Regaining the affection of a cat

[storm5510]

Originally Posted by LaurV

Have you tried cucumbers?

No, I've not tried that. I saw a video on YouTube a while back. I suppose if somebody put something big and green behind me while I was eating, I'd jump too when I saw it.

[Xyzzy]

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[ewmayer]

Originally Posted by fivemack

A year ago, my girlfriend gave me one of the accidental kittens from her accidental cat; at this point the kitten was three months old. I loved him and hugged him and had him vaccinated and called him Babbage and had his testicles professionally removed

See, there's your problem - you forgot to squeeze him and called him something other than George. (Alas, Looney Tunes is silent on the whole testicle-removal thing.)

Glad to hear that the rapprochement appears to be underway - BTW, a good TV show about cats-with-psychological-issues and how to address them is Animal Planet's My Cat From Hell.

[VictordeHolland]

My feline creature (Gizmo) of 2 years old has the same behavior. The first few days after we visited the vet he wouldnt look at me and spend most of the time outside. After 4 or 5 visits Gizmo is now slowly getting used to it. He will still not look at me for a day or so, but after that everything is fine.

I switched to half year injections to combat the fleas and ticks, so I don't have to catch him every month. He has a very strong will of his own. One day he will not allow you to pet and or touch him, while the other he will not get enough of it... Cats sometimes...

[chalsall]

Originally Posted by VictordeHolland

Cats sometimes...

Yeah, I resonate. I currently am the staff to six. I like to say that Cats are to women as Dogs are to men.

Cats are some of the most subtle, unpredictable and caring creatures known to man.

Dogs, on the other hand, are generally dumber than bricks, and only want to hump and eat.

[Dr Sardonicus]

Originally Posted by chalsall

Cats are some of the most subtle, unpredictable and caring creatures known to man.

Dogs, on the other hand, are generally dumber than bricks, and only want to hump and eat.

On the gripping hand, dogs are smart enough to understand human words. It is a common occurrence for people to have to spell out key words to avoid having a dog respond to hearing the word itself (like "treat" or "squirrel").

Dogs also crave attention. I often tell people that their dogs, like most dogs, suffer from "attention deficit disorder."

I once saw someone with both cats and dogs open a can of tuna or something at a time different from feeding time, and at a place different from where they usually filled the food dishes, and call out. The cats all went to the usual station, despite the fact that there was nobody there. The one dog that wasn't out in the yard, who was old and generally regarded as pretty dimwitted, even for a dog, went right to where his master -- and the food -- were. To me this was proof positive that dogs are smarter than cats.

[chalsall]

Originally Posted by Dr Sardonicus

To me this was proof positive that dogs are smarter than cats.

I do hope the above was taken the way it intended... Humorous with a bit of truth.

I love all animals. But I often say I like dogs the way I like children: so long as they are someone else's. They (both dogs and human children) are just so needy. Always demanding care and attention. Cats, on the other hand, might love and appreciate you, but they don't really need you.

There is a reason there is the saying "Dogs have owners; cats have staff.

[storm5510]

Originally Posted by chalsall

I do hope the above was taken the way it intended... Humorous with a bit of truth.

I love all animals. But I often say I like dogs the way I like children: so long as they are someone else's. They (both dogs and human children) are just so needy. Always demanding care and attention. Cats, on the other hand, might love and appreciate you, but they don't really need you.

There is a reason there is the saying "Dogs have owners; cats have staff.

There is another old saying, "You own a dog, but a cat owns you." As long as a cat has something to eat, drink, and a litterbox, they don't need much at all. I find this very preferable. A little attention goes a long way with a cat. Mine doesn't mind a little extra attention, but I think he prefers to be left alone most of the time. Naturally, when mealtime comes along for myself, then it is eyes wide open. I suppose he thinks he might miss out on something.

[xilman]

Something for which there is demonstrable scientific evidence is that people train dogs but cats train people.

[Batalov]

[Dr Sardonicus]

Originally Posted by xilman

Something for which there is demonstrable scientific evidence is that people train dogs but cats train people.

That's the standard line. However: Amazing Acro-Cats to claw their way to Seattle theater

Ringmaster Samantha Martin talked to CBS News in mid-June about driving her tour bus thousands of miles for performances. "So many people think that cats can’t be trained,” she said. “Any animal that has a food drive and has a brain can be trained.”