Home

Dogs And Cats

First, let me say we have had both cats and dogs for many years. We stopped with the cats after the last, Rascal, died. He was a great cat, a cat’s cat so to speak. But we have loved to greater or lesser degree all our animals. The only reason we no longer have cats is that we have all the animals we can afford—four dogs. If we ever get down to one dog, we will probably have another cat (if it can get along with the dog). Having both together, though, is a tricky proposition. You never know what the level of acceptance will be from the dogs

Our first cats were two Siamese. Totally venturesome and fearless animals. They loved to trash the bathroom. My memories of them are mixed—both annoyance and affection. They got into Marilyn’s nail polish (red) one day. We had a paw-print décor in the bathroom after that. They loved to sleep under the covers, until one of them discovered a delightful, if somewhat intimate, body part of mine to nip on. Quite a wakeup

We had an orange tabby that loved to roam. He disappeared once for 3 months, finally returning in a pitiful state that eventually led to his death. I remember his last day, his last trip to the vet. I had to go to work, so Marilyn took him to the vet. He actually, I think, said goodbye to me. He reached out his paw from Marilyn’s arms cradling him and gently laid it on my hand, as if to say “goodbye, old friend, don’t worry about me.”

I think the basic difference between cats and dogs is fairly simple, and hard-wired in both. Dogs are pack animals, with a social hierarchy that is rigid. Cats are solitary creatures that will maintain fluid relationships based mostly on food and shelter and only sometimes on affection. Once a dog understands its place, you can usually predict and govern its behavior if you represent the Alpha leader in its mind. Cats are—different. At times, you are a provider and mate. At others, you are only a tolerated interloper.

Cats are practical. They are not domesticated, ever. They accept a situation that is to their advantage, and enjoy the perks. They will bend to your will if they have to or want to, but never as a follower—only as a sometime companion or willing co-occupant of the “den.” Everything is really on their terms, as much as they can make it.

Sign My Guestbook View My Guestbook