My cats have always been strictly indoor cats. My first one used to greet us at the door, slept next to me -- was totally my baby. He was pissed when we brought home a dog. He was always so sweet to everyone, but he despised the dog and was never nice to her. The next cat we got was from a shelter and had been declawed. She could be sweet and she was quite sassy, but she was crazy.
Dogs are great if you have the time and energy to take care of them, which I did as kid, but don't now. Cats are an endless source of entertainment. They do things like bring mice in, play with them, bite their heads of, eat their heads, then eat the rest, then throw it all up for you to clean up. Cat politics and hierarchy are endlessly fascinating as well.
Haha This is why my cat's two nicknames are Chairman Meow and Kitty Politi. Referring to various sadistic games he plays with the dog
I've got three dogs, and it's always fun when one of them (especially the pitbull/greyhound mix instead of either of the beagles) decides to sit on my lap while I write and help me type.
Here's another one for you (I had them on coasters at one time): Dogs come when called. Cats take a message and get back to you when they are ready.
Best thing we did was get a kitten and a puppy on the same day. Tiny white kitten we called Casper and a temporarily tiny black Newfoundland puppy we called Baldur. They were best friends from the day they met, and were still best friends when Baldur grew into a 160 lb adult and Casper was still a little cat. When the pets get along, life is better.
@minstrel : I don't know about other dogs, but cattle dogs (I always have at least one) bite every waking moment until they're about one, at least. It's a reflex or something, but I have scars like I was self harming on my arms, oral steroids and razor sharp teeth aren't a good combination He ( Jasper, my dog) would've eaten a kitten, by accident! As it is, I had best experience with mature cat and a puppy. Cat fascinated him with dexterity, taught him to play football, and disciplined him by barely touching him with a claw on the nose. Never hurt him but it worked like a charm. @cutecat22 : Or as it happens in my house, the cat gets picked up and carried around to the intended destination
Cats planned it that way. I'm sure mine sits and plans on how to get me to hand over treats. He doesn't love me or head bump me for treats, he usually just sits and yowls at me until I hand over the goodies. Actually, he's probably got that from the kids and the hubby ...
I once heard a story from a home with a dog and a cat. The dog was whining and crying, just going crazy by the refrigerator, looking up and occasionally racing to get something. At the top of the refrigerator sat the cat. Looking down at the dog, and in possession of some sort of pet food -- either cat food or dog food that must have been kept on the top of the refrigerator. The cat would look down at the dog, and every once in a while, when she felt like it, she'd push one single morsel of the food off the refrigerator down to the dog. The dog would go crazy and run and get it and then begged for more, as the cat dished it out, single nugget by single nugget. The dog was totally at the cat's mercy and the cat was loving it.
minstrel: My chocolate newfie is sleeping (and farting) next to me as I write today. God, she's nasty.
I have three cats. Their nick names are ‘too-many-cats’, ‘far-too-many cats’ and ‘right-number-of-cats’. I’m often knee deep in cats when preparing food in the kitchen. I put down food for three cats, only to find two cats turn their noses up at it, because it’s not the most expensive cat food. The third cat will scoff the lot and then be sick, often on the carpet, sometimes on the windowsill and sometimes from the banister upstairs, dropping the vomit downstairs, onto my shoes. I often wake up in the morning to find my bed totally overrun by a plague of cat. Sometimes, even one cat is far, far too many.
Meh, all the pets i've had pale in comparison to ferrets. They sleep 23 hours a day and spend that last hour like a buzz saw, attacking everything in sight for a quick wrestle, then hiding behind the furniture for hide-and seek. That one hour is like having a herd of drunken clowns in your living room. Only soft and fluffy instead of creepy.
Personally I find a lot of the cat stereotypes to be pretty untrue. We have two, and they are very clingy and affectionate. It can't possibly be all about food, because we have an automatic feeder. Also, when we go on vacation, they get so sad that they don't eat very much. Anyway, 2 cats, and going to get a dog when we move to a bigger place.
Three cats, including my calico who's going-on-16 and deaf. Up to 8 days ago I also had a sweet, soft, adorable collie-mix dog. He's now buried on my friends' farm . . .
I have a cat of my own and my family has two dogs. I like both but dogs can be so needy, it's one of the things I sometimes like and sometimes dislike about them but then cats can be annoying too, my cat is pretty good but my friends' cats seem to be either nasty or too clingy. Honestly I prefer my rats. They're low maintenance but I'm able to cuddle and play with them on my terms. They're the best of both worlds.
Not quite, but he's big enough to mildly startle people when they first encounter him. "Dude, your cat is BIG!"
Haven't a pet right now, but I'm more of a dog person, have always been. I don't like being subservient to a cat, I don't know, maybe I'm cat-like myself which means I gotta be the queen of the house. I've always gotten along well with dogs, and while I like cats, if I had to choose, I'd choose a dog. Cats are like babies; it's cool and cute if other people have them, and I can babysit them every now and then, but I can't live with them, not yet anyway.
I had a Bengal cat once. We shared similar personality traits which made our co-existence and rooming quite difficult. It was like living with my evil twin teenager self. She would eat my food, wear my clothes, nest on my bed, listen to loud music, or worst, make loud meowing music late at night. Every time we fought, she didn't want to admit she was wrong, crying over spilled milk. I would not give in either. So one day she just packed and moved with my neighbor in apartment 501-B. Then she invited me to the "housewarming party" just to show off how much she enjoyed terrorizing the poor obedient neighbor guy that had nothing better to do, but to cater to all her needs. After that uncomfortable experience, I thought that owning a dog, preferably male, of a tall graceful breed that would make a good arm candy, like a Great Dane- would make for a wiser choice.
