I’m sitting here on the bed, with Conan the Wonderkitty curled up beside me, looking all adorable, as cats are wont to do. Having him (or one of my other two cats) near me makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
But I often find myself wondering, at what point in the evolution of human society did we start bringing cats into our homes and treating them as family members. I can see wanting to have them around, in the barn or the silo to keep the rodent population under control, but why all the warm cuddles?
Dogs I can see. They are pack animals, and tend to interact with their human companions as they would with a more dominant animal in the pack. They also respond to and obey verbal commands, and are much, much more easily trained than cats, and are therefore perceived as more intelligent.
But cats, outside of lions, tend to be solitary, although feral domestic cats will form social groups if the availability of food/need for someont to babysit the kittens while mom hunts is right.They pretty much do as they please, because they know that they are going to be fed whether they do tricks for us or not. And most household cats (indoor kittys) are useless as mousers because kittens have to be taught proper killing technique. Yeah, they’d chase 'em, but wouldn’t know how to administer the coup de grace. But, we love them, and they seem to love us. Usually at inconvenient times, like about two hours before the alarm is due to go off.
That you have to earn a cat’s friendship is exactly why I like them so much. I mean I’m an animal lover in general and I’ve had a dog, birds and various rodents but I really like the relationship I have with my cats. Perhaps that feline trait of deciding whether or not you’re worth the trouble attracted people the way it did me.
On the other hand, I’ve found they make excellent lap-warmers too.
My cats have become excellent companions since they’ve been raised indoors. I prefer them to dogs because they aren’t as clumsy and oafish as most dog breeds. They are, however very loyal. I got up from my computer just now to get some water, and they both followed me to the kitchen just to see what I was doing (I only give them free choice dry food, so they weren’t begging). My male cat is always on the bed within thirty seconds of hearing me get into bed. He usually keeps an eye on me until I fall asleep.
I agree that it’s more satisfying to have earned a pet’s friendship. I actually prefer my male cat to my female cat for this reason. He likes me, and only a select few other people. My female cat, however, wants attention from EVERY person who comes to the door. I doubt she’s any more attached to me than to the next person willing to pet her.
Also, they’re completely adorable, and their antics provide good entertainment.
Thea, one thought I had was that a firm demarcation between indoors and outdoors is probably a fairly recent development, especially in warm-weather climates.
My first two cats (of my own, as opposed to my family’s cats when I was a kid) were indoor/outdoor cats, and they were quite skilled, when young, at killing mice, birds, and whatnot. IOW, they were in a position of being a pet, and hypothetically being able to earn their keep.
That suggests to me that there could have easily been a gradual transition from cats’ being strictly guardians of the grain to being pets, with a long stretch of being a bit of both along the way. I would expect that even the ancient Egyptians had to give their working cats some food, in order to get them to hunt mice around the granaries, instead of out in the fields. And once you start feeding them, the next thing you know, they’re rubbing up against your ankles, asking for more. And the seduction begins.
BTW, ‘hello’ to Conan and sibs from Rimsky, Charlotte, and Wilbur.
But they’re such cute leeches. I couldn’t walk past my last cat (who was a beautiful beautiful Birman) without rubbing my hand over his fur the wrong way and wrestling him until he sunk his claws and fangs into my hand. I would always resolve not to do that again, but later that day I would find it irresistable and the same sick cycle would repeat itself.
Well, I’m a very independent person, so I like cats because I identify with them. Both the cats I’ve lived with were strays as kittens, and my current kitty, Belle, is a real hunter and likes to bring carcasses into the house around dinner time and freak my mom out. My old cat, Emma, was morbidly obese and only hunted when my parents gave her this crappy diet food she didn’t like.
I love cats. They’re beautiful and warm and fuzzy and they like me. Emma was always my guardian cat from when I was an infant to when she died when I was 14. Belle adores me and always hogs my lap or rolls around in the grass with me outside. Being in college sucks because I can’t have a cat. My friends down the hall secretly have a cat, and I can go see him any time I want, but it’s just not the same without a ball of fur walking around.
i think cats finally became indoors when kitty litter was invented. no kitty litter, kitty goes outside like the dog. then spaying and neutering came along and the kitty had no reason to go out to find love.
why would a kitty cat want to go out if kitty didn’t have to? much better inside with the comfy furniture, and steady food source.
