# Cats: Natures Most Perfect Living Thing **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 19, 2013, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-natures-most-perfect-living-thing/658767 "2013-05-19T22:55:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-natures-most-perfect-living-thing/658767/21 "2013-05-20T04:00:16Z")
> [@drewtwo99](#): > > There are some really fantastic cats out there, and there are also some really fucking terrible cats. You can’t just come out and say things like “cat’s are nature’s perfect creation” because not all cats are the same creation. Some are so different they might as well not even be the same species. > > What are you, some kind of speciesist? Definitely, felines are better than us. Felines are better than all earthbound life. They are the perfect mix of strength, agility, beauty and cuteness. Why, we named our favorite part of our human body after them. Humans, meh. 3000 tears of civilization and we are this close to destroying this planet. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-natures-most-perfect-living-thing/658767/22 "2013-05-20T04:02:38Z")
Perfect? To paraphrase Inigo, I dinna thin’ that word means what you thin’ it means. Don’t get me wrong, I like cats…but perfect? Ever had your cat cough up a hair ball? Or get stuck in the rafters or in a tree? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-natures-most-perfect-living-thing/658767/23 "2013-05-20T04:35:28Z")
> [@XT](#): > > Perfect? To paraphrase Inigo, I dinna thin’ that word means what you thin’ it means. Don’t get me wrong, I like cats…but perfect? Ever had your cat cough up a hair ball? Or get stuck in the rafters or in a tree? 😛 Semi-seriously, I meant felines are the perfect species because they are perfectly adapted to this planet and wont destroy it. I also love their seemingly super(humam? Cat?) physical abilities. ---
**Author:** ![Rune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e68b1a/32.png) [@Rune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rune)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-natures-most-perfect-living-thing/658767/24 "2013-05-20T06:37:32Z")
I get to snip my cat (if I had one), or if the other sex and it comes down with a litter I put the little bastards in a bag and throw them into the river or meat grinder or whatever, and if I forget to feed it, it’ll die. Doesn’t sound like top of the pops to me. ---
**Author:** ![movingfinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@movingfinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/movingfinger)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-natures-most-perfect-living-thing/658767/25 "2013-05-20T06:48:22Z")
> [@Rune](#): > > I get to snip my cat (if I had one), or if the other sex and it comes down with a litter I put the little bastards in a bag and throw them into the river or meat grinder or whatever, and if I forget to feed it, it’ll die. Doesn’t sound like top of the pops to me. Considering not feeding your theoretical cat, eh? Wait until you wake up in the small hours of the morning to discover you are missing a kidney and the cat is making munching noises in the other room. Still think your cat will let you starve it to death? HI. I’M BEAR AND I APPROVE THIS MESSAGE, AND SO DO NIBLET AND HEIDI. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-natures-most-perfect-living-thing/658767/26 "2013-05-20T07:50:48Z")
> [@Rune](#): > > I get to snip my cat (if I had one), or if the other sex and it comes down with a litter I put the little bastards in a bag and throw them into the river or meat grinder or whatever, and if I forget to feed it, it’ll die. Doesn’t sound like top of the pops to me. As MF said, cats can catch their own food. If the local supermarket closes, how willyou eat? ---
**Author:** ![Rune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e68b1a/32.png) [@Rune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rune)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-natures-most-perfect-living-thing/658767/27 "2013-05-20T08:32:28Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > As MF said, cats can catch their own food. If the local supermarket closes, how willyou eat? I’ll eat the pussy. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-natures-most-perfect-living-thing/658767/28 "2013-05-20T08:40:55Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Cats are psychopaths. Charming but amoral and unempathic. They are basically the James Bond of the animal kingdom. When you stop and and objectively consider what he/they really do we should despise him/them. But we don’t. We admire him/them…go figgur. ---
**Author:** ![Ken001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/43a26b/32.png) [@Ken001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ken001)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-natures-most-perfect-living-thing/658767/29 "2013-05-20T08:54:44Z")
By chance I have adopted a Maine Coon. He’s no Siamese but by golly he is a beautiful friend. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-natures-most-perfect-living-thing/658767/30 "2013-05-20T13:01:32Z")
Cats are self-centered parasites. Dogs are good people.\* \*Since Maine Coons are sort of honorary dogs, I make an exception for them. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-natures-most-perfect-living-thing/658767/31 "2013-05-20T13:46:00Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > Semi-seriously, I meant felines are the perfect species because they are perfectly adapted to this planet and wont destroy it. I also love their seemingly super(humam? Cat?) physical abilities. What about them do you think makes the ‘perfectly adapted to this planet’? Domestic cats are perfectly adapted to living with humans, I’ll give you that, but they are what we made them, basically. As for destroying the planet, I don’t believe that any species, including us, is capable of that feat. However, there are things that can and eventually will destroy the planet and all life on it. Take a wild guess which species MIGHT have the ability to save at least a few other species (most likely including cats) on this rock if that happens. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-natures-most-perfect-living-thing/658767/32 "2013-05-20T14:09:11Z")
If you’re alone with a house with a dog and a cat and you suddenly die, the dog will protect your body. The cat will eat it. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-natures-most-perfect-living-thing/658767/33 "2013-05-20T14:16:11Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > Semi-seriously, I meant felines are the perfect species because they are perfectly adapted to this planet and wont destroy it. They do a lot of damage to wildlife as an invasive species. That seems to be outside the spirit of “perfectly adapted to this planet and wont destroy it.” ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-natures-most-perfect-living-thing/658767/34 "2013-05-20T14:23:23Z")
Parody threads go in the Pit. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-natures-most-perfect-living-thing/658767/35 "2013-05-20T14:26:16Z")
This is a parody thread? What was the original? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-natures-most-perfect-living-thing/658767/36 "2013-05-20T14:34:55Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > Semi-seriously, I meant felines are the perfect species because they are perfectly adapted to this planet and wont destroy it. Cats are probably responsible for causing the extinction or more species than any other animal besides man. They are neurotic, erratic, foolish, and lazy psychopaths. And they are inferior to dogs in too many ways to count, the main one being that cats can’t pull you on a skateboard. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-natures-most-perfect-living-thing/658767/37 "2013-05-20T14:35:19Z")
In my humble opinion, [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfS258irGaQ&t=0m14s) says it all. They are horrible for the environment. Too many people don’t know how to take care of them. Feral cats are a big pest here in S. Texas and a lot of other places. [That guy in New Zealand who wants to ban the damned things has the right opinion.](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/25/new-zealand-cat-ban-gareth-morgan_n_2551243.html) [http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-01-31/national/36650863\_1\_outdoor-cats-feral-cat-george-h-fenwick](http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-01-31/national/36650863_1_outdoor-cats-feral-cat-george-h-fenwick) 1.4 to 3.7 billion birds killed annually by the little fucks. Up to 20 billion mammals killed by feral and owned cats. And this is just the US alone. God knows what the worldwide total is. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-natures-most-perfect-living-thing/658767/38 "2013-05-20T14:47:02Z")
> [@XT](#): > > This is a parody thread? What was the original? I just sort of assumed it was. Wait, you mean it isn’t? ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-natures-most-perfect-living-thing/658767/39 "2013-05-20T14:49:16Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > I just sort of assumed it was. Wait, you mean it isn’t? To paraphrase from MIB, I think this guy has a serious crush on his cat. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-natures-most-perfect-living-thing/658767/40 "2013-05-20T15:07:58Z")
Cats appear to function as some kind of near-perfect screen upon which a large percentage of the human population enjoy projecting fantasies which have little to do with the animals themselves and everything to do with the projectionists. Sort of like birds of prey in that regard, but more pettable. The real animal, Felis catus, I dislike, because of its environmentally destructive habits, although of course compared to Homo sapiens it is a minor player. It is in reality a rather dimwitted creature. If a domestic animal is that stupid it should be edible, in my opinion. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-natures-most-perfect-living-thing/658767.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-natures-most-perfect-living-thing/658767.md?page=3)