Originally Posted by LoneWolf:
I am a known cat hater, but I guess I understand the appeal to some people. If you want a pet that you basically don't have to actively care for, a cat is for you. I have two little ankle biter dogs that are about the size of a cat and much louder and obnoxious. I like the fact that a dog will greet me at the door when I come home and let me know that they missed me and have been anxiously waiting on my return. I enjoy taking my dogs for walks or going to the lake and letting them run in the sand. Owning a dog is more like having a furry friend that enjoys your company. Owning a cat is like having an ex-wife that lives with you.
I think the disconnect is alot of people have encountered feral cats and cats that arent fully domesticated. Barn cats are very often feral. My cat greeted me when I came home (if it was for more than a day) and it wasn't food related. He had food he genuinely wanted companionship at least for a little bit. He loved to butt heads to show his affection. He would snuggle up to you all the time. Sleep comfortably by your side every night. He was play in the yard and run around playing with toys and anything you would give him. Many times he would get mad at me when I ignored him. He would jump up by me and lightly bop me to say hey pay attention to me. He even could do some tricks before treats and walk on a leash. To say cats ignore you can be accurate but it depends on the breed and how the kitten was raised. [Reply]
Originally Posted by htismaqe:
They've chewed up the spark plug wire in my mower twice over the last few years. 2 years ago, we had a opossum take up residence in that building and the mice really haven't been back.
The real kicker was the time I discovered they chewed through about $250 of pro audio cables, including wiring inside of a speaker cabinet.
Chewed through some Phoenix Gold ZeroPoint RCA's, and optical digital cable that connects a balanced line driver to the amps, and the tensile leads on an old-school JBL GTi15. All of my beloved old gear was packed away in a shop.
Originally Posted by htismaqe:
I concluded long ago that cats don't have remorse. :-)
Cats don't have remorse because they always have a good reason for anything that they do. We as humans may not always agree with that reason or understand that reason, but from the cat's point of view it's defensible, even if it's just that they have a quick temper. They'll just be like, "Hey, you knew I had a quick temper when you tried to rub my belly." [Reply]
Originally Posted by BWillie:
I think the disconnect is alot of people have encountered feral cats and cats that arent fully domesticated. Barn cats are very often feral. My cat greeted me when I came home (if it was for more than a day) and it wasn't food related. He had food he genuinely wanted companionship at least for a little bit. He loved to butt heads to show his affection. He would snuggle up to you all the time. Sleep comfortably by your side every night. He was play in the yard and run around playing with toys and anything you would give him. Many times he would get mad at me when I ignored him. He would jump up by me and lightly bop me to say hey pay attention to me. He even could do some tricks before treats and walk on a leash. To say cats ignore you can be accurate but it depends on the breed and how the kitten was raised.
I think the disconnect is that most of the people that identify as a cat person, including some people in this thread like you, have only ever had 1 cat at at time and many of them are also single. If it's just you and a cat in an apartment, the cat is going to adapt very differently than if you have more people and more animals in your house. [Reply]
Originally Posted by htismaqe:
Yep. It's the law of averages.
You can absolutely find cats that will do this kind of stuff. We have a Siamese in the house that took to training. He sits and stays and all the stuff that a dog would do. But he's 1 cat amongst many here.
The AVERAGE dog will do those things you mentioned. The AVERAGE cat will not.
It's like playing the lottery basically.
No it isnt. True pure breed siamese are very trainable, loving and affectionate. Many breed of cats will be way more likely to be like this. Some rescue cat, unfortunately, may not be. And barn cats really wont be. Like anything you buy you do research before and then you just dont grab the first cat you see. You play with it. You see how it interacts with you and other people. Its pretty easy to see when they are a kitten how their personality will be. [Reply]
Originally Posted by notorious:
Chewed through some Phoenix Gold ZeroPoint RCA's, and optical digital cable that connects a balanced line driver to the amps, and the tensile leads on an old-school JBL GTi15. All of my beloved old gear was packed away in a shop.
They should all fucking die.
While I left the country for a bit during/after college, my parents stored my entire portfolio of acrylic paintings I had done throughout high school and college. Certainly not expensive but definitely irreplaceable. The mice ate out the center canvas on each and every one of them. [Reply]
Originally Posted by BWillie:
No it isnt. Siamese are very trainable, loving and affectionate. Some reacue cat, unfortunately, may not be. And barn cats really wont be. Like anything you buy you do research before and then you just dont grab the first cat you see. You play with it. You see how it interacts with you and other people. Its pretty easy to see when they are a kitten how their personality will be.
Dude, I've had a few dozen siamese over the years (my parents used to breed them back in the day) and this is the only one that's ever been trainable like this. And he was a rescue cat. He was 14 months old when we got him. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Rain Man:
Cats don't have remorse because they always have a good reason for anything that they do. We as humans may not always agree with that reason or understand that reason, but from the cat's point of view it's defensible, even if it's just that they have a quick temper. They'll just be like, "Hey, you knew I had a quick temper when you tried to rub my belly."
The cat is smarter than you, at least in his own mind. [Reply]
Originally Posted by htismaqe:
I would imagine the majority of your males just ran off. Especially if they aren't neutered. Male cats love to wander.
Our place is next to a conservation area just outside of town. Our road is a "dump" for shit people in town - garbage, old appliances, etc. We've had about 25 cats show up or be dropped off over the years. And 4 dogs.
We had many pets adopt us over the years on the farm. It was awesome, actually. I'm not sure my parents ever actively adopted any pets. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Pitt Gorilla:
We had many pets adopt us over the years on the farm. It was awesome, actually. I'm not sure my parents ever actively adopted any pets.
We bond to our animals basically based on how they bond to us initially. The ones that want attention get it and the ones that don't just go do their thing. We even have a dog that's like that - just wants to be left alone to chill.
I guess my experience is just too different from most people here. We used to partner with our animal shelter as an "overflow" of sorts when they ran out of space. We've adopted dozens of animals that way but unfortunately we don't do it anymore because our ARL closed due to lack of funding. [Reply]
