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Posted: |
Nov 22, 2016 - 11:30 AM
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By: |
RoryR
(Member)
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Having to deal with our animal functions is a pain. Many times I wish I was mechanical, an android, especially when it gets time to die.
I like animals (the only charity I give to is to Chimp Haven) and I have nothing against cats, though I prefer dogs (small ones), but I don't and never have had a pet (though my family has and I grew up with them). But I live alone and am gone at work a lot and I don't think it's fair or right to the animal to leave it alone. Dogs are social animals, so it's really cruel to do it to them. Cats have an easier time with it, I guess.
But philosophically, I have a problem with keeping pets. As animals ourselves, who are we to keep other animals as pets? It's certainly not for the benefit of the animal. Creatures belong with their own kind and they've all long existed well before we came on the scene.
No, as much as I know I'm going to be attacked for this opinion, I think the human desire to keep other animals as pets is selfish and somewhat monsterious.
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Rory,
Domestic cats and dogs evolved along side humans. They are part of our society and culture.
They belong with us, not to us.
But, I agree with you about wild animals - they are not our pets, They do not belong on stage or in a circus act
bruce
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There's no snooze button on a cat who is ready for breakfast in the morning.
One weekend when I was sleeping late (bedside clock alarm off), my cat deliberately knocked over the clock and stared at me. I guess he thought it went off so I'd feed him. I'm not sure what Pavlov would have concluded.
I have that saying on my wall - attached to a shot of E.T. in his bathrobe, hung over!
LOL!
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Where I lived for 19 years, the cats could go in/out as they pleased, and they still used the litter box. Some cats are raised housebound and wont go out. Others still used it because it was convenient compared to walking down two flight of stairs. Winter or bad weather was also an incentive. And when I needed to confine a cat (for health reasons, going on vacation, etc).
Y'know the problem there? .... training them to use the tray in the first place! That was the mistake. Cats who spend a lot of time outdoors and who were never TRAINED to use litter trays will go to the door (if they have no catflap) and miaow to be let out when nature calls.
People have this fear of giving them freedom. They'll be lively and sleek if you do. There are risks, but that's the catty life.
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Posted: |
Nov 23, 2016 - 7:55 AM
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By: |
Last Child
(Member)
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Y'know the problem there? .... training them to use the tray in the first place! That was the mistake. Cats who spend a lot of time outdoors and who were never TRAINED to use litter trays will go to the door (if they have no catflap) and miaow to be let out when nature calls.
People have this fear of giving them freedom. They'll be lively and sleek if you do. There are risks, but that's the catty life.
I thought this was a "cat lover" thread.
William, you mentioned nursing a sick and taking it out once a day to defecate. Once! Sounds more like an exercise in austerity than caring. My cats definitely do their "dirty business" more frequently, but I suppose that's because I "indulge" them with food and water dishes. And as I already said, the cats could go out when they wanted, so I dont get your "all or nothing" point of view.
And I'm confused by Tall Guy suggesting putting a litter box next to a food dish, or Rory asking if cat lovers love litter boxes and cat fur. Noone in their right mind would do the first, and noone enjoys the dealing with waste. Waste is an inherent byproduct in everything (to flies and dung beetles it's treasure, not trash), so you have to accept that reality.
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William, you mentioned nursing a sick and taking it out once a day to defecate. Once! Sounds more like an exercise in austerity than caring. My cats definitely do their "dirty business" more frequently, but I suppose that's because I "indulge" them with food and water dishes.
I can't remember if it was once or twice, but there was never a problem, with perpetual purring. Catfood manufacturers suggest the scientifically determined amounts of food a cat should have daily. Exceed that, and you harm the cat's health and athleticism. Modern man kills himself AND his pets. It's actually an insult to their dignity to try to negate their predator splendour. Most folk who don't like cats are responding to those that have been abused like that, or inbred.
People have to understand what cats are. They aren't fluffy tribbles to be treated as furniture. Yours could go as they pleased, but as you admit, some are frightened to leave their houses, due to bad, I'd say unnatural, programming. This is a perfectly evolved sleek killer, he wants to hunt, to mate (though they're universally neutered) and to explore. As regards litter trays, I can only say it as it was. Vets are to blame for a lot of this: what is a litter tray but a piece of simulated natural earth? Cats who've never seen a horrid litter tray will go where nature intended. Only the freakishly brought-up don't.
The only time I ever had a problem was when a certain cat once climbed onto a kitchen sink and proceeded to let go down the plughole. That one was so bright it thought no doubt that it should behave as a human, utilising the plumbing. It was unpleasant, but actually useful, as it caused me to notice that it had contracted worms somewhere, so enabling treatment.
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Posted: |
Nov 23, 2016 - 9:17 AM
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By: |
RoryR
(Member)
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And I'm confused by Tall Guy suggesting putting a litter box next to a food dish, or Rory asking if cat lovers love litter boxes and cat fur. Noone in their right mind would do the first, and noone enjoys the dealing with waste. Waste is an inherent byproduct in everything (to flies and dung beetles it's treasure, not trash), so you have to accept that reality.
Hey, LC, I may not be a "cat lover" but I'm not a cat hater. My family has had cats and I like them. I just choose not to have pets. How many times have you heard from parents of kids that say they want a pet, "Having a pet is a responsibility." I take that responsibility seriously. Owning a dog or cat is actually more of an expense than people realize. That is if you're really going to take responsibility for the creature in your care. Do you pet owners regularly take your pets to the vet? Want to talk about the bills?
My 78-year-old dad has three cats, actually just two now as the third had to be put down just a week or so ago. I asked him if he wanted another one? (I work with this crazy woman who currently has 12 cats because she won't get them fixed -- that's a responsible cat owner!) Anyway, he says "Enough with animals!" He's asked me why I don't have a pet and knows my aversion to having to deal with the feces of a particular spieces. He said, "You should try having kids and changing diapers!"
One of the reasons having a kid has never appealed to me.
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Most people enjoy indoor plumbing, and I dont think it's a crime to cat dignity to offer them that option for the many practical reasons I've given.
If we all crapped outdoors there would be major sanitary problems, but on the positive side the crouching posture usually obviates the need for toilet paper, saving trees.
You offer your cats indoor plumbing? Is there a cocktail cabinet next to the bidet? Even Top Cat never wangled that one.
I take it you've noticed that cats bury their output, unlike dogs. So enriching the soil.
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Then I guess you and William arent "most people." Or maybe it's an England thing.
. There's a world of difference between "near" and "next to". And I query whether crouching outside to do our business would really obviate the need for toilet paper. I will however bow (but not squat) to your experience in that regard!