Why is it still considered funny to kill a cat?!

In My Humble Opinion
1

[rant]
Why is it that on TV and film a cat’s death can easily be portrayed as a joke? They did it a few months ago on That 70s Show. Would the promos have been funny if, after Eric just accidentally ran it over, Red had said, “That is one dead puppy!”? In Christmas Vacation would it have been funny if Randy Quaid’s character had joked about the dog being electrocuted?! In War of the Roses why was the cat really killed but the dog spared after making it look like he was killed?!

I like dogs, but I like cats just as much. I don’t get why people seem to think that having a pet cat is more akin to having a hamster or bird rather than a so-called real pet, i.e. a dog. My cats are happy to see me when I get home. They jump & climb all over me just like a dog, and they enjoy petting and attention just like a dog. Why is it thought that cats only tolerate their owners and would rather be without us? It is so untrue.
[/rant]

2

Cat…the OTHER white meat :smiley:

…d & r …

3

Kitty McNuggets … mmm mmm good!

4

Hmmm…where are these cats that don’t want us around? Where can I find one? (Kathi, whose cats wake her up at night, purring and crying for attention)

5

I think anti-catness runs deeper than anti-dogness. I have loudly proclaimed on more than one occasion that I hated “dogs”, when in reality I hate(d) but a single dog (who is not dead yet @&)(@*#&!!!). I mean, as anti-dog as people get, I think they’d feed Lassie if he tilted his head at them that way.

Anti-catness … hooeee! I once read an article about a varmint rifle. Now, for the uninitiated I’ll point out that varmint rifles are a real category of rifle - a gun you use to shoot creatures you don’t want to eat, at long ranges (I only point that out since a lot of people think “varmint” is a joke word, but people do use it seriously - almost as a term of art). Anyway, so the guy who wrote this article wrote something like, I’ve used this model of rifle to kill skunks, woodchucks, crows, and even housecats that wandered onto my property. The article made me more sad than angry; I just thought of all the cat owners who could only look around the house wondering where their septic-clawed lap-warmers had gotten to, and must have concluded the worst.

Anyway, the point is, people who don’t like dogs just think, “Oh, heck, there’s another slobbery sycophant who might try to tear my achilles tendons out with its enourmous fangs.” They don’t usually want them exterminated. Actually, I’ve never heard anyone say they wanted dogs exterminated; I’ve heard several people seriously calling for the induced extinction of housecats for a variety of reasons:

“They’re stupid.” Smarter than most plants, though. Can I pour a little agent orange on your garden to get rid of the stupidest species that inhabit it?

“They kill native songbirds.” So convincing people to let you shoot their cats is going to be easier than having them shut the screen door?

“They make me sneeze.” How about we just exterminate your sinuses?

“They couldn’t survive on their own in the wild.” Awwright buddy, strip naked and run out into the woods. I’ll release a bunch of genetically-engineered who outweigh you by a factor of eight (they won’t hurt you! They just want to play), and I’ll shoot you with my varmint rifle if you come onto my property. You’ll have to subsist on native songbirds (no English sparrows or starlings for you!) and rodents. If you die, there will be serious calls for extermination of your species.

6

… I’ll just release a bunch of genetically-engineered dogs who outweight you by a factor of eight …

Just when I’m getting going I forget to include a key noun.

7

Uhhhhh… didn’t they kill a dog in National Lampoon’s Vacation, by leaving it leashed to the bumper to the car? Or was that some other movie?

8

They purr,and they are soft warm cuddly. My sister has three cats. scotchy, sandy and sammy(snoflake) I named the last one it’s all black. They are house cats, outside bad!
Perhaps it is not so manly to be a cat lover. I don’t care.
I like cats

9

Sort of interesting. Where I’m from, some of the redneck boys find it to be great fun to bury kittens in a hole, with their heads above ground, and run over them with a lawnmower. Of course, there has been no evidence of evolution in this part of the world.

10

I did not see the show to which you are referring. I do not think that killing cats is funny. However, certain aficionados like my self and Steve Martin can still appreciate the ancient and respected art of
Cat Juggling!

11

I’m more of a cat person myself and don’t find jokes of their death overly amusing (ok - I did laugh when Mel Brooks ‘invented’ the cat-a-pult in History of the World Part 1).

Let’s not give Christmas Vacation a bad rap for being anti-cat though. More likely it was just a ‘payback joke’ if you will to even the score.

If you recall in the original Vacation Clark tied the dog, Stinky, to the bumper and dragged him to death. Clark put on some obviously fake tears for the cop and got out of trouble.

I remember the name of the dog in Vacation at 2 AM. There’s something terribly wrong with me.

12

I have 6 cats m’self, and I can’t understand the vitriol from the dog lovers. Oh, I don’t get too twisted over something like Christmas Vacation, but casual comments about killing all the cats, or bumper stickers like “Lost your cat? Check under my tires!” (as seen on my brother-in-law’s truck :rolleyes: ) mystify me. It does seem to come mainly from the macho, chest-pounding, “Me big man not like sissy cats,” types more often than not though. I mean, I’m not very fond of dogs at all, but I don’t hear a lot of jokes or serious comments about how fun they are to kill.

13

[Moderator Hat ON]

Moving to IMHO.

[Moderator Hat OFF]

14

That’s because a cat won’t stick his nose in the Macho Dude’s crotch, won’t care if he lives or dies, and generally won’t give him the time of day.

Dogs, on the other hand, have that crotch issue, can lick their own crotch (something Macho Dude has to admire), and wait on them hand and foot. See any connection?

15

Dear God. That’s the sickest thing I’ve ever heard of. What serious mental problems would one have to have to be capable of doing that? Damn.

Jman

16

Did anyone ever see “*Mr Mike’s Mondo Video?” He had a sequence about a school that taught cats to swim. The whole film was more wacky than funny, but I actually laughed out loud at that.

*The late Michael O’Donoghue from SNL

17

Ugh! People are sick.

Personally, I’m not a dog lover at all-I love MY dog, but I’m not a dog person.
What is so bad about cats? They’re cute, soooo soft and they purr and meow. Plus, you don’t have to take them outside to do their business, NOR do they have to be housebroken.

18

Yeah, that’s exactly it! I’ve been wrong all along.

Here, all this time I thought it was because dogs actually are glad to see you when you get home, enjoy playing with you, can’t get enough of your attention, and (in most cases) are loyal beyond words.

And I also thought that I didn’t like cats because they only time they give you time of day is when they’re hungry, or maybe once in a while when they decide that they feel like being social. And, in your words, won’t care if you live or die.

I really do like dogs better because they smell my nuts and lick their crotch. Thanks for opening my eyes! :rolleyes:

19

I’ve actually noticed that the Straight Dope columns are generally anti-cat. I don’t have time right now to find the articles I’m thinking of (I’m supposed to be working) but it seems that every time a cat is mentioned, some form of abuse or insult befitting said cat ususally follows. It’s not exactly a hate crime, but it is pretty disturbing and downright mean.

20

Hey, that’s my cat you’re describing!

Besides, I don’t think that bunnygirl’s comments were directed at anyone who owns a dog, but at the slack-jawed crowd of “Cat killin’s is fun!” folks. Of course if you are one of those folks, that’s a different matter entirely.