My cats are my best friends.

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
21

My cats are my first son and daughter. I know people tell me differently, but I can’t imagine loving a child more than I love these two. When I come home at night, my boy runs down the stairs and follows me around like a puppy until I pick him up, and when I do, he puts his head on my shoulder and snuggles against my neck. He was lost for 24 hours several weeks ago (luckily, I was out of town and didn’t learn about it until I got home - and we found him half an hour later), and in those thirty minutes, I really thought my heart was going to break. My girl is loving (and threw up on me at 6 AM this morning…only a mother would say ‘it’s okay, baby’ to drag herself out of bed, clean it up, and go right back to sleep with said cat snuggled up against her again), and tells me when she is ready for bed at night. Both of them are amazing little kitties. Luckily, my SO thinks so, too, and plans on becoming their ‘daddy’ when we get married. Count him in as another male cat lover.

I know I’m going to have to lose them someday, and I’m facing this now with my older cat - these two are from my NYC apartment, my older cats have lived with my parents since I was a teenager - this older cat is my girl, and she’s doing badly - letting go of her is going to be devastating.

Ava

However, this could change when

22

I call this ‘fluffing’, as in ‘fluffing a pillow’. Maggie fluffs me all the time.

I’ll second that. I love a guy who loves cats. Its sexy!

If you’re allergic to cats, talk to your doctor about allergy medication - you just don’t know what you’re missing. :wink:

23

That’d be me.

My only exposure to cats for the longest time was my grandfather’s nasty, semi-feral demonseed. The thing demanded attention, but for a set period of time. When “pettin’ time” was done, you’d get spiked, or bitten, and off he’d go. You couldn’t walk past the staircase without getting thumped on top of the head. He was all attitude. His name, ironically enough, was Muffin.

None of my friends’ families ever had cats, we never had one, and they were, to some extent, an exotic animal to me. And I, of course, had no desire to alter the status quo. Cats were arrogant little creatures, who pooped in the house, and I had no interest in dealing with one.

Until we got a Siamese kitten. The cat was so vocal, you’d swear she was trying to master the english language. And just plain cool. I’d heard of cats running into things, and playing it off with an “I meant to do that!” attitude, but I’d never seen it before. It cracked me up.

And, well, the Mrs. and I live with four of the fur-bearin’ varmints, now. The oldest is a different Siamese, pushing sixteen years old. She’s still our kitten, crotchety as old age has made her.

Yeah, cats is da craziest pipples.

But they’s fun to live with.

24

yes! i’ve read that (and i dont read many books so that’s kinda amazing!

25

I’m a guy with 6 cats. I used to only have 5, but my oldest girl passed on, so I got two to replace her.

You can never have too many cats, but you can have too many (or too few) litterboxes. Ick.

The nicest part of having such a herd of cats is that they’re largely self-entertaining. They’ll play with one another, but they’ll still line up for human attention.

My house is a miasma of cat toys and comfy places to nap. And the cats have their stuff, too. :stuck_out_tongue:

I’m an avowed dog hater, primarily due to being bitten in a man’s most sensitive area by a dog when I was very young. shudder I also can’t claim fondness for canines that fertilize my lawn. I HATE that. I have seriously entertained the idea of keeping my paintball rifle at the ready for the times when dogs leave me “treats” to find with the lawnmower. Damn inconsiderate neighbors… how do you like Old Yeller in yellow?

26

Cats and dogs both rock. In different ways. They can’t be compared, and I don’t see why I should have to be a dog person OR a cat person. I don’t have a dog because they are more time consuming. I do have three kittens which just yesterday I took to get desexed, microchipped, and vaccinated (they are still pissed off with me for that). My kittens are the coolest (althought to be honest, whilst kittens are cute and all, I’m looking forward to their getting older because mature cats have more personality).

Anyway, I love my cats. Anybody who thinks it isn’t manly to do so can come and see me behind the bicycle sheds after school. :smiley:

27

Some pets, yes, but I always thought that cats were at about 15 years and up on the Pet Longevity scale (as opposed to “disposable pets” like goldfish). My mom’s cats are 18, 17, and 15, and don’t seem ready to expire quite yet. :eek: Damn, now I feel old.

28

My cats are my best friends too. I was up until four a.m. a couple of nights ago sewing a cushion for one of them. They’re the only living creatures outside family who’ve stuck with me over the years. I lost my fella of sixteen years back in January and although it’s not like losing my aunt was it does make for a much emptier house. I still have the two young ones but it’s not quite the right number somehow.

Don’t worry about being a guy with cats. My younger brother has just one, a female, but he babies her like you wouldn’t believe. No one I know gives him a hard time about it.
Of course, his gun and sword collection might have something to do with that.

:slight_smile:

29

Well, I’d say you don’t love them as much as some folks, if that’s you feel that way. Maybe your way is healthier, but it sure sounds callous.

Aren’t you supposed to outlive your parents, too? Do you limit the love you give them, because of that expectation? And, personally, I don’t interact with my feet the same way I interact with my pets. (Frankly, my feet and I are rarely on speaking terms, while my pets love me.) I understand your point, and no one is saying pets are more important than family, but your arguments are just goofy.

For the record, I love both dogs and cats (and ferrets, though no one asked), separately, but equally.

30

A friend’s dad one told me, “Never trust anyone who hates cats. Doesn’t like them is okay, but don’t trust a person who absolutely hates cats.”

While I don’t live my life by this mantra, I did know a guy in high school who really hated cats. He used to shoot at neighbor’s cats with a bb gun. He is in prison now for murder. Go figure…

I dig men who love their cats. Something about seeing a guy with a fuzzball curled up happily in his lap just makes me melt…

If Mock doesn’t come running for the door when I get home, I always flip out, expecting something to be terribly wrong, since she was a sickly little kitten. (She has been enjoying 7 years of robust health, except for a tendency to throw up at 2:00 in the morning.)

Of course it’s always something normal keeping her away, like curled up under the covers on my bed, or in her litterbox, but my heart always skips a beat anyway.

31

Well, I have to say first off that my wife is my best friend. But when it comes to other close buddies, our cats rank high on the list.

I’m another guy who likes cats. Not counting our current four, I’ve had four previously go through my home at different times. Each has had his or her own unique personality, and those who are no longer with us are sadly missed, while those who are with us are loved and wanted, just as you all have said.

But I have to add that hand-rearing a kitten is something special. It’s not something I’d recommend you go out of your way to do (let’s face it, Momma Cat knows more about rearing kittens that we humans ever will), but when I had such a kitten thrust upon me once by a very busy farmer friend who said, “Spoons, will you take care of it? Some predator took it out of the barn and now its mother doesn’t want it and I can’t spare the time to raise it”, I learned quickly. With a little help, advice, and supplies from the vet, of course.

Looking at it–who turned out to be a her, by the way–today, it’s hard to believe that she came into my life shortly after her eyes opened, and was totally helpless–in fact, she was barely crawling, and not very well at that. But now, she far from the tiny mewing ball of fluff that I used to cradle in my palm while I fed her a warmed feline mother’s milk formula from a bottle every four hours, around the clock, every day, for a few weeks. Her tiny paws would try to grab my hand as I held the bottle, to bring it closer; and I can still remember the sounds she would make as she drank her milk. It was tiring, but I look at her now–sleek and agile and independent and beautiful–and I think of what might have become of her if I hadn’t been willing and able to help.

Cats aren’t manly? Well, I may have been Momma Cat to at least one kitten, but I’m kind of proud of that.

Cats aren’t friends? No, as my experience proves, at least one is my child. :smiley:

32

Spoons, man, you are so evolved!

33

Well, I guess one person’s “goofy” is another person’s “common sense.”

34

Eve, I know what you’re saying.

I just don’t think there’s anything wrong with caring for a pet as much as I do. You know, some people… there cat or dog is all they have. I don’t understand what harm could come of it. People DO come first, and like I said, the two bonds aren’t comparable.

But what’s wrong with loving a cat as much as I do?

35

Because your cat is eventually going to get sick and will either die or you’ll have to have it put down–I’m really not trying to be mean or sarcastic here, I am worried about what will happen to you when that comes about!

It’s not healthy when “your cat or dog is all you have.” If there are no people in your life–and some of us have no people in our lives–you still need something, other than a pet, even if it’s yourself.

36

I read somewhere that Hitler hated cats. I can believe it.

We have five little furballs. We had a dog too, but we had to have her put to sleep last month. And she THOUGHT she was a cat! LOL-she spent her whole life with us surrounded by them.

My dad is the biggest sucker for them. He lets them get away with everything-he’ll sit on the floor rather than move one of them off of the chair. He’ll feed them even when they’ve eaten only ten minutes before. He used to give my Fluffy whatever she wanted-big plates of expensive provolone cheese. He still gives Piper cottage cheese in the morning. In fact, she waits at the bottom of the steps for him in the mornings and as soon as she hears him, she starts getting all excited and she’ll cry at him until he gives it to her.

He makes up all of their nicknames-that’s how Gypsy got to be Gippy-Sippy. Misty is “his” cat-when she was a kitten, she used to sleep on his neck! (Good thing she doesn’t do it now, she weighs almost ten pounds! Now she only sleeps on his feet.

When Fluffy died-she was sixteen-it almost tore us all up. My sister was YOUNGER than Fluffy, and it was really bad for her. I still miss that cat. She was the greatest cat ever, and she had been with me from the time I was six until I was twenty-two.

Two years ago, almost, you guys may remember when we got a little kitten, Tess, with a crippled arm, who had to be put to sleep. I was a wreck. At least it wasn’t a shock with Fluffy, and she had had two strokes before that. Tess was just a baby, and was the CUTEST little baby.

Cats are the best. I loved my dog, don’t get me wrong, but I am a total and complete cat person. I love my cats more than I do a lot of people.

37

If I had a cat that had to be put down repeatedly, I wouldn’t so much fall to pieces as I’d run around in a panic screaming AAAHHH! ZOMBIE!

38

Yourself??? Could you explain this? You mean love for yourself? Love for yourself doesn’t help the fact that you might not have any friends. You can’t cure loneliness with love for yourself.

Ok, first let me make clear that I have LOTS of people in my life… They make up 98% or 99% of all the living things in my life. I’m not implying that you were implying that I was all alone aside from my pets, I just wish to make that clear right now. It may not be healthy for a cat or dog to all someone has, but it’s better than nothing. I mean, I’ve seen homeless people with dogs. I doubt homeless people are invited to many parties. So, a stray dog no one wants and a homeless man no one pays any attention to get together.

Eventually a LOT of things are going to die, it doesn’t mean the worth of having them now isn’t lost. It’s not that I wouldn’t be grateful for the time I’ve had with them. When it comes, I’ll DEAL. It’s not as if MY life is over. Perhaps I’m the type of person that deals well with death in general.

39

to say you shouldn’t love something because it’s destined to die one day has gotta be one of the stupidest things i’ve ever heard!!

My cat by the way (don’t think i mentioned this earlier) is 21+ years old and still going pretty strong :slight_smile: I adopted him as an old man of 10+ years old when i was volunteering at the local animal shelter… he’s a special boy… i knew that from the start, and when i adopted him, knowing he was already quite old, i figured i’d have him maybe a year or two…but that was nearly 11 years ago now!

40

Cats rock.

When I’m frustrated, angry, or just down, I just lay on the sofa and all 3 fuzzballs will come to cheer me up. Each has his own method- Chairman Meow lays on my lap and licks my hand. Chuck E. sits behind me on the back of the sofa and rubs his head against the back of my neck, while Rocco prefers to rub himself across my ankles and purr. The little furmeisters keep me sane.