Conference quark::human_relations-v1

    Being an owner of two "cat-monsters" *I* am constantly aware of
    the number of friends of mine who are allergic to the sweet little
    creatures and for whom I have to shampoo the carpetting, vacuum
    everything in sight, and hide the kitties so that my poor friends
    can spend half an hour in my place (in the case of one old friend;
    any longer than that and he can't breathe anymore -- poor Eric!).
    
    I have cats because they are friendly, amusing, loving little creatures
    that are (usually) a joy to have around (unless you are allergic
    to them!).  Dogs are too, but they require a good deal more care.
     I can leave the cats alon in the house for a few days without worrying
    too much about them, so long as there is clean water in the water
    dispensers, food in the food dispenser, and so long as the door
    to the basement (where the cat box is) doesn't inadvertently get
    closed (happened once; cats were VERY panicky when I returned! 
    They had pulled the bathmat down from the top of the tub enclosure
    and used IT a few times, and were pretty desparate, and obviously
    afraid that they were in BIG TROUBLE.).
    
    If you want more replies to this than you can stand, post it in
    the FELINE notesfile!
    
    Happy New Year, Nigel!
    
    /Charlotte

    Nigel, I beg your pardon, but having a cat is not replacing a "missing
    human relationship" as you questioned.  I have had cats when I was
    married, when my child was growing up and now when I am alone. 
    They are great little critters, full of fun and mischief, curiosity,
    love and wisdom.  You sound like you don't relate to domestic pets
    no matter what their species.  If you liked 'em, you wouldn't have
    to ask.  
    
    Marilyn
    

|   You sound like you don't relate to domestic pets
|    no matter what their species.  

Marilyn, 
 I think you're right. I don't "relate" to domestic pets, and am curious as to
how other people do. Perhaps I'm asking "what's the attraction" in having a
pet....

		Nigel

    Cats are very nice and very soul satisfying to pet.
    I can sit for a long time with a purring cat on my lap,
    stroking the cat with one hand and holding a book to read
    in the other.

    Nigel, I believe relating to a pet is a physical/chemical/emotional
    phenomenon.  Speaking as a person who has never been allergic to
    animals, when I see a puppy, I go all soft inside, get down on my
    hands and knees and start babbling incoherently.  It is pure feeling,
    no intellectual quality is present.  When I see a cat, mine or someone
    else's, I have a compulsion to touch it, stroke it, and talk to
    it.  Call it weird, but there are millions like me.
    
    Marilyn
    

I agree with Nigel...

Except for 'hunting', or a few other 'practical' reasons, I'll bet that most
people have pets as a surrogate for people...

So, Nigel, you aren't missing anything by not having a cat, ... it's the
people who are missing something that have cats! :-)

Jim.

PS  If I were lying on some OS lap, and having various parts of my anatomy
manipulated, *I'd* give a darn good 'purr' too!! :-)

    Cats have a way of making you suspend your good judgement (at least
    for awhile)...and letting them get away with pretty weird behavior.
     This spoken by the former keeper of an 18+ lb black Persian/Burmese
    who had a skull the size of Darth Vadar, but we called him Tirebiter
    (yup - Firesign Theater...).  Altho by the time he moved on he had
    1)scratched all the softwood out of the side of my waterbed, 2)actually
    clawed into the watermattress...leak - leak, and even punched me
    one morning hard enough to give me a bloody nose (no claws, he was
    a boxer in a former life)...
    
    ...all told, I still miss the monster...but age and allergies sub
    for wisdom, and I will probably remain a FORMER cat owner...
    
    meow
    

    
    Re .7, Jim, I don't "manipulate" the parts of my cat's body that
    would probably make you purr.  
    
    Re .0, I have loved cats all my life.  Except for several exceptions
    including my daughter, my mother, and my best friends, I love cats
    more than I do the human race.  I can't agree with Will Rogers about
    people, but I have never met a cat I didn't like.  Cats are not
    substitutes for anything else for me, because cats *are* the ultimate
    creatures for me.  Regardless of how many lovers, friends, and children
    I might have in my life, I would still long for a cat if I didn't
    have one.  They are small, beautiful, soft, affectionate, and loving.
     I can lavish love and affection on them and they just love me back,
    without regard for what I look like, how much money I make, or what
    my IQ is.  I like the fact that cats can be affectionate at times,
    but at other times just go off and do their own thing instead of
    constantly demanding my attention the way dogs and human children
    tend to do (which drives me nuts after awhile).  Having cats around
    makes me happier than I would otherwise be.
    
    Lorna
    

Cats can be demanding too!  Spouses don't shed hair all over *everything*...
Most people are not alergic to spouses...  Spouses don't walk on tables/
counters/shelves and knock things around and break them (let's hope!)...
Spouses are usually housebroken... (on and on and on...)

Jim. 

RE: Lorna

If you scratched me behind my ears, or under my chin, of the top of my head,
*I'd* purr! :-)

Jim.

                           - A DOG'S EULOGY -
                    by Senator George Graham Vest 1907
         - taken from the back of an old frame at a yard sale -

Gentlemen of the Jury:
The best friend a man has in this world may turn against him and become his
enemy.  A  son  or  a daughter he has reared with loving care may prove un-
grateful.  Those who are nearest and dearest to us, those who we trust with 
our happiness and our good name, may become traitors.

The money that a man has he may lose.  It flies away from him, perhaps when 
he needs it most.  A man's reputation may be sacrificed in a moment of ill-
considered action.   The  people who are prone to fall on their knees to do
us honor when  success  is with us  may  be the first to throw the stone of 
malice when failure settles its cloud upon our heads. The one absolute, de-
voted friend that man can have in this selfish world, the one that will ne-
ver abandon him,  the one that will never prove ungrateful  or treacherous, 
is his dog.

Gentlemen of the Jury, a man's dog stands by him in prosperity and in pov-
erty, in health and in sickness.   He  will sleep on the cold ground where
the wintry winds blow and the the snow drives fiercely,  if only he can be
near his master's side.   He will kiss the hand that has no food to offer.
He  will lick the wounds and sores that  result  from  encounters with the 
roughness of the world.  He guards the sleep of his pauper master as if he
were a prince.

When all other friends desert, he remains. When riches take wing and repu-
tation falls to pieces,  he  is  as constant in his love as the sun in its
journey through the heavens. If fortune drives the master forth an outcast
in the world,  friendless and homeless,  the  faithful  dog asks no higher
privilege than that of accompanying him to guard against danger,  to fight 
against his enemies. And when the last scene of all comes, and death takes
the master in its embrace and his body is laid away in the cold ground, no 
matter  if all other friends pursue their way, there by his graveside will 
the noble dog be found,  his head between his paws,  his eyes sad but open 
in alert watchfulness, faithful and true even to death.

               ...from a dog lover who's allergic to cats

                                                    -jim-

    .12> If you scratched me behind my ears, or under my chin, of the top
    .12> of my head, *I'd* purr! :-) 
         
    Are we to assume from this that Jim is being catty?

    As put forth in .13 be it a dog or cat (I have one of each)
    you will find no other living creature (especially people)
    that will reward you with the love and loyalty of either animal.
    
    Only a dog or cat 100% accepts you for who and what you are,
    and does not try to change you. They care less if you come home
    happy, sad, grumpy, drunk, sober, ect whatever, they are always
    happy to see you and that you are home. In many ways I prefer
    their company to many of the people Ive known over the last few
    years. They both have become a very integral part of my life
    in that though Ive had relations come and go, Iam never alone,
    since there is another living entity in my home that cares about
    me. That form of loyalty and companionship is inreplaceable.
    
    If and when I can find a woman that has that degree of loyalty
    and caring Ide marry her in a heartbeat, until then Iam still
    looking  :-)
  
                              Bob B
    
    

    

    
    	I'm surprised that no one has mentioned how *perceptive* these
    animals can be. If I come home feeling blue, introspective or near
    tears, my cat knows right away and he comes well within my "personal
    space", to let me know that "*I'm* still here for you". 
    
    	I really have to laugh, and I've mentioned this before, over
    a statement made my the president of some company that makes the
    toys with computer chips within. He said that "someday, these
    electronic pets will "replace" the real ones". Ha! I wonder what
    kind of sensors the little mechanistic creatures would be equipped
    with to pull off what I've described above...
    
    	Joe Jas
    

    
    I'd like to mention 2 points that I don't think people have addressed
    but which certainly apply to my 2 beautiful cats and the 2 we had
    when I was growing up:
    
    1) I don't consider my relationship with my husband the only human
    relationship I need in my life - there are also children, friends,
    etc. There can also be pets - why not? They are not a surrogate
    for anything, just as my relationship with my friends was not (when
    I was single) a surrogate for a relationship with a romantic partner.
    All these relationships are great and can coexist - I can love all
    of these people/pets in different ways. Which brings me to 2)
    
    
    2) Everyone has mentioned how much cats give to us - they are
    undemanding, accepting, etc.  But they also give  us the opportunity
    to give - to be kind, patient, etc. (which is one reason I would
    want my kids to have pets).  It makes me happy to make them happy,
    especially to make them purr.  I feel good knowing that my 2 are
    getting good care and are not out fending for themselves or worse
    - being treated badly by some other owner.  For this reason I like
    to have pets that come from an animal shelter or a friend's litter,
    rather than purebred animals.
    
    
    So, pets can add a lot to our lives without being substitutes for
    anything!!

    Living in an apartment (and having a landlord that won't allow dogs...)
    we have usually had at least two cats in the family.  Some have
    been not-so-behaved, others have been indifferent ... but every
    once in a while, a special one comes along.
    
    "Patches" was an Easter present for my five-month-old daughter.
    This calico cat was unusually attuned to our moods; when I'd be
    down in the dumps, she'd come by, sit down, offer her back for a
    scratching - and respond with the loudest purr I'd ever heard. 
    Patches and Jennifer grew up together; they were inseparable.  It
    broke our hearts when, three years ago, Patches developed a runaway
    cancer and had to be put to sleep.  Even when she was her sickest,
    that calico always had a purr for us ....
    
    She was very much a member of the family.
    
    --Eric--  whose-current-cats-are:
    
    "Muffin" an old white angora who collects dirt like "Pigpen" in
    the "Peanuts" strip (AKA "Bum" and "Old Fart")
    
    "Dixie" a black-and-white shorthair - with a short temper to match!
     (AKA "Terror" and "Stubby" - lost her tail in a car accident!)
    
    "Shadow" an ALL-black shorthair; our best cat since Patches. 
     (AKA "Handsome" - and he KNOWS it!!!!)