Cats & Dogs

[StatFreak]

If that's a stray cat how come it's wearing a bell?

I don't know; he's not my cat. He's a young maturing kitten that's been spending a lot of time on my property lately. He has also tried to run into my garage a few times. I don't understand what the poor thing was doing outside on the coldest, most snowbound night we've had here in a decade, but I saw him in the street that night and he was still out (and in my yard) the next day and that's when I shot this picture. He won't let me get closer than three feet and the collar doesn't seem to have an address/name tag. He seems to be in decent health but whomever is supposed to be taking care of him isn't very responsible and is pissing me off.

He is a pretty cat though.



<Edit> Added a picture of the avatar that I was using at the time of this discussion for future reference.

[jay]

Cats have only one loyalty and thats food. IF you want to get closer try putting out a disk of Wiskas or something.

They have said that if an old person dies, their pet dog would protect the body until which point it died from lack of nourishment. In absence of other food a cat will start feasting on the body within 6hrs.

[Brianzz]

Yep, the only way to get the cat close to you is to feed it. Fork out your left overs from dinner, they also enjoy an after dinner coffee and a cigarette.

[StatFreak]

Yep, the only way to get the cat close to you is to feed it. Fork out your left overs from dinner, they also enjoy an after dinner coffee and a cigarette.

 

Cats have only one loyalty and thats food. IF you want to get closer try putting out a disk of Wiskas or something.

They have said that if an old person dies, their pet dog would protect the body until which point it died from lack of nourishment. In absence of other food a cat will start feasting on the body within 6hrs.

I already have two cats so the last thing I want to do is encourage the little guy to stick around. Regarding the food enticement, that works for most animals given enough time, and it can definitely work for dogs, too. Come to think of it, they always say that the way to a man's heart ...    ... is through the sternum.


Cats are not pack animals and don't see their human as a pack leader. Protecting and defending are pack related behaviors. Cats are also more instinctual predators, so it's not surprising that they would eat the dead body in the absence of other food.

Anthropomorphizing either animal paints an inaccurate picture. Dogs and cats both behave according to their natures and do not act based on human values. We choose to see human-like concern when a dog sits by the body of its dead master when we are really witnessing thousands of years of pack animal evolution. We do the same when we attribute human values to cats, such as being disgusted that the cat would eat the dead person's body.

That said, most non-feral house cats are social animals and need affection and love as much as food. My first cat (going back 28 years) was a master (mistress?) at manipulating people. She had all the cat food she could want at home but preferred chicken and tuna. She would go from house to house, bully the other neighboring cats away, and then sit on my neighbors’ back porches like a waif begging for food. For the last several years that I had her she never ate at home, preferring instead the various pity snacks that at least four different neighbors (as I eventually found out) were providing. (I asked the neighbors to stop feeding her when I discovered the details but I think she just hustled some new suckers!) Nonetheless, home was home and she would always spend most of her time with me, even if I wouldn't put chicken in the food bowl.

Almost every cat I've had over the years has followed me from room to room when I moved about the house because it wanted to be near me. Actually, I have a cat sitting on my chest and shoulder and purring in my ear as I type this. Cats also look out for other cats in their pride. Both of my current cats, when waiting to come in at the back door, will, upon my opening it, sit at the threshold and not enter if they know that the second cat is on the other side of the yard and wants to come in. The first cat, who was staring into the house until I opened the door, will turn his head to look for the second cat and not move until the other cat arrives. (Then they shove each other out of the way to be the first inside! ) It is clear when watching this behavior that in each case the first cat -- who would usually run inside as soon as the door was opened -- was concerned that I would shut the door and leave the other cat behind if he just ran in, and so he waits for his brother to arrive to make sure that I "hold" the door open for both of them.

In the end, it's not all about food.

[Brianzz]

Over the summer at my other small business morning job someone dumped out a little kitten and it was very scared around people. Just about everyone would feed it on a daily basis and after about 4 months it decided to get friendly and let a few of us pet it and about that time it decided to let the wrong person pet it and they took home with them. So now everytime that person comes by I always say "sure was nice to have a little cat to play with outside to break up the day"  I don't want to be outright rude because the lady is a nurse and you just never know when you'll need her.

[stayouttadabunker]

Quote ["Anthropomorphizing..."]

I have never seen someone actually use that word in a sentence...however, Statfreak did!

Goes to show you that there are some real intelligent beings on NLG!

Stat...I am tremendously honored to read your posts.

I also own two cats and later on, one lovely boxer...it took a while, but they got use to her.

[StatFreak]

Over the summer at my other small business morning job someone dumped out a little kitten and it was very scared around people. Just about everyone would feed it on a daily basis and after about 4 months it decided to get friendly and let a few of us pet it and about that time it decided to let the wrong person pet it and they took home with them. So now everytime that person comes by I always say "sure was nice to have a little cat to play with outside to break up the day"  I don't want to be outright rude because the lady is a nurse and you just never know when you'll need her.

On the other hand, she may have given the kitten a safe loving home for life. Left where it was (outside) people would eventually get over the novelty, fewer and fewer people would feed it, and it would continue to face dangers every day. The office might have adopted the cat, put a litter box, food and water in a corner and allowed the animal to stay in the office 24/7, but then it would become a multi-year commitment. Of course, a small business would be able to do something like that for a time. A corporation would have health regulations and policies to preclude such activity, and even in the small business, a single new employee with an allergy or a complaint would force the cat out.

Every one of my cats has been a rescue cat. That first cat I mentioned earlier had been hit by a car when I found her at nine months of age. She let me pick her up with a broken paw and a cracked skull -- that's when I knew I had to keep her. The cool thing was that I lived on a very busy four-lane one-way street and I never had to worry about her welfare because of her experience. She was very smart as cats go. She would sit on the front steps and when people came by with their dogs on a leash, she always kept just out of reach and knew that they couldn't get to her. These huge Dobermans and Shepherds would growl, bark, and lunge at her, their owners would jerk back on the leash, and she'd just sit there metaphorically sticking her tongue out at the dog.

She used to follow me and wait for me like a dog, too. I'd walk to the supermarket and she'd follow me until she reached her comfort limit, which was about three to four blocks, and then she'd sit down and wait for me to return. Sometimes it would take me almost an hour to return and she'd still be there waiting for me. Then she'd jump up and follow me home, and in typical cat style would get right up to the door and then refuse to come inside.

[jay]

All of my cats have been rescue cats as well.

My first cat "Larry" was with me for 13 years. He was a big tom that someone had cracked his tail and trimmed his wiskers.
I got him from the pound - and was listed as a 6 year old cat. He was a ratty thing. In the winter he would go under parked cars to keep warm and come home with his back soaked in oil.
We lived close to Nose Hill Park and he would bring home gifts on our front door step. This included Gophers, Ferrets and the occasional rabbit. The rabbits always amazed me as they were the same size as he was and probably twice as fast.

My next two cats came as a set. I answered a "Penny Saver" add. Free pair of lap kittens, spade and declawed free to a good home. Sure enough it was an animal rescue society. These two cats were not kittens, about 8-10 years old and the family that had them were giving them up because their kids had severe asphma. They also didn't even look like the same species much less sisters. One was long haired and grey and the other short hair and white with a black tail and a skid mark on its head. They have been indoor cats since day one with no desire to go outside. One has since passed on, cancer we think. She started to lose weight and the vets blood tests kept coming back negative. We finally had to get her put down as she couldn't even stand. I wasn't fussy on the names. Shy and Nibby, but when you get used cats you don't really get a say in the names. This described their personalities.

[cutlassfreak]

Yep, the only way to get the cat close to you is to feed it. Fork out your left overs from dinner, they also enjoy an after dinner coffee and a cigarette.

And good long nap!!