Maybe I just have the world’s bestest cats, but mine never attack at random, or beg for food. Not that they don’t have other annoying habits (trying to sleep on my head, nose-bumping, shedding of course, random distressed-sounding crying followed by “What?” stares when I go to check on them, oh and what the hell are they staring at over there!?!? It’s freaking me out!), but they’re loves. Snuggly and playful and welcoming of friends and strangers alike.
I’m just amazed that in all the discussion of typical cat behavior, no one has addressed typical KID behavior.
Shagnasty, your six year old is NOT reeling from the death of a dimly-remembered sibling half her life ago. She may well have all sorts of emotional issues rooted in the rather grim mood of the household for the length of her short memory, but that’s quite a different thing. I’m sorry for the loss of your daughter, and I can’t even imagine the pain of losing a child, but you’re projecting your feelings onto the six year old. I’m not mad at you for it, it’s normal. But also normal is a child that age learning that she can have anything she wants if she just presses the right button. And even *more *normal is a child that age saying what she thinks her parents want to hear.
By all means, get her a kitten. Pets are good for kids. And then stop reinforcing the idea that she should be emotionally damaged in perpetuity by events she doesn’t even remember. You’re not doing her any favors, there.
I love all animals, but I’m a dog person myself. While my dogs can be a hassle, need to be let outside first thing in the morning and several times during the day and they do destroy furniture, it’s not difficult to keep them confined to the back part of the house where they can’t eat the good couch, or keep the recycle bin high enough that they can’t shred plastic on the living room rug and give them rawhide treats to chew on instead of furniture, rugs and any plastic within reach. And they relieve themselves in the back yard where I don’t have to smell it instead of pissing in every potted plant in the house. I like other people’s cats and enjoy petting them, but I really don’t want a box of clay pellets and carnivore shit in my home, thank you.
I think it’s surreally kind to capture feral cats and take them to the local animal shelter so they can be humanely dispatched instead of pretending that the parkland down by the river is the african savanna and it’s “Born Free” for all those starving wildcats that I see there every day. And yes, I’ve done exactly that with multiple stray cats roaming my neighborhood.
It’s none of my business, but I’d go to the pound and get her a mature dog, because a six year old can’t be expected to housetrain a puppy.
Most people who have domesticated animals as pets have either cats or dogs. It’s not a binary choice, but it’s a natural duality that people think of when they think of pets. And the thing is, you rarely if ever hear about people relishing shooting a dog that came into their yard, nor do you see threads on this board about hating dogs, laughing about killing them, etc. There IS a pathological hatred of cats voiced regularly not just here but generally. It is disturbing. But you’re right, in this case, perhaps it was just a troll. Good job, Shagnasty!
I don’t see how anyone can hate any animal. I like dogs just fine… as long as they’re not my dog. Can’t live with 'em. But they’re sweet and fun to play with and I can see why people enjoy them. But people who hate cats are weirdos who should be watched carefully.
Fair enough. Everything I said in this thread is true and all of them for that matter. It is just the writing style that changes between different forums. I am really pissed that my daughter lost her cat for no reason.
She lost the cat because you let him get out of the house, and some asshole probably shot him as a stray in his yard. Or maybe he got run over by a car or eaten by a coyote. Blaming the cat is fucking stupid, though. You’re the one with the big brain, you figure out how to keep your kid’s cat in the house and stop blaming an animal with a brain the size of a walnut for your kid’s grief.
