Dogs look up to us, cats look down PIgs is equal

Cat's lllook down on us, Horses look up, Pigs is equal


So said my dear departed father, Pop to his family always. He was full of Hampshire myths & tales. One of his favourites was "You'll be as welcome as the flowers in May".
What has this got to do with cats you may be thinking dear reader?
He loathed cats.
I was allergic to them & had a reaction to them nearby, similar to Hay Fever.

At the age 0f 54, I had a new member of our household, my daughter had a kitten, I love my daughter & didnt object. ARCHIE had arrived, by some miracle I sniffed him & stroked him with NO reaction.

I had to keep him when said daughter wed & moved into a flat.

He didnt come home one evening & I was worried sick, I had become quite fond of the big blighter ( even the vet said he was a huge cat)
Of course he came back after being set upon by a fox & never left our walled garden again.
He is a real character & I'll miss him terribly when his time is up, he is 12.

PS, A large cat , answering to ARCHIEs description has been reported as attacking old ladies in our area. Definitely not ARCHIE, he's soft now & sleeps 24/7.but
I am wondering if I should dye his fur in case he is arrested, on suspicion.

Re: Dogs look up to us, cats look down PIgs is equal

"Happiness is being owned by a cat!"
Archie sounds like a bit of a Macavity type to me! (Old Possum's Book of Cats) Whatever goes wrong, he's not there!

Re: Dogs look up to us, cats look down PIgs is equal

Hello RJ .......
And Archie - of course

Re: Dogs look up to us, cats look down PIgs is equal

I've heard it said that Dogs will accept and love us immediately.. Cats, on the other hand, will ask to see a resume. How true that is. I have 4 cats. Three of them I took in as stray kittens, and the other was 4 years old when I adopted her from a shelter. The kittens took about a year before they would voluntarily hop up on my lap and demand attention. The older cat took about 3 months to do the same, but she was used to humans and apparently was well cared for. Cats have moods. Some days they are all over me... some days they run and look at me like I'm about to kill them. Who knows...I don't try to figger it. Also, my cats are totally indoor cats.. None have see the outdoors save from the safety of their carriers.. I can't take the chance on what could happen to them.

Re: Dogs look up to us, cats look down PIgs is equal

But cats are naturally outdoor creatures and rely on the outdoors for their natural survival and to keep them locked up indoors will seriously damage them psychologically. No wonder your cats have moods, lass. They're frustrated and bored because they have a need to hunt, no matter how much you don't like that. I don't either, but they actually do need that to maintain psychological balance and natural behavioural patterns. It's very cruel to imprison a cat. How would you feel if you weren't allowed outside your home? Stir crazy?

Always remember that dogs have owners, but cats have staff and, if you don't do their bidding, they will most definitely turn on you. I understand that you fear for their safety, but cats are very wily creatures and believe me, they are very capable of taking care of themselves but, if you keep them captive, then they don't become street wise and, if at some point they do escape, then they won't be able to look after themselves and that would be your fault. I don't believe in keeping cats captive because it isn't normal for them.

A cat will only stay where they're happy and feel free to roam to follow their instincts; to hunt and seek out other cats; to fight for their territory if necessary, but you're denying them those rights and they won't thank you for that! Sorry lass, but your motives are purely selfish, but with the best of intentions.

Hi Robert. Please tell Archie that Billie says hello.

Re: Dogs look up to us, cats look down PIgs is equal

Sorry I totally disagree.. You DO realize that the life span of an indoor cat is significantly longer than an outdoor cat. Leaving a cat outdoors to be killed in traffic and mauled by dogs or other predators is beyone cruel IMO... and really shows an uncaring attitude..

http://www.cat-world.com.au/indoor-vs-outdoor-cats


My question to YOU is why would you even say you have a pet if you are going to throw it out to fend for itself.?? Is it easier for you? No scratched furniture?.. No hairballs? No litter box? No buying food? Don't have to bother with it? Now THAT is prtty selfish IMO...

Here's a pic of my POOR deprived little kitties... living their wretchedly sad existance..

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Allow me to introduce them... Clockwise starting with the beautiful Calico.. is Belle.. I adopted her from a shelter in Iowa right on the Mississippi River. Hence.. Belle as in Mississippi Belle. Next is Carl. I took him in as a starving matted stray kitty when he was about 8 months old. The next is Jack..another stray who's mother was shot by a farmer as she was out hunting for food. Jack was the only kitten of hers to survive. And finally Mitzi. A neighbor girl brought her to me when she was only about 8 weeks old. Another stray left to die in the Northern Illinois winter.

I need to say this about cat instincts.. Yes they have instincts to hunt and make territories.. but they do that anyway, inside and out. So many times Belle has presented me with a prize catch of a spider or centipede from the cellar. However, cats ALSO have an instinct to BREED.. and will do so at lightening rates creating dozens of litters of little innocents to suffer from neglect and the elements. This is also the fault of irresponsible cat owners who don't bother to spend the money to spay or neuter. Nothing worse than a spraying intact Tom in the house.. It's much easier to turn them out to add to the surplus population of animals suffering in the streets.

Re: Dogs look up to us, cats look down PIgs is equal

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Hello Chums.


Hello Mollie


Hello Pats CG


Hello Audrey


Hello Billy

Re: Dogs look up to us, cats look down PIgs is equal

Now I have to answer this in the strongest way. Your first mistake was saying that I treated my cats as pets. Wrong! I never said I threw my cats out as they have always had the freedom to come and go as they pleased because I didn't keep them prisoner, and nobody, I repeat NOBODY, has loved their cats more than I have.

Uncaring? I have worshipped my cats and I have been rewarded by them and we all had a very special bond with each other which is something you'll never understand because you weren't there to see it, but they absolutely adored me, and I them. I don't give a crap about scratched furniture, hairballs or any other mess they've ever made and who said anything about not buying them food? I adored my cats and they adored me and we had a very special bond. Look in my profile pictures and you'll see Coco and Casey. Look at them! Do they look abused or traumatised? They were both 14 when that photo was taken. They were the loves of my life.

How bloody dare you judge me about the keeping of cats which I've done for over 50 years and I have loved and cared for each and every one of them and I will not allow you, somebody who doesn't know me, make a judgement of my knowledge and experience of the keeping safe of cats. I've never owned a cat, and if you think you own yours, you're very much mistaken, because they own you.

My outdoor cats have lived between 16 and 21 years old, so your theory hardly holds up!

I don't even know why I'm justifying myself to you because you don't know me and quite honestly, I don't want to know you!

You and I will not be responding to each other again!

Re: Dogs look up to us, cats look down PIgs is equal

This is a lady (Mollie) putting her side of the story, passionately, I agree - but there are some things that we feel strongly about .......
Sometimes - as in my case, we have to put our side across and when a post is 'deleted', it can 'then' come across very one-sided.
We should be allowed - to at least, do that.

Re: Dogs look up to us, cats look down PIgs is equal

I agree.. and keeping animals safe is something EVERYONE should feel passionaltely about. NO cat is safe left out. They are hunters.. yes.. BUT they are not BIG. A cat is no match for a pack of dogs or even worse (in my world at least) a pack of coyotes. Do you not have polecats, or bobcats too? They are not safe from the unscrupulous monsters who will lure them with food because these "pets" are trusting of humans, only to throw them into a dog fighting ring to be ripped apart alive.( My own son wittessed that as he made his rounds at his job as a meter reader. The poor cat's screams still haunt him.) AND.. how many dead kitties do you see on the road? They certainly are no match for traffic.

Sorry.. I stand by my opinion... MY cats are happy healthy and most of all they are SAFE. Sure it takes a little extra work looking after the litter boxes and keeping up with the cat hair wafting around the floor in little balls like tumbleweed. AND sure some of my furniture shows that a cat had been there, but it's all worth it to me.