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Truthful Tuesday: I HATE CATS.

OK, no I don’t. Although I do have a hard(er) time with cats than dogs.

So far in life I have lived with a total of five cats and four dogs (plus several short term foster dogs) and while I have no real issue with any* animal, I’ve only had direct extended experience with those dogs, cats, and a few fish. Fish are a very ‘hands off’ experience so I’m going to leave them out of this discussion. I consider it to be more about pets that you can, you know, pet.

Most people seem to lean towards being either a ‘cat person’ or a ‘dog person’. I’ve always sort of felt I was a dog person because I get on well with them and grew up with one. Today I was wondering why it might be that I have no problem with cats, but they never seem to bond with me… When I put it like that I realized I have never had any continued experience of a cat giving me “Hey, I like you. You’re all right” signals. Every cat I have known who has shown signs of liking me has always reverted back to distain, and then flip-flopped around a lot.

This seems to be normal cat behaviour.

Dogs on the other hand tend to be pretty clear about who they like, who they don’t like, and who they are ok with, I guess, especially if you have another one of those treats, thank you.

Cats frequently purr around my feet. They rub against my hand clearly interested in being fussed. They sneak up on me while I’m laying down and snuggle up next to me, perhaps in the crook of my knee. I’ve even had some reasonable back massages from a cat. However, they also stare at me as though they hate me. They swat at me as I pass. They pop up unexpectedly, acting friendly, and then try to bite me. They puke in my shoes and look at me like it is my fault.

Dogs might not always come when they are called. They might not be happy about your idea to take that bone away and save it for later. They may have accidents from time to time or try and steal your sandwich. However if they like you, they always manage to look a bit sheepish about all of that. They’ll give you puppy dog eyes which you’ll interpret as their apology, even if the reality is simply that they’ve learned puppy dog eyes gets them love and attention.

The point is that dogs don’t give me mixed signals. Cats do, and it turns out that’s difficult for me. I have a hard enough time trying to ‘read’ people sometimes, but I can at least ask them questions.

When was the last time you got a clear answer from a cat?**

*As long as it’s not trying to bite/scratch/eat/sting/poison/chew/maul/attack/vomit on/pee on/peck me (etc.)

**I mean other than to the question, “Did you puke in my shoe?”