What are cats for?

A popular way to denigrate the benefits of cat as pets is to assume that if we don't need rodents dispatched, cats are useless.

My response is to laugh; rather sarcastically.

Yeah, right.

These folks get Dalmations because they need a dog to run alongside their horse-drawn coach all day. Or they get a Labrador to bring them ducks they have shot. Or they get a Mastiff to bring down anyone who gets across their moat.

Come on.

People get dogs as companions, without too much regard for how this breed originally fulfilled their expected duties. In fact, they get in trouble all the time because they get a dog without considering the dog's original purpose, or how they are going to manage those needs in a modern environment.

Cats make much more sense in their ability to transition to a modern environment. If we don't live on a farm with a grain silo, it's true: we don't need a cat as rodent control. But when it comes to being a companion, especially in a confined, urban, or otherwise constrained environment, cats truly shine.


For more, see my blog post, What Cats Are For.

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