The Cellar - The Truth About Cats & Dogs

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The Truth About Cats & Dogs

Well maybe. At least the truth as one reporter has ascertained.

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Cat people really are different from dog people, it turns out, according to a study that really was conducted and, presumably, really did receive some kind of funding. Specifically: dog people are more extrovert and agreeable; cat people are more neurotic, but also more open to new experiences. As a cat person, though currently petless, I accept that trade-off.

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Restricting the discussion to pet-keeping, however, you might imagine things would be clearer – everyone knows pets make us happier and healthier. Who'd argue with that? Well, a fair few anthrozoologists, in fact. (Which is rather awkward and irritating of them. They must be cat people.) Herzog notes that pet ownership has been shown to correlate with better survival in coronary patients and lower levels of depression among the elderly; then again, a Warwick University study found no effect on loneliness in adults, while a Finnish one found pet owners got less exercise and were more susceptible to kidney disease, arthritis and more. Studies of "therapy animals" are similarly ambiguous: dogs seem to bring psychological benefits, dolphins don't.

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Yet to say that our relationships with pets are all in our heads isn't necessarily to denigrate them. Isn't the same true, ultimately, about our relationships with humans, too? There's even an argument that animals' lack of language enriches the interaction, freeing it from the complexities and confusion of thought, leaving only wordless clarity. As the spiritual teacher Eckhart Tolle puts it: "I have lived with several Zen masters – all of them cats."

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There's even an argument that animals' lack of language enriches the interaction, freeing it from the complexities and confusion of thought, leaving only wordless clarity.

"What do you want, Slick?"

meow

"You wanna bite?"

meow

"You wanna drink?"

meow

"You wanna go out?"

meow

"What do you want?"

meow

"What do you WANT?"

meow

"WHAT DO YOU WANT?!"

meow

"WHAT DO YOU WANT?!?!"

meow

"WHAT IS IT??!!?! WHAT DO YOU WANT?!?! SHUT UP!! STOP FUCKING MEOWING YOU GODDAMNED CURSE ON HUMANITY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHAT?!?!?!?!?!? DOOOOOOOOO???????? YOOOOUUUUU????????? WAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNTT?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

meow

Clarity. Yeah, right.

Now that sounds like my conversation with Diz today.

Mia was in her room, Diz had just eaten dinner.
He had clean, fresh water (he always does, but this was just topped-up), fresh litter, his drawer under my bed was open and the heating pad was on. The heater under the stairs (another sleeping/ watching spot) was available and my Mum was available for snuggles in the living room where the fire was on. As was I, reading in my (unheated) bedroom on a rainy, cold November day. I even checked if he wanted to go out.

Nope.
Waow! Woaw! Waow! up and down the stairs and at the ceiling, walls and doors.

He's calmed down now of course.
I'm in the spare room and he is on my shoulder, digging his spindly death claws into me.

That's how most of my conversations with the cats go. But at least i know my vocal chords still work on thiose long home-alone days.....

I don't know how the reader benefits from the absurd comment about dolphins. I can easily experience the therapeutic benefits of having a dog in my apartment. I don't have room, or the fish budget, to keep a dolphin. Most pet therapists can't either. And they're hard to crate up to carry in to a hospital for the patients to enjoy.

OMG, that explains everything. Turns out my daughter is a cat.

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Originally Posted by wolf

Dolphin therapy is a burgeoning industry. Semi-local places like Sea World will sell you one-on-one hours with their various animals at a steep rate, and if you want to go a step further you can travel to dedicated "clinics" in the Caribbean and such. I have a magnet for one place on my fridge (got it for free somewhere, and I can always use extra magnets.)

When I went to Disney last year, most of my friends signed up for the Dolphin encounter at Sea World. Your $300 bucks got you a half hour with the dolphin who might not like you, lunch, all the Annheiser Busch products you could drink (they own the park), and an unlimited entry pass to the park that was valid for one week. There was a souvenir DVD, but I don't know if that was part of the package or your had to pay extra for it. I think the bunch (six of my friends went) only came back with one DVD. I do not know who got custody of it.

I didn't think it was worth $300, especially since, as it turned out, I was cranky, irritable, and craving chocolate at the time.

Oh, that reminds me of a YouTube video . . .

No, not THAT cat. Not this time. :D

Although now that I think of it, Cat Stevens did do a song called "Katmandu" :D

We have cats AND dogs. What does that mean?

Bob Seager did "Katmandu". I've never hear Stevens' rendition.

I have heard it now. Great song. Juniper helped me learn something today. Thanks.

I prefer dogs but recently I've become interested in cats. I'd like to own one of each to appreciate their personalities.

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Originally Posted by Clodfobble (Post 693232)

OMG, that explains everything. Turns out my daughter is a cat.

:lol: does she sit on your paperwork?