Originally published at: http://boingboing.net/2016/10/12/watch-cat-haters-bond-with-kit.html
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I think George Carlin got it about right.
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How do you straight up hate an entire type of animal? Whats wrong with these people? I don’t trust people who hate animals.
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I don’t know. I’m not particularly fond of biting/stinging insects (with an exemption for pollinators, of course).
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Tapeworms.
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Ah, so you’ll love meeting my pet mosquitoes…
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but the weight loss can be nice…
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Cat are like kids. Fun to play with and great to hand back to the owner when things get messy.
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As some one who as owned and enjoyed many cats. These people are entirely right to hate cats. There’s a reason why they’re associated with satanism.
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Cats are individual little creatures each with their own unique temperament; just like dogs or any other domesticated animal.
For instance; my own cat is a lovable imp, while my mom’s cat is a deranged asshole.
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Good point.
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I’ve always been fond of the (alas ‘archaic’) term ‘catling’ to describe the larval stage cat.
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Setting aside people who are allergic, usually people who ‘hate cats’ are people who have dealt with aloof, hostile cats. Like ferals or a mostly outdoor cat. They hate that they can show a cat affection (or try to) and the cat just snubs them - it’s pretty harsh, I’ve been there plenty.
But if you socialize a cat from near birth, they’re affectionate as all hell. If you take a male kitten, neuter it as early as possible, and raise it indoors with lots of petting and laptime it’s almost dog levels of following you around and begging for attention. That’s a bit much for me, but it’s a spectrum between that and hiss and run away from everyone.
If you introduce a ‘cat hater’ to a friendly socialized cat and the cat rubs up to them and responds to their petting, their flinty little hearts usually crack and grow three sizes that day. Which I catch one petting our cats and playing with them, the usual response is ‘but these are different!’ Yes, they are.
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Beekeepers are wimps. I keep yellowjackets.
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Real talk.
And indoor male cats must be spayed; they mark their territory otherwise, and that foul stench is only second to skunk when it comes to being unbearable, IMO.
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This. Unfortunately I think that’s a step that most people whose cats have litters don’t know and don’t do, not realizing how early cats have to be socialized to humans, and multiple humans at that, not just one, in order to have a more social outlook on people when they get older. It’s very deterministic.
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This. Domestic cats are still just one step away from their wild brethren and it’s essentially impossible to socialize a cat after a certain point (I something like 8 weeks or from birth so is your window). But, like people, all cats are different and even socialized cats that have been handled by humans from birth will have wildly different personalities. That’s part of what makes them so great.
And never forget, they are finely tuned murder machines. Kittens are cute as hell but all that cute stuff they do is a preamble for all of the killing they aspire to do. Kitten claws and teeth are sharp!
That said, I love cats. They make wonderful companions and don’t ask for much in return other than food and water, a clean litter box, and some attention (on their terms, naturally).
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Cats are excellent at training humans using the positive reinforcement of inconsistent reward.
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I don’t necessarily hate cats, but I do hate visiting cat owners who have placed the litter box foolishly and/or are lax about changing it. As a lazy cat owner, you’ve probably acclimated to the fact that your apartment reeks of ammonia, but you should know that you’re enacting passive chemical warfare on your non-cat-owning visitors. I also don’t appreciate stepping out of the shower and immediately having bits of litter stuck to the bottom of my feet because you reasoned that it would be appropriate to place a box of cat shit and piss near your shower. A small steamy room containing a fetid box of animal waste is decidedly less than inviting. And you wonder why we don’t visit you more often. OK, so I may have a specific person in mind here.
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I’m very much a cat person, but I still feel obligated to share this:
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2016/09/29/killer-cats-are-winning/
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