Sadly, cats have a reputation for being aloof and unresponsive. This is entirely undeserved. Cats are highly affectionate and very interactive.
The problem is humans who "do it wrong."
I blame a lot of this confusion on people thinking cats are supposed to be dogs. While coming out and saying something like that illustrates how ridiculous it is, people still do it all the time.
Dogs are pack animals who instinctively look for a pack leader and obey them. They require a lot of time and attention to get down their basic needs: such where to go to the bathroom, what not to chew, and the proper ways to ask for attention. Dogs also have a built-in device -- their obedience -- which helps us get all those training tasks done.
Cats are an entirely different kind of pet. They come already trained in where to go to the bathroom, what not to scratch, and the proper ways to ask for attention. Our much simpler task is then to provide our cat with the proper litter box, scratching post, and opportunities to interact.
When it comes to training, our cats want to cooperate. If we make our communication, and affection, work better, so will our training.
Cats try to protect us. When famous magician Roy was "attacked" by a tiger, it turned out the big cat was protecting his friend.
Why do we love purring cats? Because it is literally a healing sound.
In all these ways, cats are loving pets. We just need to "do it right."
The problem is humans who "do it wrong."
I blame a lot of this confusion on people thinking cats are supposed to be dogs. While coming out and saying something like that illustrates how ridiculous it is, people still do it all the time.
Dogs are pack animals who instinctively look for a pack leader and obey them. They require a lot of time and attention to get down their basic needs: such where to go to the bathroom, what not to chew, and the proper ways to ask for attention. Dogs also have a built-in device -- their obedience -- which helps us get all those training tasks done.
Cats are an entirely different kind of pet. They come already trained in where to go to the bathroom, what not to scratch, and the proper ways to ask for attention. Our much simpler task is then to provide our cat with the proper litter box, scratching post, and opportunities to interact.
When it comes to training, our cats want to cooperate. If we make our communication, and affection, work better, so will our training.
Cats try to protect us. When famous magician Roy was "attacked" by a tiger, it turned out the big cat was protecting his friend.
Why do we love purring cats? Because it is literally a healing sound.
In all these ways, cats are loving pets. We just need to "do it right."
1 comment:
Great article and I totally agree. You can't expect a cat to be a dog, or need the same kind of training. Thanks for sharing this one.
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