AP Poll Bias … Against Cats
On the deceptively simple topic of pets, the mainstream media has a hard time getting it right. Exhibit A: The Associated Press has joined forces with Petside, the web presence of the pet-food giant IAMS, to produce idiotic polls, the results of which are disseminated as news on the AP wire. Except these “polls,” and the articles they spawn, are not really news — they’re examples of really shoddy, biased reporting.
According to the latest poll, 74 percent of people like dogs a lot, and only 41 percent like cats a lot. What’s more, the “poll” tells us, “fifteen percent of the adults questioned said they disliked cats a lot while the number who said they disliked dogs a lot was just 2 percent.”
It’s not clear what AP-Petside means by “a lot.” Where did they find these people? Because according to the Humane Society of the United States, which compiled data from the American Pet Products Manufacturing Association, there are approximately 77.5 million owned dogs in the United States and 93.6 million owned cats. Thirty-three percent of U.S. households own at least one cat. Surely those millions of owned cats are liked at least a little, or they wouldn’t be owned?
Another proof of just how much Americans love cats is the huge amount of cat litter sold in the United States. In ancient Egypt, cats were deified because they guarded precious granaries against marauding rodents; today, millions of ailurophiles (the ten-dollar word for cat lovers) give daily offerings to the divine feline by spilling tons of grain — in the form of corn or wheat cat litter!
What MSM outlets rarely consider is the sad plight of animals in shelters across our country. Fanning the flames of cat-hating is such a tired story. But the MSM apparently has no shame in spreading such damaging non-news, even with literally millions of sweet, loving cats behind bars at animal shelters across this country, creatures with already-slim chances of being adopted into forever homes due to the economic crisis. “Reporting” like this comes across as an acceptable form of bias — except, conveniently, cats can’t speak up and complain about being victims of media prejudice. But the AP-Petside poll really steps in doo-doo with this “analysis” of its “findings”:
Those most likely to dislike cats were blacks, Hispanics and married men. Men were a bit more likely than women to say they disliked cats.
Debi Romano, who runs the non-profit Save Kitty Foundation, is working on the humane removal of hundreds of stray cats that settled into crawl spaces at Ravenswood, a 31-building complex in New York City. The New York City Housing Authority wanted to seal up the crawl spaces, which would have trapped helpless kittens alive; Romano rightly believes that trap-neuter-return — collecting the cats in cages, then having them surgically sterilized and returning them to live in feral colonies — is the only effective way to cut down on the cat population. She’s applied for a grant that would help fund the T-N-R- plan, and her biggest supporters in the fight to save the kitties are the Ravenswood tenants — “90 percent of whom are black and Hispanic,” Romano says.
As for men disliking cats, a man named Bryan Kortis runs the influential non-profit Neighborhood Cats, which recently helped design a more efficient trap to help volunteer rescuers humanely gather stray cats for sterilization.
AP-Petside’s racial profiling is as inaccurate as it is appalling; cats and the great silent majority that love them certainly deserve better. Considering everything they do for us humans — lowering our blood pressure; helping us to live longer, healthier lives; providing love and loyalty, regardless of a person’s race or gender — certainly animals’ stories should be told with accuracy, not stereotyped generalizations.
One of the sages quoted in the AP article says: “Cats are all about cats but dogs are interested in pleasing their owners. Cats don’t care if they please you or not.” I can think of several instances of cats demonstrating a high level of care for humans. Just like dogs, cats can help miracles happen for people. Some cats are certified for pet-provided therapy, visiting hospitals and hospice care facilities to spread comfort and joy.
Other felines disprove an old myth — that cats only wake their owners when they want to eat — by performing heroic rescues. In North Carolina, a cat persistently meowed, awakening his owner and leading him downstairs to a screen door, where the man could see that the neighboring building, a four-unit condo, had gone up in flames. As a result of the cat’s early warning, three families were safely evacuated.
In Indiana, a cat saved her own family from carbon monoxide poisoning by meowing wildly until they got up out of bed. And in Michigan, a girl was saved from a sexual assault when her cat attacked the predator. Good kitty!
Perhaps cats look out for us because human and feline DNA have much in common; scientific study of the cat genome is leading to treatments for retinitis pigmentosa and AIDS, and has already resulted in effective smart drugs used to treat cancer.
“Cats rule, dogs drool” is a favorite refrain of cat lovers who dislike dogs, but speaking as an equal-opportunity animal lover who lives with both species, I vote against racing to the bottom. Instead, consider the position of a few famous people on the cat issue, then decide which camp you’d like to join.
Historically significant cat haters include Genghis Khan, Cardinal Richelieu, Napoleon, Hitler, and Mussolini. Now let’s move on to the cat lovers. Ailurophiles include Sir Winston Churchill, whose orange tabby, Jock, attended cabinet meetings. Cat-loving American leaders include Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, and George W. Bush. Sir Isaac Newton is credited with inventing the kitty door-flap, so his cat could be at liberty to let himself out while the inventor was stuck indoors, engrossed in research. Another talented inventor, Leonardo da Vinci, opined that “the smallest feline is a masterpiece.”
Albert Schweitzer’s cat had a habit of falling asleep on his writing arm, so the Nobel Peace Prize winner taught himself to write prescriptions with his other hand, so as not to disturb the kitty. “There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats,” Schweitzer wrote. Famous musical cat lovers include Frederic Chopin (whose pet inspired “The Cat Waltz”), Frank Zappa, Carly Simon, Nina Simone, and John Lennon.
Lennon was a client of the renowned New York psychic Frank Andrews, who once told me that “dogs are emotion; cats are the mind.” Andrews lives with a Border Collie, so he’s not suggesting dogs are dumb; he’s simply giving props to the feline vibe, and his insightful statement must be the reason I write most efficiently with one cat in my lap and another on the chair behind me.
Among the cat-loving literati are Samuel Johnson, whose cat Hodge inspired not only his owner (who fed him oysters), but also an amusing blog; Sir Walter Scott; Edgar Allan Poe; Charles Dickens; Mark Twain (who at one time had 11 pet cats); Ernest Hemingway; Hunter S. Thompson; M.F.K. Fisher; Clementine Paddleford; Julia Child; Julie Powell, the author who made a career of worshiping Julia Child; and Ron Rosenbaum, whose cat Stumpy was a media presence in his own right.
T.S. Eliot’s wonderful book Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats is the basis for a long-running stage musical called Cats (its composer, Andrew Lloyd Webber, is also a feline fancier). Poet and former NEA Chairman Dana Gioia adores cats; his book Interrogations at Noon includes the charming “Alley Cat Love Song.” Visual artists inspired by the mews include Manet, Renoir, Klimt, Warhol, and Cocteau, who observed, “I love cats because I enjoy my home; and little by little, they become its visible soul.”
Loving cats is non-denominational; people of all faiths have made room in their hearts for these soulful, long-whiskered creatures. The prophet Mohammad loved cats; so did Pope Leo XII, whose cat Micette lived with him in the Vatican. The current pontiff, Benedict XVI, is such a cat lover that his authorized biography, a children’s book titled Joseph and Chico: The Life of Pope Benedict XVI as Told by a Cat, was “authored” by Chico the cat (with help from Italian journalist Jeanne Perego)!
Philosophers also find cats captivating; they range from Michel de Montaigne (who wrote, “When I play with my cat, who knows whether she is not amusing herself with me more than I with her?”) to Eckhart Tolle. The latter doesn’t doesn’t disclose much personal information, but he revealed, in his best-selling book The Power of Now, that “I have lived with several Zen masters, all of them cats.” We all could use a live-in Zen master — or two — to keep us playfully, joyfully in the moment.
Please check out the feline talent at your local animal shelter and consider adopting today.
At last, a real issue PJM.
I think several important factors are not mentioned here such as the reason for cats being unpopular could be precsiely that there are 93 million of them. But maybe the real reason is this: my neigbors DOG has never ever ever ever jumped over the wall and crapped in my yard.
Lastly, a few years ago I chased a burgalar from my home, at 2am, (naked) with my dog by my side. I got the ring back I was fixin’ to give to my best girl. now Mrs M. I wonder how that would have gone if I’d had a cat?
He was the best of dogs.
my neigbors DOG has never ever ever ever jumped over the wall and crapped in my yard.
Our neighbor’s dog has done just that, many times. Lots of crap, too.
Don’t confuse me with somebody who cares a lot, but I agree that the “anti cat” position is a bit too popular. I’d be fine with it if it was just the lazy, image-seeking position that I suspect it to be, but around these parts cats also get hounded about the supposed destruction they cause to native wildlife. So the odd stray cat’s supposed to be the death of native wildlife, but clear-felling a billion acres of bushland and planting crops, running cattle and spreading poison bait for rabbits hasn’t been any problem at all. Yeah, right.
But then, I also distinguish between responsible cat-owners and the (thankfully less numerous) other sort who don’t de-sex and let their cats roam.
People are far more likely to own multiple cats than multiple dogs. Thus, more cats doesn’t mean more owners.
Besides that, there are many apartments which allow cats but not dogs; this causes people who want a pet to settle for what they can have. Many people, in addition, simply don’t have time for the walks and such which dogs require.
More people buy canned soup than prime rib. That doesn’t mean it’s their preference.
As a cat lover, I know many people who are allergic to cat dander but not dog dander, which may factor into these skewed poll results.
I wish I could use the old Johnny Carson line here but I think it would be deleted. I love pus$ys but hate cats. Sorry had to try.
Gotta go with the dog, I have 5. A barn cat is fine, but a house cat, no. I just can’t do an animal that poops in the house and walks on your counter tops and table. Grosses me out.
This is quite the frivolous article and riddled with pro-feline bias. Disgusting really, associating those who dislike cats with such individuals as Hitler and Mussolini. Shame on you and shame on PJM for publishing such rubbish.
@Roy, I think we all could have gone without hearing about you being naked with your dog. Too much info and possibly asking to have PETA at your front door.
Fools. You don’t think the cats knew all about this survey and manipulated the results to stay in the shadows? They are devious, evil, and I’m pretty sure Niccolo Macchiavelli learned everything by watching his cats operate.
These polls reported the results the cats WANTED them to report.
Team Kitty here. Dogs are great but require too much attention, always wanting to be up your backside and pouting if they are not. I love cats for many reasons but their independence and cleanliness compared to dogs are way up there. On the crapping in neighbor’s yard issue, I had neighbors who let their dogs out to crap in other’s yards so theirs would stay clean. I just got my shovel and returned their “gift”. And cats cover their business. If there are too many cats it’s because of irresponsible owners not cats.
#1 My cats have alerted me to both two-legged and four-legged trespassers on my front yard, bugs climbing up the wall near my bed (I shudder to think if they had gotten INTO my bed!)and have helped me to overcome the many trials of daily life, just by being there. I am a better human being because of them and I cherish their unconditional love and companionship.
And our neighbor’s dog has also done just that—as well as digging a hole in the opposite side of our fence one night while we were sleeping, and getting into the yard of the neighbor on our other side, who thought we were its owners, at first.
It also managed to break out of its yard one morning, dragging its chain, which it got tangled up in the foliage in our front yard, as it was pawing around our front door.
It also barks wildly, and hurls itself against the fence, whenever one of us tries to our back yard.
I never worry about being attacked by out of control cats while out for a walk, or run; I worry a lot about snarling, barking, running dogs (whose owners, invariably, stand there burbling, “DON’T WORRY! HE’S HARMLESS! HE’S JIST PLAYING!”)
Well done Thank you.
Seven adult cats own my family. They are not particularly bad to us. We merely must accept our second-class status—and make sure their meals are served on time. So far, these felines have not forced us to live in the backyard. They cut us lowlife human creatures some slack. I guess we are pitied. Things could be worse.
Why we no longer buy any IAMS products:
http://www.iamscruelty.com/introduction.asp
Why Iams?
Animals Still Suffer at Iams
Recipe for Cruelty
Iams: A Recipe for Cruelty
For nearly 10 months in 2002 and early 2003, a PETA investigator worked undercover at Sinclair Research Center, a laboratory hired by Iams, and discovered a dark and sordid secret beneath the wholesome image of the dog- and cat-food manufacturer. Dogs had gone crazy because they were confined to barren steel cages and cement cells, dogs were left piled on a filthy paint-chipped floor after chunks of muscle had been hacked from their thighs, dogs were surgically debarked, and horribly sick dogs and cats were neglected and left in cages to suffer without any veterinary care.
Footage shows that Iams representatives toured the facility and witnessed dogs who were circling in their cells and sweltering in the summer heat. Iams knew the truth yet did nothing to protect the animals.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture investigated PETA’s complaint and agreed that the laboratory had failed to provide veterinary care and pain relief to suffering animals, failed to provide animals with adequate space, and failed to train employees—along with nearly 40 other violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act. Sinclair Research Center paid a penalty of $33,000 for its violations.
After intense pressure from PETA and its supporters, Iams agreed to make the following significant changes in its testing program:
* Iams bowed to pressure and severed its ties with Sinclair Research Center.
* Iams ended all invasive and terminal experiments on dogs and cats.
* Iams agreed to begin conducting humane in-home tests for palatability studies.
According to Iams, about 70 percent of the animals now in its tests reside at home with their families. In these studies, people volunteer their companion animals to participate in food and nutrition experiments from the comfort of their own homes. The human guardians can easily be trained to feed the animals and properly collect fecal and urine samples for laboratory analysis to determine the quality of the animal’s food. “In-home” studies have been shown to work and have strong scientific support, as shown by the successful PetSci program, which was developed by Dr. Charles Abramson and Dr. Timothy Bowser of Oklahoma State University.
Even so, Iams still keeps up to 700 dogs and cats in its Dayton, Ohio, laboratory for non-invasive nutritional studies. They claim that this laboratory provides a decent environment for the animals, but they refuse to allow a PETA representative to see inside. Iams claims that some studies are too complex for in-home programs, but PETA urges Iams to collaborate with veterinary clinics for studies such as these. Veterinary clinics regularly see patients who suffer from ailments that a particular dog or cat food might help alleviate.
____________
If Roy M and other posters really care about their pets…dogs or cats or whatever, I hope they will consider contacting IAMS and protesting their continual unnecessary and cruel experiments on animals. I would also hope they will chose a provider who does not experiment on animals…and let IAMS know why!
We have a cat. We had a large dog for many years. We loved the dog, we love the cat. The dog’s personality was more akin to a human personality. I think that is why dogs are usually better liked. But our dog could never entertain us like this cat can. What a hoot to watch this thing in action.
This is a frivolous subject for PJM, but it will prove to be a very popular one. You can’t denigrate people’s pets and expect to be on the right side of that issue.
Cats are evil. Anyone who has ever fallen in love with an Irish Setter will agree dogs, especially the Irish Setter, are the best.
I love cats, unfortunately I’m allergic to them. :/
I think there are a few unstated reasons for dog popularity compared to cats. Cat allergies are more common than dog allergies, dogs tend to be more friendly and direct (more American) while cats may say “Hi,” most won’t hang around a stranger for very long. Plenty of other reasons like you’re more often to see/interact a neighbor’s dog than with their cat.
As a child in a large city, I could only have cat’s as pets. now I have dogs. I have found that cat dandar is bad for my allergies, but tolerate dogs just fine. If not for allergies, we would have both.
After large dogs we have the sweetest Sht-Szu that sleeps in the bed between us “like a cat!”
love animals
We rescued a cat from the shelter about a year ago and she has become part of the family. Very low maintenance. My parents have a dog — very high maintenance. The cat shows as much affection as the dog does.
Dogs are very needy, basically dumb, easily distracted with low aspirations and content to lick their balls. A perfect Liberal image. Cats are shrewd and independent. Self-sufficient. Industrious. Inventive. Clearly Conservative.
If you should suddenly keel over, your average faithful fido would sit by your body, patiently hoping for the best. On the other hand, kitty would prance by, sniff once orf twice, and then head off to find something to eat.
There you have it.
My kittens used to wake me up when I was sleeping late, not because they needed food but because they wanted to play. Even when I got up without their call, they were sitting outside my bedroom purring.
Maybe I like cats because I am a bit like them. With dogs, I behave like cats behave with humans: I am wary at first, but I become friendly if they are neither pushy nor aggressive. Maremma sheepdogs are my favorites, because they grow huge but still have eyes like puppies, and are very friendly (at least when their owner is with you). Their puppies are cute white furballs.
As for Genghis Khan, I am willing to forgive his dislike for cats because I admire his achievements.
The dog’s personality was more akin to a human personality.
There’s the argument for cats, in a nutshell.
AND
among cat lovers there is
ME
So A.P. CAN GO ~#!@$@#!@~#!$!#~!@##@@
And I love dogs too, and all the cohorts of other little angels.
PROVERBS 12:10
יֹודֵ֣עַ צַ֭דִּיק נֶ֣פֶשׁ בְּהֶמְתֹּ֑ו
(Pay attention to read more than one version and ask a Jewish friend to translate the original for you, it has rich shades of meaning)
I like the Trap-Neuter-Return strategy. How can this be applied to Liberals?
Not to state the obvious, but many people dislike cats because they do not know how to properly prepare them. Many delicious recipes are available on line.
dogs, like wolves are seen as representing the male/yang that is they are loyal to a fault, trusting and aggressive when necessary, symbolising the best of maleness.
Cats are seen as female/yin, that is they are aloof, secretive, mysterious, affectionate when they want something and expect you to drop your whole life to serve their needs whenever they so demand, and in return you get to admire their beauty and felineness. That’s why I love cats so much, they rule my neighbourhood, they are everywhere. Cats are as affectionate as dogs, just on their own terms and in their own way.
#26 Wan Foo.
I’ll go hunting tonight for some, send me a good recipe and I’ll let you know how they come out. ;~)
On another note the reason their are so many more cat then dogs is all those crazy cat people that own 25 of them but live happliy in total squalor, that’s just gross…
Cats are Muslim.
Dogs are infidels.
Allah akbar!
Can your cat do this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHiiG3-yU7k
I have had plenty of cats and dogs over the years. My dogs worship me but I love my cats more. Yes, my dogs would protect me, since I am leader of the pack. But I’ve had cats come to my aid and protect me too. My cats are smarter, sneakier, more determined, and a lot funnier than any dog. Meow!
I love the old line…
Dogs have owners. Cats have staff.
The reason I hate cats is because they are so much fun to chase off the porch.
As I’ve been reading this, I’ve been visited on the right and all over the keyboard by Ella the tabico cat and now to my left, sitting faithfully, joyfully and almost patiently, Maggie the border collie/pyraness cross. Why are cats better? Walk time. Bye!
Dogs, and cats, are just fine.
Some of the owners, however, need work.
“DON’T WORRY ABOUT MUH PIT BULL! HE’S JIST FRENLY! DOWN, FANG! YOU GET DOWN! STOP THAT FANG! STOP IT! BAD BOY, FANG! LEGGO OF THAT MAN’S LEG!”
My male Weimaraner loves cats, so far 13 have jumped the fence into my backyard, none that I know of have escaped alive.
As for cats killing local wildlife. . . wildlife does a great job of killing itself off (which you’ll know, if you live where there are hawks, owls and coyotes.)
Kudos to Szabo for writing this deconstruction of nonsense polls [the word "idiotic" spot-on nails it] and props to Barb for telling us about the horror of IAMS
Someone named “Rob” wrote — in churlish violation of the PJM no ad hominem attacks please policy —
“This is quite the frivolous article and riddled with pro-feline bias. Disgusting really, associating those who dislike cats with such individuals as Hitler and Mussolini. Shame on you and shame on PJM for publishing such rubbish.”
What Rob wrote is not comment but onanism and should not be tolerated. Au contrair Rob, it is you who should realy be ashamed of not being eduacted in a proper manner as so as to be able to present criticism of issues instead of merely saying the equilvalent of “it sucked” or the author sucked — then it is probably that if Rob had been properly educated he would have likely agreed with Szabo instead of idulged his dislike of cats.
Bravo to PJM for writing a ballsy opinion piece like this one –which is worthy of the articles in the Manchester Guardian — instead of the sort of dumbed-down pablum usualy found in the US press. I shall be following PJM with regularity as long as it is willing to actually take a position on issues as it did here.
Meow and Grr,
JTM
Dogs and cats are different, and have different characteristics. A cat may occasionally save someone from impending disaster, but dogs bark when someone tries to break into your house. A cat meowing isn’t going to scare off a burglar. While cats are small but occasionally might chase off an attacker, a dog can be large enough to frighten away someone, and can even do actual damage when necessary.
Cats tend to be more insular. You can leave one alone all day, pet it a bit in the evening. If you feed and water it, change its litter regularly, and so forth, it’ll be fine. Play with it a bit and it thinks its in heaven. Dogs need more attention, by contrast. They’re higher maintenance, and as someone noted there are places you can’t have a dog. Dogs however work, while cats don’t really. You can get a watchdog, and some of them still herd sheep and so forth. Apparently you can take a dog from the proper breed, never been near the livestock, and if you put him next to them, he instinctively knows how to do his thing, get the herd moving.
Oh and we have (among other animals) a pit bull. You wouldn’t want to try and fight him, and he barks at strangers going by our condo…but he’s the sweetest guy you’d ever want to meet. Makes friends quickly, too, if the person comes in with us. Just don’t break into the house.
In old times, cats were working animals, just like dogs, but their work consisted of protecting food stores from pests. Incidentally, cats were the only thing that protected humanity from deadly diseases spread by pests like mice and rats (such as black plague), even though they were commonly blamed for causing it.
We do get field mice getting into the hose few times a year, especially in the winter. Our cat catches them, better than any mousetrap we had ever owned, and the activity is great fun for her.
I always had cats. When I got married I brought my calico cat into the family. My wife brought in 2 12 year-old miniature poodles. I never in my life expected to care for or like little dogs. Well, after living with those 2 guys, the only dog I will ever have would be miniature poodle. My wife never wanted to have cats before she got to know mine. Now she loves them.
I love dogs and cats, but cats are much easier to care for, no questions about it.
This pretty much says it all:
http://pix.motivatedphotos.com/2008/9/9/633565856294140270-cunningcatsareevillittlebastardswhenyourenotlooking.jpg
Is it just me or has anyone else ever read about a cat killing a child?
I have several grandchildren and if a dog gets loose and comes into my yard after one of my little ones he will get hurt.
My cat does kill mice.
I’ll come out strong and say that I dislike both cats and dogs, and really every other pet. Maybe it’s because I was attacked by a dog when I was a kid, but I have no desire to bring an animal into my house.
“there are approximately 77.5 million owned dogs in the United States and 93.6 million owned cats.”
Wow… that’s a lot of potential revenue if cats would require licensing like dogs.
oh sure!!……but are any of them LEFT-HANDED?
There are two cats in residence at my house, and I dislike them both. They are allowed to continue living here only because my daughter likes one and my wife likes the other one.
The last two cats were here less than a year when one did not come home after a night outside. We’d heard coyotes in the nearby fields. I let the second cat out at dusk the following night, in the belief it would either find the first cat, or a coyote. Like I said, we have two newer cats now.
The poll feels right to me.
I can’t stand ‘em, and my wife has one, disgusting excuse for a pet.
And as far as cat litter sales are concerned, don’t overlook that it has many uses other than just a cat toilet. I use it a garage floor cleaner.
Speaking of cleaners, the cat would probably make an excellent toilet bowl cleaner – just pitch one in and shut the lid, wait three minutes for the agitating to subside and open lid, bonus is the cat comes out clean also.
I love most animals, and have three cats. My husband said he was never a cat person, until he met me. Our youngest cat adopted him as his favorite person, I guess because my husband plays with him all of the time. We are going to get a collie too in the future, I hope they all like each other. One thing my husband said he likes about cats, is they are quiet. But here are some funny cat videos for those that understand cats. They are funny animals.
Remember cats were once revered as Gods, they have never forgotten it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZ-o6WQYkSk
No surprise that the psycho cur-lovers would even go so far as to skew a poll. What won’t they do for their cossetted fleabags? And what won’t they make their neighbors endure? If I had a nickel for every minute of reading, writing, and thinking lost to the endless, mindless barking, yelping, yammering, and howling of slobbering hounds, I could fund a psychological study on what makes these abominations so attractive to their insensate owners (or should I say enablers,or co-dependents…).
#42 Love a child:
Yeah, dog owners. . . “FANG? YOU PUT THAT CHILD DOWN! RIGHT NOW! STOP THAT, FANG! BAD DOG! I SAID PUT THAT CHILD DOWN! RIGHT NOW! YOU STOP IT, HEAR ME? BAD FANG!”
“I can’t understand it, really, he’s always such a good dog!”
Yah. Right.
The flip side of dogs’ love for man is the unreasoning hostility of some dogs towards anyone who isn’t their master (and, sometimes, hostility for master, too.)
(Mikee, I hope you treat your wife and daughter better than you do your pets.)
#36 Gman
Uh, Gman. . . does your weimaranar love kids? I certainly hope none of your neighbors have small children, who might accidentally wander into your yard. Yes, yes, it’s hilarious that he kills your neighbor’s cats; it might not be so amusing if he starts attacking their kids.
Also, I hope you keep him securely in your yard? Some aggressive dogs do like to wander, and they do take the attitude that all territory they enter (even if it’s your neighbor’s yard, porch or even house) is “their” territory, and must be defended against all “intruding” humans.
(Yes, yes, I know; “He’s such a NICE dog!”)
For Roy, the first poster. Regarding the burglar you chased down naked. I would have shot the SOB when he entered the house.
What my daddy used to say about dogs was this: There’s two kinds of good dogs–hunting dogs and dead dogs.
Dogs Rule! that said I have a affinity for our canine friends mainly because a dog is a companion a friend and a conscience.
Cats can be tolerated and fun to watch when they play as kittens and God bless those who love them.
We have two dogs and two cats and it would be too complicated to pick favorites. The dogs demand that I take them for walks in the woods, which is generally a good thing for all of us, whereas the cats can be let outside without supervision. The dogs guard the house, but also get over-excited, every time a visitor appears. They are like liberals and conservatives; you need both to make things work.
Cats poop in a box. Dogs eat other animal’s poop. That being said, both animals are our partners in the evolution of human civilization. These dog-cat polls are stupid.
My cat is cool, clean and maintenance-free. All I have to do is feed him. I’m just lucky, I guess.
My cat, Leroy, has long since gone to collect his 77 virgins. He was more of a man than any of those scum-bag terrorists.
To #47-Jman “Cat toilet bowl cleaner” —that’s funny.
To #43-Lauren-I too was attacked by a dog(beagle) and was bitten in the face. I still like dogs but am mindful of how to read a dog’s behavior in order to protect myself. What I don’t like are alot of dog owners. Many are incredibly insensitive, thoughtless and cruel to their dogs and neighbors. For the life of me, I have never understood a person’s need to have a dog simply for the sake of having a dog. They don’t offer companionship, allow them to socialize with other dogs or adequate space(dog pen/tiny yard) for the dog’s well-being. Out of loneliness and frustration, the dogs bark endlessly for hours and the owners ignore it. Why should their neighbors have to suffer them? I have lived in my neighborhood for thirteen years and I don’t remember signing up to live in a dog kennel–might be cheaper though.
I adopted a stray black Persian several years back and what a great little “Mouser”. Sylvester the cat would be very pleased. She also polices the place from the raccoons and possums. She rules the roost.
To PJM staff–thanks for a lighter-side article. I appreciate your watchdog efforts to bring awareness of many serious issues that are blatantly ignored by mainstream media but a little bit of fun mixed in would be nice.
Cats are every bit as wonderful as dogs, just in different ways. Dogs have better PR. Both animals have been better friends to humankind than we deserve.
Not to be pedantic, but Cardinal Richelieu loved cats very much, and even provided for his many cats in his will. He gets a bum rap as it is, no sense in adding to the weight of bad history.