@SSteve Yep, very occasionally a cat makes it to adulthood while still being a worthwhile creature. My wife (then girlfriend) had a golden tabby named Nicolai Ilyanovich Lobachevsky (sp?) who was overall pretty cool and nice; only rarely did the catness break out and ruin the illusion that it had learned to exceed a cat's limitations.
@jaremelz But it's their neediness that helps ensure your survival. They're going to make sure you live so that they can too. Cats on thte otherhand, are just waiting to find a way to kill you so they can feast on you and take over your home!
Automatic water bowl, big bowl of dry food, and a litter box. The ingredients for being able to go out for more than 8 hours at a time. Hell, even for a whole weekend. Dogs are a needy pain the ass.
@cinoclav Nor leave them alone for 8 hours at a stretch with a food bowl, litterbox and water... at least not until they're at least as old as a middle-aged dog... but then kids are a needy pain in the ass. But somehow folks just continue to think they're worth it ;)
Cats are meh by default. Kittens are cool but the meh is genetic and ingrained and takes over as they grow. Its a rare cat that rises above meh, but it does happen, usually because they learn from a dog.
@Dweezle Lol - Strong feelings there. I do like dogs (big dogs, not those yappy little bastards) but along with not wanting to have my life revolve around a dog I dislike that they're dirty. My gf and I once had two dogs (not by my choice) and it was a constant argument over not wanting them on the bed or the sofa. Every time she claimed it was perfectly fine for the cat to be there I reminded her that the cat washed himself all day long while the dogs were happy to roll in their own shit. They were only truly clean when we gave them a bath and that would last for a few hours until they went out again.
@cinoclav yeah...they also eat their own shit & and the cats' shit. And then slobber all over your face and drool in your shoes. Cats bury their shit, and clean themselves constantly; how could any pet be better than that? The fact that almost all cats are cuter than almost all dogs also helps.
@Dweezle Cats lick their bums, then lick themselves all over, applying a light coat of bum-cooties everywhere, then come and lick you with their sandpapery tongues embedding cat-bum-residue on you. They ralph up hairballs, scatter litter from their boxes onto the floor, shred furniture unless declawed, jump on your bed and knead their claws in the comforter until you wake up (shredding said comforter unless declawed), bite and scratch when you try to trim their claws, are uber-finicky about their food. And this was a good cat...
@duodec I like when cats knead on me, I've never had a cat shred anything, and never had one declawed, because that's awful. They've always been happy sharpening their claws on the carpet or on wood outside. I'd never want to trim their claws either, that's horrible too. Also, on the rare occasion a cat licks you, as least they don't leave several tablespoons of shit-laden drool on you. Cats only lick their asses; they don't actually eat every piece of shit they see, whether it came from their own ass or from some other animal...I've never seen a dog that didn't love eating shit.
@lisaviolet Agreed, I've seen cats get hurt because of getting stuck on things. Not a pretty sight, a cat fiercely thrashing a paw around, spewing blood everywhere.
My wife and I travel too much to take care of a pet. When you are gone for weeks at a time, you leave nothing at home. Life really begins when the kids move out and take the pets with them.
Mostly a cat person. Dogs are okay, just a little high-maintenance for my tastes. They do fetch, they have that on cats. Cats, on the other hand, have the don't-roll-around-in-dead-animals thing going for them.
Cat person. Well, cat people. Always have been. We like dogs, too, but won't get anymore unless we move because the neighbors are assholes.
Our cats can go out into the backyard, but the fence has been modified to keep them in OUR yard, so they're not nuisances to the neighbors.
They still hunt, though. Lizards and gophers. Trees are blocked off so they can't climb the trees, but I have saved the occasional bird that gets too close to the ground. sigh I hate when they get the birds, but since our population is aging (oldest is 21, youngest is nine) they don't move quite as fast and birds have a better chance of flying off.
@lisaviolet A friend of mine's 9 year old cat, without front claws, managed to kill a hawk. He brought it home to her and laid it out on the back porch. Broke the hawk's neck. Hawk got him in the side of the neck and he had a pretty messy hole. Geesh. My cats are indoor only. No dead anything other than lizards and crickets who manage to get in the house. And those they eat (well only the heads of the crickets). They also learned that cockroaches taste nasty. So they play with them and then kill them. Corpses left where ever. Once one cat woke me up playing on my bed. Had a cockroach in his mouth. He'd then drop it on my bed, chase it, the roach would fall off, cat would retrieve it. Too gross!!! But then again they are mostly love buckets who purr their little hearts out, cuddling, crawling into my lap and are happy little things.
Dog person. And it is not. even. close.
@haydesigner Amen
I have had both dogs and cats at different times in my life. Currently, the choice has been made by my spouses allergy to cats.
@Thumperchick Screw that. Allergy shots. Go cats!
@cinoclav He's already on other meds that make that a less than stellar idea. Yay dogs! I love and pet my friend's cats.
There is that one cat I like.
@SSteve Yep, very occasionally a cat makes it to adulthood while still being a worthwhile creature. My wife (then girlfriend) had a golden tabby named Nicolai Ilyanovich Lobachevsky (sp?) who was overall pretty cool and nice; only rarely did the catness break out and ruin the illusion that it had learned to exceed a cat's limitations.
@duodec A Tom Lehrer fan...
Cat person. Dogs are just too damn needy.
@jaremelz But it's their neediness that helps ensure your survival. They're going to make sure you live so that they can too. Cats on thte otherhand, are just waiting to find a way to kill you so they can feast on you and take over your home!
@thejackalope Which is exactly what the cats and I have in common.
Although I chose cat/dog abomination, because, CatDog!
Automatic water bowl, big bowl of dry food, and a litter box. The ingredients for being able to go out for more than 8 hours at a time. Hell, even for a whole weekend. Dogs are a needy pain the ass.
@cinoclav not doing the kid thing either then, Cinoclav?
@duodec Nope. But even if I was I wouldn't have to run home to let them out to pee!
@cinoclav Nor leave them alone for 8 hours at a stretch with a food bowl, litterbox and water... at least not until they're at least as old as a middle-aged dog... but then kids are a needy pain in the ass. But somehow folks just continue to think they're worth it ;)
@cinoclav Go team no-dogs-no-kids!
@cinoclav unless you have a 15 year old jerk like mine, who needs special old man supplements twice a day.
"CatDog, CatDog, alone in the world was a little catdog".
Do you mean people with pets, or horrifying mutant human-animal hybrids that roam the night searching for flesh?
when i was young, i sold my soul "for all the pussy i can handle".
now, i run an animal rescue/foster home for cats.
I have 17.
I FAILED TO BE SPECIFIC!!!!
Cats are meh by default. Kittens are cool but the meh is genetic and ingrained and takes over as they grow. Its a rare cat that rises above meh, but it does happen, usually because they learn from a dog.
I get cats. I don't get dogs. Can't relate to them. Don't mind them, just can't really feel a connection. But cats, cats I get.
Doggie person with a lot of catshirts.
I despise dogs. Everything about them is disgusting.
@Dweezle Lol - Strong feelings there. I do like dogs (big dogs, not those yappy little bastards) but along with not wanting to have my life revolve around a dog I dislike that they're dirty. My gf and I once had two dogs (not by my choice) and it was a constant argument over not wanting them on the bed or the sofa. Every time she claimed it was perfectly fine for the cat to be there I reminded her that the cat washed himself all day long while the dogs were happy to roll in their own shit. They were only truly clean when we gave them a bath and that would last for a few hours until they went out again.
@cinoclav yeah...they also eat their own shit & and the cats' shit. And then slobber all over your face and drool in your shoes. Cats bury their shit, and clean themselves constantly; how could any pet be better than that? The fact that almost all cats are cuter than almost all dogs also helps.
@Dweezle Cats lick their bums, then lick themselves all over, applying a light coat of bum-cooties everywhere, then come and lick you with their sandpapery tongues embedding cat-bum-residue on you. They ralph up hairballs, scatter litter from their boxes onto the floor, shred furniture unless declawed, jump on your bed and knead their claws in the comforter until you wake up (shredding said comforter unless declawed), bite and scratch when you try to trim their claws, are uber-finicky about their food. And this was a good cat...
@duodec I like when cats knead on me, I've never had a cat shred anything, and never had one declawed, because that's awful. They've always been happy sharpening their claws on the carpet or on wood outside. I'd never want to trim their claws either, that's horrible too. Also, on the rare occasion a cat licks you, as least they don't leave several tablespoons of shit-laden drool on you. Cats only lick their asses; they don't actually eat every piece of shit they see, whether it came from their own ass or from some other animal...I've never seen a dog that didn't love eating shit.
Pro claw in this house and I do trim. When the cats start getting caught when they walk in the bedspread or sofa, it's time for a trim.
@lisaviolet Agreed, I've seen cats get hurt because of getting stuck on things. Not a pretty sight, a cat fiercely thrashing a paw around, spewing blood everywhere.
@brhfl @lisaviolet Yep. Thats why Nicolai needed to get claws clipped from time to time. He was not declawed...
Cat person! When I was a child, I said I was half cat and half human. When I matured, I realized I was fully cat and fully human.
My wife and I travel too much to take care of a pet. When you are gone for weeks at a time, you leave nothing at home. Life really begins when the kids move out and take the pets with them.
Mostly a cat person. Dogs are okay, just a little high-maintenance for my tastes. They do fetch, they have that on cats. Cats, on the other hand, have the don't-roll-around-in-dead-animals thing going for them.
Cat person. Well, cat people. Always have been. We like dogs, too, but won't get anymore unless we move because the neighbors are assholes.
Our cats can go out into the backyard, but the fence has been modified to keep them in OUR yard, so they're not nuisances to the neighbors.
They still hunt, though. Lizards and gophers. Trees are blocked off so they can't climb the trees, but I have saved the occasional bird that gets too close to the ground. sigh I hate when they get the birds, but since our population is aging (oldest is 21, youngest is nine) they don't move quite as fast and birds have a better chance of flying off.
Skippy (who is FIV+) and his gopher
@lisaviolet Your back yard looks like too much fun for kids, dogs, or cats.
@duodec Thank you.
@lisaviolet A friend of mine's 9 year old cat, without front claws, managed to kill a hawk. He brought it home to her and laid it out on the back porch. Broke the hawk's neck. Hawk got him in the side of the neck and he had a pretty messy hole. Geesh. My cats are indoor only. No dead anything other than lizards and crickets who manage to get in the house. And those they eat (well only the heads of the crickets). They also learned that cockroaches taste nasty. So they play with them and then kill them. Corpses left where ever. Once one cat woke me up playing on my bed. Had a cockroach in his mouth. He'd then drop it on my bed, chase it, the roach would fall off, cat would retrieve it. Too gross!!! But then again they are mostly love buckets who purr their little hearts out, cuddling, crawling into my lap and are happy little things.