The Why Cats Suck thread

[Peally]

Black Sabbath is even more satanic. Following Hambo's logic dogs should be accompanied by harps.

[Lex Luthier]

I don't mind asshole cats, really. When I started dating my wife, she had one. Ripley, all 6 lbs of turn-on-a-dime tabby fury, sickened from anti freeze poisoning and had to be put down at age 6. We were a bit relieved that there was no more terror-cat, but missed her, too. The neighbor's siamese mourned her for a year.

Both daughters brought home rescue kittens in their teens. The remaining one is nearing 19 and has declared himself my cat since #1 daughter moved out in 2001. A muscular 17-lb tom in his prime, he has been an amazing ratter; similar to Milo pictured above, but Tweaker specialized in roof rats and gophers. He once confiscated a large live rat from the other cat, dragged it outside through the rear cat door- I swear, his knuckles sounded like hob-nail boots on the kitchen tile- then beat it to death on the deck. He left dents in the wood, and the rat had somehow been turned into a small accordion.
From then on, his nickname has been Rat Hammer. He won a fight with an angry male hummingbird, and once shooed a full size raccoon off the porch. (that last one could have gone very badly, admittedly.)

He is ancient now, sounds like a feline Jackie Mason, stays inside, and kinda tolerates the dog. Still clean, still well mannered, still doesn't claw anything he's not supposed to.
He adores his original owner's two small children. And yeah, he can be an asshole sometimes, but he's faking it.



Taken at about age 12



3-4 years ago with grandgirl.

[Hambo]

Black Sabbath is even more satanic. Following Hambo's logic dogs should be accompanied by harps.

I didn't say that, but Labradors would be accompanied by the Dropkick Murphys: loud, raucous, and fun.

[Peally]

I didn't say that, but Labradors would be accompanied by the Dropkick Murphys: loud, raucous, and fun.

Considering the goofy bastard labs I've met in my life, Chacarron Macarron might be more in their wheelhouse

[modrecoil]

Except for the bacteria and toxoplasmosis... After that incident where a scratch and bite put my neighbor in the hospital, I'm treating his cat like a venomous reptile.

I hear ya. There's evidence that cat bites are more likely to get infected than dog bites. Not necessarily because cat mouths are more infectious but because their teeth are sharper and typically cause more narrow, deep wounds that encourage bacterial growth. They're also one of the natural reservoirs for a bacterium (Bartonella henselae) that can cause problems ("cat scratch disease"). But I hear this is rare if you're not immunocompromised or very young. These risks are easily mitigated by keeping cats indoors and applying common sense hygiene. Infection rates may also have something to do with people taking cat bites less seriously and not getting help until they're obviously infected.

Toxoplasmosis is a different issue and one I'm not extremely familiar with. I know it's very common (30-50% of world population exposed or chronically infected), is not a big concern unless you're pregnant or immunocompromised, and there's some evidence that it can screw with your brain. But the "cat mind control" studies are far from conclusive and have many detractors.

Disclaimer: I'm not a health care professional and I'm sure the physicians on this forum that can correct me. I was a Licensed Vet Tech in a past life and a professional chew toy for all sorts of critters. FWIW, I preferred handling and restraining psycho dogs over psycho cats any day. But I've lived with cats (three cats currently), dogs, rodents, reptiles, amphibians most of my life and love them all. People suck more.

[RJ]

People suck more.

On this we agree.

I had a cat, Rags, when I was a teen; best cat ever. Unfortunately, cats don't live as long as humans. So when the time came, I gave him a cuddle and said good bye.



Now, if at this point you are tearing up and your eyes are moist: Subsequent to this, I discovered I was allergic to cats. Cat house = instant sneeze attack and stuffy nose for me. I mean, like, I walk in and I reach for the Allegra.

So it's been dogs ever since.

But I can tolerate cats, from a distance. They are actually pretty cool.

[Clusterfrack]

I hear ya. There's evidence that cat bites are more likely to get infected than dog bites. Not necessarily because cat mouths are more infectious but because their teeth are sharper and typically cause more narrow, deep wounds that encourage bacterial growth. They're also one of the natural reservoirs for a bacterium (Bartonella henselae) that can cause problems ("cat scratch disease"). But I hear this is rare if you're not immunocompromised or very young. These risks are easily mitigated by keeping cats indoors and applying common sense hygiene. Infection rates may also have something to do with people taking cat bites less seriously and not getting help until they're obviously infected.

Toxoplasmosis is a different issue and one I'm not extremely familiar with. I know it's very common (30-50% of world population exposed or chronically infected), is not a big concern unless you're pregnant or immunocompromised, and there's some evidence that it can screw with your brain. But the "cat mind control" studies are far from conclusive and have many detractors.

Disclaimer: I'm not a health care professional and I'm sure the physicians on this forum that can correct me. I was a Licensed Vet Tech in a past life and a professional chew toy for all sorts of critters. FWIW, I preferred handling and restraining psycho dogs over psycho cats any day. But I've lived with cats (three cats currently), dogs, rodents, reptiles, amphibians most of my life and love them all. People suck more.

[rd62]

I owned one or two cats in my life. Currently 3 are in my home, because a couple showed up when I was out of town...

This is my Asshole cat, Milo. Milo sleeps and kills. Not much else. He has full food bowl, but still kills several times a week. He has a body count that's amazing. I actually have a kill chart on my fridge where I tally his prey. Keep in mind, I only count what I find chunks of in the yard or on the porch...

He Kills:

Squirrels...


Lizards...


Birds...


Rats...


More squirrels...


He is an asshole. He will want to be petted and sleep on your lap one minute, then scratch the shit out of you the next minute.

I have mixed feelings. As a solo cat, he is good, but he attacks our other cats, and wants to be the alpha. He is smart, and almost dog like in behavior, except when the cat in him pops out and he acts like an asshole....

Anyone want a free cat? I can mail him UPS.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I have, or I should say my daughter has a cat. My wife's friend gave it to my daughter 7 years ago for her 5th birthday. (f'in thanks). I think it's related to your cat.

[olstyn]

I'll take your word for it but that cat piss smell is permanent. I disagree with your logic on species cleanliness though.

Fecal location
Kitty: in your house
Doggo: not in your house

Leopard geckos have them both beaten: they pick a corner of their terrarium to use as the bathroom and *only* go there. Super easy to take care of, especially if you're smart and use paper towels as the floor for them. Lift out any nearby terrarium furniture, remove and dispose of soiled, but non-smelly paper towel, replace with clean, replace terrarium furniture, done. Plus, once they reach adulthood, their metabolisms slow down a bit and you only have to feed them once every 3 days or so. They're *awesome* lazy people pets.

[YVK]

I once saved a cat from freezing to death vs taking a 60 ft drop. The fucker then peed in my duffel bag and shoes. Won't save another one for nothing.