We're cat sitting at the moment, which is an eye-opener for a dog person, I can tell you.
I was pretty excited about this little experiment because, firstly, THE MICE and, secondly, ever since I left my brothers on the other side of the Atlantic, I've had an urge greater than Mother Nature's to look after something. I had been hankering after a dog -- but since we have only just about enough space in which to swing a cat, dog-swinging is out of the question. Oh, and, technically, under the terms of our lease, we're not allowed pets at all (although the landlord appears to have a more flexible opinion of uninvited pets, such as mice, cockroaches etc etc).... So anyway, I'd been lobbying for a small animal for a while and although my first choice would have been a dog, I'd narrowed this down to a cat given the space concerns and I jumped at the chance to take care of two cats to realise just how much fun it would be...
It's not like i haven't met cats before. I'm just rather confused by their lack of response to me, brimming over with love and affection for them, and desire to look after small animals. I keep wanting to pick them up and cuddle them and all they do is stare glacially, barely veiling their disdain. I am reminding myself of my youngest brother, who, aged about two or three, had learned the word 'teddy'. The problem was, he couldn't tell the difference between a stationary, harmless, stuffed animal and a mobile, living (and possibly dangerous) animal. I remember him tottering after a family friend's Siamese, arms open to embrace the beast, gleefully shouting "Teddy! Teddy!"... We just about managed to prevent the cat from piercing him with more than just its icy stare.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
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9 comments:
You may want to print out this handy guide to cats: Is your cat planning to kill you?
I'm always always trying to pet cats that want nothing to do with me. Glasgow cats are particularly unfriendly - not that I can blame them for being a bit wary of people.
If you want a pet that loves to be looked after, definitely consider greyhound companionship. They need constant reassurance. We're watching Jun again and last night she yelped when the thunder started and needed to be comforted.
I can never understand the non-cuddliness of cats. Dogs show you unconditional love, cats show you unconditional apathy.
I managed to get one of our cats to sit on my lap the other day. It was the first time she'd done it in two years, and lasted approximately three minutes.
I'm not a cat person I have to say, although the kids are whining for a dog at the moment and the thought of all that unbridled joy, drool and neediness is a bit off-putting too!
I like cats. I've never had one because I'm severely allergic to them. I like them because they're cute, acrobatic and, most of all, they don't fawn all over you. I also love dogs, but I generally respect cats more. And, cats are very caring, in their own way. Dogs are much more demonstrative. But who doesn't love it when a cat twirls around your legs or meows loudly at you?
Just watch out for that hankering to look after something. I'm just saying - with me it started with a guinea pig and now with two little kids the only time I have by myself is when I'm on the toilet. Usually.
Cats are just naturally suspicious. Particularly of people who WANT to pet them. Glance at them out of the corner of your eye, then turn away, they'll come over. We got our cat as a tiny kitten and he took ages to warm up. Now he sleeps with me, walks on me, lays all over the computer keyboard....and in genreal won't leave me alone!
Hey, you write a lot about cats. Funny pictures there. I don't like pet, but it is good if you have one.
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