unable to breathe or see and realized my mother's cat, Harry, was resting on his face!

oarsman said:

Abbys are very active cats, aren't they? Does she like to sit in your lap? My neighbor has a Bengal cat, which I think were bred from Abbys and some other breed originally. It's a beautiful cat with an exotic wild spotted pattern...it looks like a minature leopard. He is always exploring, hunting, and playing. He doesn't like to be held or sit on laps. He's too busy for that!

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Because of her anemia she runs hot and cold. Hyper about grooming and runs, not waltzes like the others, from room to room. Tail straight up, often aquiver, and trots or double times. She believes she is royalty and won't let anyone forget it. She loves my husband and will sit in his lap for hours. But she doesn't care to be held or confined in anyway. She is very social and greets anyone at the door and will get on people's shoulders. She doesn't play much. No interest in being like the 'commoners' here. But she will lick a catnip mouse until it cries for mercy.

I've seen bengals and love them. They are so pretty with the beautiful markings. But I think I will stick to my ragtag bunch.

Cats can be very useful. Take Bugsy, for instance (bless her departed soul).

A bat made its way into our house in the early hours...woke us with its flapping about. My brave husband, six foot four when standing, pulled the sheet up over his head, leaving the women to defend the household, me, being all of five foot two, and Bugs, a tad smaller.

I turned the light on in all the rooms but one. Worked like a charm. (BTW, I had no further plan at this moment.) Bugsy and I entered the darkened room after the bat and I closed the door behind us. For some reason, I had brought a towel with me.

I turned on the light. Bugsy leapt into the air, clapped her paws about the flipping bat and brought it down to the floor with a small thud. I threw the towel over the wee black thing and slid a cardboard under all. We escorted the soft package to the back door where I flicked it up into the night sky.

We did a repeat performance a couple of years later.

kikonie said:

I turned on the light. Bugsy leapt into the air, clapped her paws about the flipping bat and brought it down to the floor with a small thud. I threw the towel over the wee black thing and slid a cardboard under all. We escorted the soft package to the back door where I flicked it up into the night sky.

We did a repeat performance a couple of years later.

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Wow. You could have started a bat removal service! Bats are good to have around, but not around the inside of the house. They eat tons of insects. Some people put up bat houses outside their home to encourage the bats to live outside of the house. As a bonus, the bats are good tenants and will eat lots of mosquitoes and other insects.

I had a cat that loved to catch flying insects. It is surprising how good a cat can be at catching flying insects (or for Bugsy....flying mammals).

I have had both cats and dogs my entire life. My grandmother had a working farm so of course there where the "working cats" that didn't like human contact other than the dry kibble in the morning. The house cats where usually kittens that where adopted from the barn for one reason or another and the two sets where very different from each other.

I have seen cats that love cuddles and attention. I personaly have a cat at this time who thinks he is a dog, and a dog that believes he's a cat ...so you figure that one out.

hhmmm, cats or dogs?

Well, I've had both dogs and cats too. Well, a cat, long ago. A hairy one. But the dogs I've had in my life operate as cats...they're sighthounds, and a more independent-minded dog you'll never meet.

Which is why, in two weeks, we introduce our (long awaited) Sphynx kitten to our family. I've been around Sphynxs (Sphynx'? Sphynxes?) lots, and their crazy attitude and in-your-face-ness was a huge draw. Not like the Azawakh, that'll sit and chill, waiting for you to bring him his food.

I don't know which I like better, but you avowed cat peoples ought to try a nice sighthound. You'll be happy with the personality parallels.

Oneidii
--
www.collar-queen.blogspot.com

What's a sighthound?

A bad cat is worse than a bad dog, in my opinion.

I have 12 cats and 2 dogs and 11 of my cats are "good."

The 11th cat cannot come inside unless there is a major storm outside. (Snow or hurricane.)


You can teach a bad dog to behave: just ask Cesar Milan. But a bad cat will never change ..........no way no how.

The best you can hope for is that it will move away. (the cat.)

spoken words

Anyone else start cataloguing their cat's vocabulary?

Previously, I'd only had one cat with a clear spoken language, but for the most part it never made any sense, but she enjoyed trying. Motley had a complex range of prrts, tweets, & chatters that I think were her effort to emulate the humans around her. I'd say something, she'd answer back, I acted like I understood, & we could go on like that for an hour while I washed the dishes or whatever.

Now I've got two cats. Kamala is a bit shy, but she does clearly ask questions, generally centered around food or going outside.

But Ouja surprised me two years ago. He's a 20-pound Siamese (silver lynxpoint). I stepped out on the deck, & he followed me, but Kamala wasn't anywhere, so I looked inside & said, "Kamala?" Ouja stopped rolling in the grass, put his head back inside, & clear as day said "Mawa?"

Since then, I've unconsciously collected maybe a dozen sounds like "Reh!" (general happiness) that he recognizes & echoes. When I wrote a mystery, the central character has a cat, & I was able to make their interaction deeper for the ability to create believable "dialogue," like the fact that "arra" means "food."

We have seven cats--two of whom have "words". Two say "Out" very plainly and one says "yeah" when asked if she's hungry or wants in or out. Our theory is that they take note of what works and make use of it.

My German Shepherd shakes his head "no" and barks to say yes.

My cat is a talker, too. If fact he is more responsive to "nap" than he is "dinner." That's because he is his sleep-deprived mother's son.

But lately his 3 a.m. monologues are getting a bit annoying. He starts talking downstairs and accelerates as he comes closer to the bedroom. Hubby is not amused, as he has to get up at 4:30.

The cat I grew up with had a special "word" to let us know he had a hairball: "woe woe woe!" I'd never heard a cat make that sound before, or since!

Katya

Cats and Writers

Fern said:

Ever notice how many writers have cats?

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Yup (check out my avatar, for one).

Cats are incorrigibly independent creatures. So are writers.

Cats need space to contemplate, to breathe, to be. So do writers.

Both cats and writers can be hard to get to know, but once we let you in and learn to trust you, we're fiercely loyal.

Neither writers nor cats are known for our gregariousness, but we are known for the intensity of our emotions.

And both cats and writers appreciate life's simple pleasures: a good meal, a good snooze, a good chase (whether of a mouse or a well-realized story).

I have to say, however, that I'm glad writers don't get hairballs.

Do your cats talk to birds?

Both our girls do it (but not the boys). They sit on the window-sill and make this kind of "ackackackackack" sound. Wierd.

Is it like they're clicking their teeth? That's the sound my cat makes when she's "admiring" the birds.

She makes quite another sound when the neighbor's cat come on the deck. Or the raccoons. Or the possum.

Cath said:

Do your cats talk to birds?

Both our girls do it (but not the boys). They sit on the window-sill and make this kind of "ackackackackack" sound. Wierd.

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Both our kitty girls do it, too. They also talk to bugs they find in the house.

Cath said:

Do your cats talk to birds?

Both our girls do it (but not the boys). They sit on the window-sill and make this kind of "ackackackackack" sound. Wierd.

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Mr. Lucky does that. It almost sounds like he's laughing. He also loves to go out in the late afternoon and quietly watch as they eat before their bedtime.

So, is it a girl kitty thing? Or do boy kitties do it too?

(Deborah, I guess Mr Lucky at one point!).

I oughta make clear that I really do like dogs, a lot. But I'm the second generation "off the farm," & we have the in-built belief that a dog ought to have at least a quarter-acre of running room for every ten pounds it weighs! I've rarely had a yard, much less fenced, so I figure I'll have a small herd of Labradors when I retire.

Besides, even with a huge bed, one Lab takes up more bed than ten cats.

I actually broke up with someone over dogs. She had a Golden & a Sheltie, & a big fenced yard with a sharp 20-foot decline. I'd come over after work, then after dinner I'd go throw tennis balls for the dogs. They thought I was great. Problem is, I'd walk in the door behind my ladyfriend, & her dogs would practically knock her over to greet me! That didn't go over so good....

Anthony, please confirm - you two split up because her dogs liked you better?

She's never seen the Smothers Brothers, has she?

I have been working with older feral cats for over twenty years now. Most of these creatures come here after suffering all sorts of trauma and abuse, because a cat in the wild is an open target for cat haters and bullies. I have had cats thrown out of car windows while the car was speeding down the road. Kittens surviving near drowing episodes, growing up with night terrors (fear of the dark). Cats burned with chemicals, poisoned and left to die. My latest girl has been here about 3 months now. She is 17 years old and suffered horrendous abuse from her former owner. She cannot walk, she crab-crawls and hops then falls over, but after finally breaking through her barriers, she has come out from under the bed and now sleeps in the middle of our bedroom floor. She can't jump, has to have a special pan for her litterbox needs.

Honestly, I just don't understand the intense hatred and I really believe that some people hate cats because they don't understand them. They want them to be "mini dogs" and unless you have a Somali or a Turkish Van who are very doglike in behavior, you are out of luck for trying to control a cat. You learn to read them, to understand their natural behavior and expect nothing from them. I currently have 18 cats here, they run in the house and in the cat enclosure attached to our home. All have either been abused or abandoned, and every single one of them are nothing short of delightful! Even Squirrel who loves to snatch my earrings, wedding ring or watch and race upstairs and bury her treasures in the litter box!

By the way about feral cats killing songbirds? It's poppycock. Only a well-fed cat has the stamina to hunt. Starving cats can't hunt that's why they starve.

Wow CW; I had a cat named Squirrel. Best cat ever. She loved to play fetch. The faster she ran to get 'it', the happier she was. She was also really loyal, which pissed off some people who thought they had cat appeal, but she would happily curl up on the lap of anyone she sensed was truly calm.

She was a good hunter. Just like Bugsy (the bat catcher) who looked like Squirrel's twin sister.