Cats: Selfish, Unfeeling, Environmentally Harmful

I really do miss having pets. But...eh. I don't miss the food bill, vet bill, constant need to either return home every few hours or find someone to care for them when you can't take them with you, etc.

They're cute and affectionate as kittens, but if you didn't own it when it was a baby, good luck getting that thing to warm up to you.

Best of both worlds: here's our two babies, Cassie and Naja. They love each other and want to be buddies, but they just can't quite figure out one another's standards for affection.

Cassie does let Naja rub her face all up on her own, and Naja lets Cassie lick her ears. They're sweeties.

Naja was a rescue kitty, for the record. She is so sweet that the family who dropped her off paid her adoption fee for whomever decided to adopt her. The family's daughter had developed cat allergies and they wanted her to go to a good home.

I have four cats, all of them are pretty different personality wise. While they're pretty solitary (which is what I like about them, don't really want a pet that needs constant attention), they're still affectionate and it's pretty obvious they like us. The most cuddly one is a 12 year old that's been in the family for a few years. He's just a plain black cat and was in the SPCA for a looooooong time before we picked him out. He always comes and sleeps with me in bed, sits beside me on the couch if I'm reading/watching tv, but without being super annoying about it (doesn't constantly try to get in my lap or sleep on my chest/face like I've had other cats do). He also purrs so hard sometimes it sounds like a funny chirping noise.

I try not to let them out because they can actually be really bad for the local ecosystems, as they hunt/kill for fun and not necessarily for food. While other animals like snakes etc will kill, they do out of necessity for food. That's not the way it is with cats. Also, if you live near people, chances are they're using peoples flowerbeds or other dirt places as a litter box too. Aside from that, it's been proven indoor cats have a much longer average lifespan than outdoor cats... not to mention the problems un-neutered or un-spayed cats can cause :/

I had the strangest cat for a couple years, when he died I was pretty devastated. He started as my brothers cat, and when my brother moved he just kinda dumped him on my doorstep and asked me to keep him for awhile (which turned into years).

He was the type of cat that'd try really hard to get outside no matter what, and cause my kids were pretty little at the time and not very good about doors he'd usually succeed. Now, here's where he gets weird. I have a collar with address/phone number on all my cats, and I must have received a few dozen calls/knocks on my door about him. Apparently he liked to sneak into people's houses and just hang out. One morning I got a call from a lady telling me she found him sleeping with her son in his bed. One time I saw him sitting in a window in a house a good 7-10 blocks away from our house (and there's no doubt that it was him). My neighbor was always leaving their screenless basement window open and he'd go over there a lot, too. When he got hurt and had to be locked in a kennel for a month to heal properly (was hit by a car and had his pelvis shattered:<) I had people come around my house asking if he was okay because they hadn't seen him awhile. Out of all the people that contacted me, no one ever seemed mad, aside from the weirdness of it he was a pretty charming cat.

Here's a (pretty lengthy) thing about cats and ecosystems.

ftfy

It's funny, because those traits can be applicable to a lot of creatures (particularly humans), but when we examine them on an individualistic basis, we're chock full of anecdotes and exceptions. So sure, those adjectives may be applicable collectively, but it's impractical to take that to heart since every cat, person, etc. carry their own traits as an individual, and experiences with that individual are subjective to each eye of the beholder so to speak.

I'm admittedly "that guy" when it comes to getting animals and especially cats to like me so take this as you will, but... it's not that hard. Even with cats that have gone feral it largely comes down to patience and respecting boundaries.

That was a good laugh, thanks.

I, too, witnessed a few generations of cats around me. They indeed display varying degrees of affection, attention-seeking, and activity.
There's one that I rarely feed, if ever (she is independent, but other people frequently feed her), haven't seen for 2 years due to travel, yet I assume thinks of me as her parent, given how she always wants me to spend some time with her, patting her head and stuff. She was born in my yard, and her mom left less than a month afterwards. She wasn't this affectionate back then, but she is growing more affectionate the older she is getting (she is 7 years-old now).

I wish I could test your skills against this anti-homo(read: hates humans) cat I know. She is the offspring of the affectionate cat I just described in the above post. Her twin sister used to like to sit in my lap, sleep on my bed, etc. But this one is the polar opposite, she never trusts me & really hates my guts!

I'm not sure if you're talking about feral cats or just cats in general, but my most cuddly cat is a ~12 year old that we've only had for a few years. He spent many years at the spca plus whatever his life was before that.

I've also helped rehabilitate some feral cats. They can take lots and lots of time, but they do usually warm up. Keep in mind humans have spent a gooooooood long time domesticating cats.

My youngest cat was also rescued from a house that had so many cats in it, it had turned into a huge feral colony. She hid inside my couch and bed for weeks. Now, she'll come in mine and my fiance's lap and sleep in our bed with us. Her only weird behavior is that she'll eat anything and everything that's food (we think it's just left over behavior from being feral, feral cats tend to gouge because they can have a hard time finding meals). She is also a killing machine, in the few times she's managed to escape outside, she's killed several birds, mice, and bats >_>

Pics cause why not!

Cat 1 (Luna):(Approx 2 years old)
Cat 2 (Cookie):(Approx 9 years old; she is pretty good at taking everything in stride)
Cat 3 (Frank):(Approx 7 years old; he loves my kids and always sits with them on their computer desks/in their chairs)
Cat 4 (Motts):(Approx 12 years old, was my sisters cat and I took him in when she had a super premature birth and there was a concern about the baby having allergies)
Cat 5 (Prancer):(Died at barely 1 year old, had some congenital heart problems that were undetected and lead to a stroke)
Cat 6 (Hairball):(funny cat that used to wander into people's houses. Escaped outside one time and something killed him. Honestly part of why I try much harder to keep my cats indoors).
PS: Did you know orange cats are technically gingers?

I wouldn't mind having this bugger as a pet.

Shelter animals are different. Among other things they are easier to train. Most of the cats you see in commercials were shelter cats.

"Jump through a hoop of fire into a swimming pool full of sharks? OK boss, as long as I never have to even think about that shelter ever again."

Basically the same article as in my OP rewritten in the HuffPo. With added humor if no added information.

Your Cat Wants to Kill You First and Then Make You Crazy - by Renee Fisher