h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I am curious, as there seem to be a large number of HooToo-ers who are cat-owners/lovers, amongst other pets, and wondered whether it is a disproportionate number to Simon Bond-ers (He of One Hundred And One Uses For A Dead Cat book).
As a bird-lover and environmentalist I am rather anti non-useful pets. Terriers and ferrets are great for rabbit and rat hunting. Cats are nothing mor than furry statues who when they move wreck your furniture.
Dogs on the other hand tend to allow the owner some exercise, if only to bend down (if they ever do) to remove the street decoration left by said animal on each journey.
Am I in the minority or majority?
Why have a pet?
Is it fair to keep a pet?
How much does a pet cost?
Any other questions/ answers appreciated.

Cat lover, I'm afriad, they do have their uses, mainly to make th owner realise that they ain't that important, cats do that,

Appreciate that 2legs, but the reverse is that cats are reknowned for being fickle, and will often change owners, or disappear for days on end, so surely not an ideal pet? After all, if your partner did that, I doubt that they'd be given houseroom, let alone be fed, watered and be allowed onto the bed?

I keep rabbits - it saves on mowing the lawn at this time of year. Also feeding the lawn is a thing of the past. The dog makes me feel save that no-one has broken into the house, and the budgie will alert me to gas leaks.

My cats do the washing up and help with the ironing. Well okay, not really. But the whole 'point' of them is to be themselves. A cat knows that it is beautiful and delightful - and in return for its beauty and charm it receives food, love and comfort.

Seems like a good deal all round to me.


az

cats are good at catching mice, even if you don't want them too
a dog that is underexercised and overfed is extremely common, is that fair to the dog
also pet dogs are kept in a state of perpetual adolesence, doing things that working dogs give up on adulthood for the amusement of their human masters

So that is two for and one for , with one I'm uncertain of. So far I appear to be the only Anti, so looking good for HooTooers being pet lovers. Anybody else? Maybe a fancier?

It has been proven (can't be @rsed to look up where tho) that time spent stroking a cat can relieve stress and help to lower your blood pressure. I suppose stroking a [placid] dog can achieve the same results but dogs are smelly!!

Plus they are so darn cute when they're ickle (like my baby girl Tasha)

Absolutely! Never underestimate the 'cute factor'!


az

Gerbil lover myself, I have 24!!! Can get a bit whiffy occasionally, but they are exceedingly good in pies (only joking). They are very cute (particularly the black n white ones) and if handled all the time
can be very friendly.

If I had to choose between cats and dogs, cats would win all the time. Dogs are smelly horrible creatures - most loathsome!!!

I'll agree with that....cept I can't comment about Tasha of course...
However i would still contest that cats are good pets, mainly because they are so wayward. They are spiteful when annnoyed, with a tendency to dig their claws into you, just as they have lulled you into a sense of security. That's if they haven't tried to chew a chunk out of your hand for changeing from Wh*sk*s to k*t-*-k*t.

No, I am not convinced.....yet.....Any more?

I am sensing a bad personal experience MadFiddler...I haven't been owned by a cat yet that does those things!

Ever approached or been approached by a siamese cat? I haven't mentioned it's g'dawful mewling and caterwalling at 02:00 in the morning... especially if there are two and in heat. It can go on for a week, with fur all over the lawn.
Talking of which....where does all that fur come from? They are small cats, yet leave enough fur around to make a sheepskin-equivalent coat.

And, Lady in a tree, maybe they just sense I am not overly keen of them....

<>

Until recently I had two siamese cats. Now I have one and also a black gypsy street cat that I rescued nine years ago.

They are all very lovable.

Though yeah, plenty of cat fur to sweep up in summer. Mind you, they get all plush and soft in winter and are way better than hot water bottles in bed.

Meanwhile, it does sound as if you've never actually known a cat personally . . .

az

That is true. My experiences with relatives and friends was enough. I was more a Gerbil/Guinea Pig/Rabbit/Rat/Canary keeper.
Gerbils breed and die prodigously. I don't think I ever had one last more than a year, and if one gets out that's a good week's entertainment.
Guinea pigs live forever and are easier to catch.
Rabbits don't do much except dig holes in the lawn.
The rat was an error. My dad found it (tailless) in his car, and gave it to me as an albino hamster. After copious blood-lettings and a visit to the vets, our mistake was realised.
The canary was rescued in a manner that Fred Quimbey would have been proud of, which sang beautifully for 4 years until our neighbour's Saiamese knocked the cage over and had her á la carte meal.
Strangely enough, shortly after I became a very good shot with stones, and within 3 months we had a cat-free garden.
I don't hate them, I am just not a great fan, and am interested in the cat-dog-pet relationship with HooTooers.
BTW, as a member of WWF, RSPB, BTO, WWT and The Wildlife Trust, I am not anti-animals either.

OK...fish....alot of work....but very relaxing to watch....

I am a Bird lover...I have 10 altogether....3 parakeets, 3 lovebirds, 3 conures and an African Grey.....
My African Grey talks up a storm and there's never a dull moment...

I let my parakeets and lovebirds have their "playtime" together...they fly freely (in one room) and have the run of the place and are really quite interesting to watch them interact with each other...

When I was younger, I had two dogs, which I loved, but I agree, they are "smelly"...I also had a cat for six years until I became allergic....I think cats are wonderful pets and they are SO friggin' cute! I love all the silly things they do....Barb

Ok, i knew I'd find a fancier.
So that's three
One
and One .
I am very surprised at the level of lovers as we are meant to be a nation of dog-lovers.
Also I am surprised that there are not more who are not pet fans at all.

I've always had both cats and dogs. Currently I have two black labs. Both get along with the older of my two cats. Matter of fact, when I only had one of the dogs and I introduced this big fat siamese (himilayan blue tip or some such fancy nonsense) the dog was still a puppy and the cat didn't want to have much to do with it. She was previously owned by a couple who obviously didn't understand that pet ownership isn't a whim. They gave away both of their pets after about four years. They also declawed the cat which I think is a horrible and selfish thing to do. One day the cat licked the inside of the dog's ear and he followed it around endlessly sticking his ear in her face. He finally found that if he licked and chewed along her back she liked it and would lick his ear. Every time I turned around the cat had a wet spikey mohawk down her back.

Anyway, I was thinking that the cat probably got lonely sitting in my house all alone all day so I accepted an offer to adopt a young cat whose owner had died and was currently living behind the pub. My older cat who has always been a big fat lump hates the new cat. He's still pretty young and playful and keeps ambushing and sniping at the older one. He's just ornery... I named him Greebo, it fit. Now the older cat loves it when I bring the dogs in because they keep Greebo hiding under the couch and she can roam the house without fear of a mugging.


Now as far as Simon Bond goes, I've never read his book (I thought he was the one who wore pastel blazers and sang 'Hungry Like the Wolf' in the eighties) but I do enjoy crass anticat humour. Like the instructions for washing the cat using the toilet, signed "the dog". Or the bumper sticker that says "Cat: the other white meat". A few years ago during the beanie baby craze I bought a "meanie" called 'Splat: the road kill kat'. It's a bean bag cat with tyre tracks across his back... here's the attached poem:

"Splat" The Road Kill Kat didn't cross at the green.
A big truck was coming that couldn't be seen.
To the left and the right this Kat didn't look,
And now poor Splat is as flat as a book.

Ok, it's not Oscar Wilde, but you should see it. (I also bought "Bart the Elephart.)


Ok.... So I guess I'm a pet lover with a rude sense of humour.

To put the other side of the arguement my bro-in-law is a twitcher
consequently my sis and bro-in-law have their garden set up to encourage birds and discourage cats since the two don't mix well