Could be the type of pet, the breed, how they behave, their relationship…anything about the pet that informs you on their human.
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If stray cats in a town are friendly, that means the community is friendly. If they’re timid, beware the people.
Cat’s in urban areas that aren’t socialized are always skittish. It’s about not being socialized to humans are a critical age. The areas that you are finding “friendly” strays are where people abandon former pets. Former pets were socialized at the critical age and want human contact.
Basically you are describing areas with shitty humans as areas with superior humans.
You say that like those cats aren’t just on walks around the block.
If your little murder floof is on walkabout, it’s either unplanned or you need to re-examine things. If you want fewer mosquitoes, keep your cats inside 100% – that’s almost a binary choice.
The world has changed; and any cat outside should be seen as the indication of a problem. Also, depending where you are - eg k2k - the coyotes or similar indigenes will handle things in ways you don’t want.
I, like many, will have to disagree. This is just my personal opinion though.
One of our cats we let out whenever she wants, she desires being outside and I can’t seem to steal that freedom from her. I know it’s more dangerous outside, but she was a stray for the first couple years of her life and is probably more aware of the dangers than most people. Now she mainly just sleeps in a chair on our porch watching birds.
Our other kitty has always had a home and loves outside, but only goes out on a leash (before her I honestly didn’t think a cat would use a leash).
I think the main issue with outdoor cats isn’t even the danger posed to the cats; it’s the danger the cats pose to everything else. Numerous species — especially birds — have gone extinct specifically because of cats. It’s one thing to have a barn cat or mouser, but cats wreak havoc on ecosystems. And iirc, indoor cats have a lot longer life expectancy than outdoor cats. I understand wanting to give freedom to our furry friends, but cats hunt for fun and are basically murderous little fluffballs to anything smaller or similar size than them.
Recent numbers I’ve seen estimate domestic and feral cats kill billions of song birds annually. As you mentioned avian insectivores help keep flying insect numbers in balance. Cats also predate beneficial reptiles and amphibians. Even the mice, gophers and other small mammals cats kill fill a niche in a habitat, killing them can weaken the food web.
The majority of human beings live in urban areas where its ridiculously unsafe for cats. In the city every outdoor cat is either abandoned or feral and neither particularly long for this world.
Outdoor cats live about 3-5 years, indoor cats live 10-20. Again shitty humans.
That, as you implied, depends on the environment. In a safe rural setting, which are not as depopulated as one would think (would people complain of rural America for example if it was a drop in the bucket), it’s more like one to three years less than the average indoor cat.
Good think we don’t have to make up the answers when we can look them up!
14% of Americans live in rural settings
https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/102576/eib-230.pdf
(warning large pdf) search for text 14 percent its on page 4.
The more comfortable life of an indoor cat significantly increases his lifespan. An indoor cat may live 15-17 years, while the life expectancy for outdoor cats is only 2-5 years, according to researchers at University of California-Davis.
https://www.petmd.com/cat/care/can-indoor-cat-be-part-time-outdoor-cat
It really is very very bad. rural areas may have less traffic but they also have more wild animals
There are whole US states that are nothing but rural. 14% definitely doesn’t sound right, unless they have a high bar for what’s considered rural. Wild animals are definitely a thing, but only a few of the rarer ones to find in a quiet neighborhood setting are going to desire a fight with a cat. Dogs are more likely to meet their end outside because they’re the ones that go around picking the fights with other animals.
It’s weird that you respond to actual information based on what your feels tell you.
There are whole US states that are nothing but rural
There are in fact not. Smaller states still have cities and people tend to be concentrated around those cities ND the very definition of a shit hole state with nothing in it. 85% of its meager population lives in the metro areas surrounding its 5 biggest (for ND) cities. The other 15% live in the other 99% of the state.
Lets look at a population density map to better visualize this. https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/2021/geo/population-distribution-2020.html
Outdoor cats just don’t live near as long on average. This isn’t about your feels its about reality its about stats.
Regarding the safety of rural areas. Dogs kill cats, cats kill other cats, raccoons kill cats, eagles and other predatory birds kill cats, cars kill cats, eating poisoned nuisance animals kills cats, coyotes kill cats.
I have a cat that’s afraid of plastic bags, what does that tell you? Cats are just weird it’s not really a good idea to base their reactions on anything.
My parents used to have a cat that was afraid of vans but not any other type of vehicle, event or situation. What’s that about?
Unless they own a parrot, not much.
Not much
Don’t have a dog ATM, but when I did, and had scummy friends and neighbors, I noticed that thieves are always afraid of dogs.
a dog ATM
Is that like a golden goose?
Insert food: receive dog poo
One time my GF’s cat told me where her vibes are. It was an excellent conversation with a furry little friend.
If they don’t like cats because you can’t train a cat, and/or cats seemingly hate them, I consider it a warning sign they want people to obey them rather than exist with them.
Cats can’t be trained like a dog. So when people complain about that and don’t like them for that, I consider it a sign of “I want you to obey me, don’t question it.”
Cats can be taught how to do stuff, and if there is the right bond, they’ll do the action when you ask. I say that because I’ve known a lot of people with cats that could do “tricks” (e.g. a friend had a cat that would go fetch his backscratcher after work because the cat LOVED that scratcher and knew it meant something positive to the cat.).
By contrast I know a few people with crazy cats and its almost like you (as an outside observer) can see the tension and dislike for each other radiating from both the cat and person. Most of the people with crazy cats only really seem to feed them and clean up after them. The people with awesome cats always seem to do more with them (playing, cuddling, etc), they just seem to have a better relationship with each other.
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I don’t particularly care for cats because I have a mild allergy to them. It’s not that they can’t be trained but because they make me want to scratch my eyes out lol
Cats can be trained, to do very specific things. I can say that from experience.
It sounds like a cat trained you lol
I mean, he turns off my lights when I ask him. He uses specific buttons to communicate his needs. Not really “cat training you” when you talk to the cat using actual words that it replies with.
I also suspect they’ll have issues respecting boundaries. Most people I know who’re bad with cats are also bad at that.
One time I was dating this girl. She had 4 cats, and recently got a dog. She had ZERO self control with that dog. She straight up ignored the cats, let the dog do whatever it wanted, and could NOT understand why her cats didn’t like the dog.
Well, it’s all about body language. The dog was acting like it’s never been given attention in its life. It would run full speed at the cats, and then dive at them full speed. The cats did not like that. But this girl just said “See??? These cats have become so hateful since I got the dog!”
Uhhhh, no. The cats just don’t like an animal 2X their size and 15X their weight divebombing them. They see you treat the dog better than them, and so don’t view you as their protector anymore.
Then she said “You won’t be able to pet the cats. Don’t worry, its not you, it’s them.”
I’d say within 20 minutes I was holding one in my arms, one on my lap, one napping at my legs, and the skittish 4th one was making progress towards me.
She was right that it’s not me, but she was wrong about it being the cats fault. It was HER fault.
I never met any of her friends, but she said the cats never warmed up to ANY of her friends. This tells me her friends were just as self unaware of their body language as she was.
The cats warmed up to me because when I first got there, I didn’t chase them down demanding I pet them. I stuck my hand out, allowed her to sniff my hand, and the cat said no. She didn’t even want to sniff my hand. So I said “ok, thats cool too.” And I just maintained body language that I was calm and not a threat, but if she wanted to come say hi, she could.
Thats all it is. Just making sure they know they can be comfortable around you. And the girl I was dating at the time didn’t understand that.
I trained my 8 year old Shiba Inu to live with a kitten. Previously, this dog would chase, bark, and leer at any cat it saw. Now the cat, still at teenage cat size, can literally dive bomb off the top of the cat tower at the dog and he’s just like “Neat!”
Starting the other direction should be infinitely easier! A puppy is almost genetically engineered to learn from you.
I have multiple fish tanks and a shrimp tank. What’s that say?
That you have multiple fish tanks and a shrimp tank.
I keep asking the pets for their owners secrets but they don’t tell me? I’ve tried pats, compliments and treats? Am I doing it wrong? How are you getting them to tell you about their owners?
The other day a little Yorkshire terrier told me his owner eats dead flies.
He was shaking when he said it. I didn’t know what to do, so I just floored it and got the fuck out of there.
Generally the way they interact with the pet. Do they have empathy and respect for the pet or do they expect it to be and do what they want. You can usually pick up on this pretty quickly.
there is crossover, I let me dog do almost anything she wants, but I do not tolerate aggression and jumping on people. if she does, she gets corrected and people are always “it’s okay”. no it’s not ok, she can respect people by not jumping on them and possibly hurting little kids. there is a time and place for certain behaviors.
other than that, we explore and hike and do lots of fun dog stuff.
Now, I am not saying all snake owners are drug dealers, but every drug dealer I’ve ever known has a pet snake.
what kind of snake do you have?
A trouser snake.
ssassssy 🐍
2 Dogs, 17 chickens, 5 hermit crabs, 1 fish, 4 shrimp, 1 snail, 1 silverfish. Tell me.
You sound a lot like me is what I’m saying.
Silverfish?? Like the guys who crawl around your bathroom?
If I see testicles on your pet or protuberant nipples on female dogs who obviously then aren’t spayed, I know the owner is probably shitty. Shelters overflow with pets, spay and neuter your pets.
Or you rescued a good girl that has been used for breeding before she went to the shelter. But yes I agree with you in general.
For sure.
I stereotype that all animals are a reflection of their owner’s behaviors. Mostly because I’ve shaped every animal I’ve ever been around for more than a few weeks. It is likely my consistent routine, intuition, and self awareness. I don’t put up with crap, I reward good behavior, but I punish bad behavior. I primarily withdraw my attention in a pronounced way, but when an animal intentionally acts out by biting, stealing, scratching or trespassing intentionally, I toss a pillow at them. It only takes a couple of times and it stops the behavior to the point where I only need to grab a pillow in the future. I might need to toss a pillow once or twice a year. Above all, I am simply consistent in positive attention. My cats come when I call, one will fetch toys, the other asks to be brushed. We all prefer quiet. I am never scratched, bitten, or threatened with play biting or scratching. I’ve had a dog that played by the same rules. But like, when people come over I herd them into my room, there is a hideaway under my bed. I make new toys out of junk all the time, etc. All of my pets are like this, so I view all pets as a reflection of the consistency, self awareness, and intelligence of their owners.
99% of dog owners chose a breed that looks similar to themselves.
If you ask people about their favorite pet or breed and why they chose it, they will tell you what they most value in humans as well. Usually it’s also how they define themselves (more or less accurately).
I guess I technically do value humans I’m not allergic to, but so far that hasn’t come up in my life yet.
In Australia theres a very specific breed of bird that generally (although not always) indicates that a man is gay.
If a guy has ever had a cockatoo, theres a good chance he is gay.
Well duh it’s right in the name
Who doesn’t enjoy a cockatoo on the weekend?
