Dog v. Cat
The New York Times published two articles this week: this one on cats and this one on dogs.
The dog article describes a service dog named Jet that can not only anticipate his owner's seizures (and warn her 3-5 minutes before they strike) but he will also "position himself so that his body is under [his owner's] head to cushion a fall" if she does have a seizure. The article goes on to suggest that dogs may be even more intuitive and intelligent than we ever thought.
The cat article entreats owners to keep their domestic cats indoors because they are 1) essentially an invasive species and 2) heartless predators.
Let's review:
Dog = Emotionally intelligent, helpful, and compassionate.
Cat = Invasive, remorseless killer.
The cat article also traces the modern domestic cat's lineage back to African Wildcats or Desert Cats as they are also known.
Can you think of any other desert animal that you would pluck up out of the desert and take home? How about a sweet little Bark Scorpion? Or maybe an adorable Spotted Hyena ? Dontcha just want to take it home!? The Fennec Fox, a tiny, precious desert fox, seems like a good pet candidate at first but then there's this from Wikipedia:
"Its speed and agility (they can jump four times their own body length), along with their natural chase instinct, creates the risk of a Fennec Fox [escaping.] Since it is also an adept digger (it can dig up to 20 feet a night in its natural environment) outdoor pens and fences must be extended several feet below ground. Escaped Fennec Foxes are extremely difficult to recapture."
Hmmm. Does that sound like any other desert animal we currently keep as a "pet?"
I'm not going to drive my point home because a comparison of the aforementioned articles does it for me. I will say, though, that I don't hate cats, per se. I am a birder and so I do wish owners would lock their cats up but there have been many cats in my life that I've liked just fine. I have never had the sense, however, that those cats were tuned into me or even cared much about me. I also had the sense that they would, with malice, rip me to shreds if I ever stood between them and what they wanted.
The dog article describes a service dog named Jet that can not only anticipate his owner's seizures (and warn her 3-5 minutes before they strike) but he will also "position himself so that his body is under [his owner's] head to cushion a fall" if she does have a seizure. The article goes on to suggest that dogs may be even more intuitive and intelligent than we ever thought.
The cat article entreats owners to keep their domestic cats indoors because they are 1) essentially an invasive species and 2) heartless predators.
Let's review:
Dog = Emotionally intelligent, helpful, and compassionate.
Cat = Invasive, remorseless killer.
The cat article also traces the modern domestic cat's lineage back to African Wildcats or Desert Cats as they are also known.
Can you think of any other desert animal that you would pluck up out of the desert and take home? How about a sweet little Bark Scorpion? Or maybe an adorable Spotted Hyena ? Dontcha just want to take it home!? The Fennec Fox, a tiny, precious desert fox, seems like a good pet candidate at first but then there's this from Wikipedia:
"Its speed and agility (they can jump four times their own body length), along with their natural chase instinct, creates the risk of a Fennec Fox [escaping.] Since it is also an adept digger (it can dig up to 20 feet a night in its natural environment) outdoor pens and fences must be extended several feet below ground. Escaped Fennec Foxes are extremely difficult to recapture."
Hmmm. Does that sound like any other desert animal we currently keep as a "pet?"
I'm not going to drive my point home because a comparison of the aforementioned articles does it for me. I will say, though, that I don't hate cats, per se. I am a birder and so I do wish owners would lock their cats up but there have been many cats in my life that I've liked just fine. I have never had the sense, however, that those cats were tuned into me or even cared much about me. I also had the sense that they would, with malice, rip me to shreds if I ever stood between them and what they wanted.
posted by Jason at 5:21 AM
2 Comments:
The article doesn't mention that Jet also likes to hide strobe lights around the house.
I love your representative cat picture. Does this attitude go back to your New York radiator experience with that feral rat catcher your landlord "gave" you?
That...doesn't make much sense. Cats are related to wildcats, and dogs are related to wild dogs, if a bit more distantly. Actually, I find dogs much more likely to escape through being an adept digger. While I disapprove of outdoor pet cats due to their environmental damage, the fact that they can be kept as outdoor pets and return to their homes, unlike Fennecs, says a lot for their domestication.
Also, I'm not sure why you think comparing an enthusiastically positive article about one dog to a practical article about cats makes any point at all.
I do agree cats are little bastards. But that's okay. They're little bastards who don't need constant attention.
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