Cats are pretty much sloth and greed made physical, so I could see why some people would hate them.
Poll: Why all the hate on Cats?
- Thread starter Jewrean
- Start date
Actually, I was living there at the time my dad got remarried, so the cat was the new one. There was running and hiding from me though, yes. But she treats the person who feeds her and raised her from a kitten the same way she treats me now. That makes it hard to associate that behavior with wariness, which is the only explanation that I can see aside from general affection.Housebroken Lunatic said:Are you saying that the cat didn't run and hide the very first time you came around the house then?infinity_turtles said:
Im betting that it did.
It's just that you've come around several times since then, and thus the cat remains to be wary of you rather than trying to hide from you since you didn't try to catch and eat it the first time.
Yea, alright, fine. So you know where my neighbor's dogs all come to shit? That's right my fucking back yard. So don't give me that crap about cat owners being the only assholes out there that let their animals have their run of the neighborhood to shit wherever they want.Generic Gamer said:
Can't keep an eye on your dog when it comes into my yard and chases my cats, shits in my yard, digs huge holes in my yard, knocks over my garbage cans and spreads garbage all over the place, pisses on my tires and trees and kills my grass? Don't call the cops when someone kills your fucking dog because obviously dogs aren't a suitable pet for you and you should be relieved of the responsibility of ownership.Generic Gamer said:
Me: Wha... why did you just try to kill that cat?!Jewrean said:
Him: It's not the first one. ;D
Me: ...
Me: ... Stop the car.
Him: Why?
Me: STOP the *%$+ car!!
*Car stops*
Me: You disgust me. *Gets out* I want you out of my life.
Straight up, cats are not just wonderful, but a living creature. No one should ever derive that much pleasure from attempting to kill an animal.
Let's just say any dog that comes on my property better start running (away) before I get my gun. I don't care if that dog has a collar or not because the person that shot my cats didn't either. Another part of my hatred stems from the part I can't understand them, and they can't understand me when I say "get the fuck away". So how do you say that to a dog to get it to listen?
they made a film called good boy which is that but about dogs. its really bad.Terminate421 said:Heres one:
He's totally a good guy
oh and another reson i dont like dogs much i was scratched by a cat once in my life (considering i, my nan and my freinds have cats so i do see them a lot) and have been attacked/chased by dogs several times, in fact as i write this my dog has stolen my dads samvich for the 7th time in the last few months.
I like cats just fine. I think their negative reputation comes from the fact that they tend to be very self sufficient and self interested, cats generally do not try and defend their owners, and while cats HAVE rescued people it's pretty rare compared to dogs. Size is part of it as well (a housecat isn't going to be very effective against a thug, and it knows this).
That said however cats are the most important of the three "companion species". I can't remember which science fiction author first brought it up, but Cats, Dogs, and Horses are the three animals closest to humans, and responsible in ways we don't often think about for the success and domination of our species.
While many people will talk about Dogs and Horses helping people hunt, travel, and perform physical labour, never mind fighting (and both being edible in a pinch), Cats helped us in a much more subtle and important way:
Cats kill vermin, this is why people started domesticating them, and why people brought them all over the world on ships (to kill rats in the hold) and so on. Without cats, especially early on, we wouldn't have been able to reliably store food like grain, and a lot of the bigger cities and gatherings would have failed due to the attracted vermin. During "The Black Plague" people persecuted cats, thinking they were responsible, but it was the rats, and cats were ultimatly one of the big factors in helping to deal with that problem in the end once people knew what was going on.
It should also be noted that there are a LOT of cats, and they can be annoying when they are feral (make noises, get into garbage, etc..) which has caused a lot of people to see them as furry vermin themselves due to the annoyance factor. However it's also noteworthy that trash aside, cats are more hunters than scavengers, if you have a large number of feral cats in your area that probably means there is a lot of vermin around too. There have been incidents where communities have made efforts to get rid of a feral cat "problem" only to find that once animal services was done the area was rapidly overrun by mice that got into all the houses and started loweing property values and such.
According to some theories if humans were to head out into space, cats would be one of the things we'd want to bring along or adapt to deal with the new vermin. Their somewhat psychotic hunting instincts make them perfect for pro-actively eliminating such creatures filling similar "vermin type" roles in other planets and enviroments. Not to mention the fact that anytime we transport food and cargo rats WILL come along with it, so having a few cats around (just like boats) is a boon.
The point here is that you should be happy to have our furry little friends around. Even if you don't like them, or find them annoying at times, you should show some respect.
If someone swerves INTENTIONALLY to kill a cat in their neighborhood, I hope a bunch of rats it would have otherwise hunted take up nesting in their home, ruin the property values, and ultimatly spread all kinds of wonderful diseases to the cat-murderer.
-
Oh and for the record, while Dogs have been more respected internationally, it should be noted that cats have had their fans. Egypt saw them as sacred guardians, and even had a goddess dedicated to them.
While a lot of people have heard the stories about cats stealing breath, or working with witches and such, there are also those who saw them as protectors against spirits and such.
The "stealing the breath" thing probably coming from cats sitting on the chest of those who can't handle it while they were sleeping (young children, old folks) if you've had a cat and allow it in your bedroom you might have had the experience of crawling up on your chest and going to sleep... no big deal for a healthy adult (you might not even notice), but a young child or feeble old person can have a problem.
I suspect the guardian thing largely came from hunting vermin. People get sick from having rats and such around, and for those who didn't understand how diseases could spread this way they probably blamed evil spirits and such. When cats show up, kill the rats, and the sickness stops... well, to them the cats seemed to have gotten rid of the evil spirits/curses and are thus "obviously" sacred.
That said however cats are the most important of the three "companion species". I can't remember which science fiction author first brought it up, but Cats, Dogs, and Horses are the three animals closest to humans, and responsible in ways we don't often think about for the success and domination of our species.
While many people will talk about Dogs and Horses helping people hunt, travel, and perform physical labour, never mind fighting (and both being edible in a pinch), Cats helped us in a much more subtle and important way:
Cats kill vermin, this is why people started domesticating them, and why people brought them all over the world on ships (to kill rats in the hold) and so on. Without cats, especially early on, we wouldn't have been able to reliably store food like grain, and a lot of the bigger cities and gatherings would have failed due to the attracted vermin. During "The Black Plague" people persecuted cats, thinking they were responsible, but it was the rats, and cats were ultimatly one of the big factors in helping to deal with that problem in the end once people knew what was going on.
It should also be noted that there are a LOT of cats, and they can be annoying when they are feral (make noises, get into garbage, etc..) which has caused a lot of people to see them as furry vermin themselves due to the annoyance factor. However it's also noteworthy that trash aside, cats are more hunters than scavengers, if you have a large number of feral cats in your area that probably means there is a lot of vermin around too. There have been incidents where communities have made efforts to get rid of a feral cat "problem" only to find that once animal services was done the area was rapidly overrun by mice that got into all the houses and started loweing property values and such.
According to some theories if humans were to head out into space, cats would be one of the things we'd want to bring along or adapt to deal with the new vermin. Their somewhat psychotic hunting instincts make them perfect for pro-actively eliminating such creatures filling similar "vermin type" roles in other planets and enviroments. Not to mention the fact that anytime we transport food and cargo rats WILL come along with it, so having a few cats around (just like boats) is a boon.
The point here is that you should be happy to have our furry little friends around. Even if you don't like them, or find them annoying at times, you should show some respect.
If someone swerves INTENTIONALLY to kill a cat in their neighborhood, I hope a bunch of rats it would have otherwise hunted take up nesting in their home, ruin the property values, and ultimatly spread all kinds of wonderful diseases to the cat-murderer.
-
Oh and for the record, while Dogs have been more respected internationally, it should be noted that cats have had their fans. Egypt saw them as sacred guardians, and even had a goddess dedicated to them.
While a lot of people have heard the stories about cats stealing breath, or working with witches and such, there are also those who saw them as protectors against spirits and such.
The "stealing the breath" thing probably coming from cats sitting on the chest of those who can't handle it while they were sleeping (young children, old folks) if you've had a cat and allow it in your bedroom you might have had the experience of crawling up on your chest and going to sleep... no big deal for a healthy adult (you might not even notice), but a young child or feeble old person can have a problem.
I suspect the guardian thing largely came from hunting vermin. People get sick from having rats and such around, and for those who didn't understand how diseases could spread this way they probably blamed evil spirits and such. When cats show up, kill the rats, and the sickness stops... well, to them the cats seemed to have gotten rid of the evil spirits/curses and are thus "obviously" sacred.
If you look at three of the four picture's in your post, OP, you'll notice one common theme... the Protagonist is a Mouse.
Now while in real life they are often seen to as pests; Mice make ideal protagonist for films, mostly animated films, that deal with a struggle to survive. Their diminutive size and abundance of predators is ideal for showing off the idea that the challenges facing our heros are larger then life. This always leads to writers casting the mouse's natural enemy, the Cat, as the Antagonist.
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_FL9EaqicjX8/TF7tJllUnDI/AAAAAAAAAR8/_NsRgJHLmBA/0Ratigan.jpg
Almost always, Rats also make great Mice villains. (When they're not actually Cats in disguise.)
After decades of this natural rivalry, also given the fact that Cats were once worshiped in Ancient Egypt which most writers take as a key to give them a superiority complex, it's become common place to pit the Cat as a symbol for evil.
<spoiler=Especially for Evil Doctors>http://lh6.ggpht.com/_FL9EaqicjX8/TF719aYe_NI/AAAAAAAAASQ/8PYl98kV8wQ/1ErnstStavroBlofeld.jpghttp://lh5.ggpht.com/_FL9EaqicjX8/TF719JuSfJI/AAAAAAAAASU/nXWDneNr-cw/1DrEvil.jpghttp://lh6.ggpht.com/_FL9EaqicjX8/TF718wWwqlI/AAAAAAAAASE/7J5fef3Ap6g/1DrClaw.jpg
The Petting just makes it more evil.
That and when you compare the two, Dogs are really more energetic and show there love in a much more "in your face" way. Cats love too, but they show it differentially.
Then an untrained Cat scratches a sofa and the world chastises them. I like cats, they're not as high maintenance. A Dog will constantly bug you for everything. Play, Food, Potty, Just to Bug you... a Cat will only bug you to wake you up or eat, they're much easier to deal with if you work from home or play a lot of video games. (As an Artist I will tell you, I'd much rather prefer a Cat.)
EDIT:
Now while in real life they are often seen to as pests; Mice make ideal protagonist for films, mostly animated films, that deal with a struggle to survive. Their diminutive size and abundance of predators is ideal for showing off the idea that the challenges facing our heros are larger then life. This always leads to writers casting the mouse's natural enemy, the Cat, as the Antagonist.
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_FL9EaqicjX8/TF7tJllUnDI/AAAAAAAAAR8/_NsRgJHLmBA/0Ratigan.jpg
Almost always, Rats also make great Mice villains. (When they're not actually Cats in disguise.)
After decades of this natural rivalry, also given the fact that Cats were once worshiped in Ancient Egypt which most writers take as a key to give them a superiority complex, it's become common place to pit the Cat as a symbol for evil.
<spoiler=Especially for Evil Doctors>http://lh6.ggpht.com/_FL9EaqicjX8/TF719aYe_NI/AAAAAAAAASQ/8PYl98kV8wQ/1ErnstStavroBlofeld.jpghttp://lh5.ggpht.com/_FL9EaqicjX8/TF719JuSfJI/AAAAAAAAASU/nXWDneNr-cw/1DrEvil.jpghttp://lh6.ggpht.com/_FL9EaqicjX8/TF718wWwqlI/AAAAAAAAASE/7J5fef3Ap6g/1DrClaw.jpg
The Petting just makes it more evil.
That and when you compare the two, Dogs are really more energetic and show there love in a much more "in your face" way. Cats love too, but they show it differentially.
Then an untrained Cat scratches a sofa and the world chastises them. I like cats, they're not as high maintenance. A Dog will constantly bug you for everything. Play, Food, Potty, Just to Bug you... a Cat will only bug you to wake you up or eat, they're much easier to deal with if you work from home or play a lot of video games. (As an Artist I will tell you, I'd much rather prefer a Cat.)
EDIT:
Oh yeah, there's that too. Not to mention Black Cat crossing your path and the whole Halloween aspect. Stealing Breath is a new lore for me, but it makes a lot of sense.Therumancer said:
I love how some people say that cats are evil because they attack them and scratch them, avoid them, are indifferent to them or something similar.
Did it ever occur to them that cats just ... don't really like them personally and are not evil per se? I mean, I'm sure there are people that don't like them either because they don't share opinions or interests; do they call those people evil too? If a cat is indifferent to you or plainly ignores you, it is most likely that they don't share "interests" and "opinions" with you. So they will at least "use" you as someone who gives them food (because cats are opportunists; they take when food is given, not nitpicking about it (although, most cats will not approach any food given, unless they're starving)), but if you want to make a bond with a cat, you'll have to work your way in the cat's eyes. No cat will ever subdue to a human if it sees no real reason to do so; they will not let you train them if they don't like you, they will not let you pet them, carry them around, or even be in the same room with you. Face it; the cat finds you boring/uninteresting/not-compatible/unworthy. Sorry
My cat does not like strangers. They make him uncomfortable and they "pollute" his area. It takes him up to three days to get used to guests if somebody comes over for a visit; and he's very careful and is examining every person in detail. Then, he decides which people will he play with or interact with and which ones will he ignore. He usually ignores loud and careless people, people who act like he's a toy, people who think that he exists to serve, and usually, people who tend to have no respect for his privacy. He is very well trained (although we never trained him; he learned to obey the rules that we imposed and we learned to respect his "opinion") and knows which things he is allowed to do and which things are forbidden. When we eat, he sits on the chair (does not go on the table while we're eating) and waits patiently for a small "tribute"; when we give it to him, he takes it off the table with his paw and eats on the floor. He listens and comes when we want him to go somewhere with us (if I call him to come to my room, he obeys if he is interested in going to my room; he won't come if he wants to do something else, obviously, but won't go intentionally if I forbid him to do so). He follows us around and is generally curious and loves us (because he's used to us). He is very clean, never makes a mess in his litter box and covers his poop and piss. He learned to drink water from my glass of water that I keep near the bed; now I have two glasses there. One is mine, and the other one is his; he never drinks from my glass. When my mother wants him to get off the bed, he listens to her. When he's hungry, he comes to us and gently touches us with his paw and then "leads" us to where his food is kept. When he wants to play, he gets into his playing position and waits for us to see him. He almost never meows and usually meows when we "ask" him something; for example, if I should ask him to come to my room, he meows (telling me that he heard me) and then he runs towards me. I could go on and on about these little things and I know that other people who have cats and had enough time to bond with them will have similar stories. Cats are not slaves and will never learn things that do not serve them personally. It is only natural, isn't it? People don't learn useless skills either; say, if you never go skiing, why should you bother learning how to sky if you're never going to use that? Cats are like that; the sooner people realize that, sooner will they just turn to having dogs if they like servants. Cats are not just cute, fluffy, purring animals; they are temperamental, independent, and hard to keep. Sure, you can always take a cat and interact with it only via feeding and cleaning the litter box and never spend any time with it because you're busy; it can work, but don't claim cats are evil when they run away to seek out other, better, companions. They might be passive and indifferent, but they do love occasional time sharing and bonding. I made a bond with my cat when he was little; we played, slept together, I fed him, I cleaned him and gave him a lot of attention, allowed him things he liked, never punished him for anything; he replied by not forgetting me, by giving me respect and finding me worthy enough to expose his most vulnerable place (stomach) for me to pet. I live in a different town for most of the year because of college, but when I come back after not being home for three months, he runs towards me, jumps around from joy and immediately makes me play with him, sleeps in my bed and shows how much he's enjoying the fact that I came back after all.
A cat will not wave it's tail to strangers and will not lick your face the first time it sees you. You will have to actually do something in order for a cat to like you. That does not make cats evil; it makes them more humane. And I believe people are afraid of animals that are similar to, well, people. Superstition and hatred grows from it and after a while, people are taught that cats are evil, cunning, vile animals that interact with you only for food, don't give a shit about you and are generally unpleasant. Well, try getting a cat once and try keeping it from "cradle to grave" and then you'll see what cats really are.
Just to make it clear; I love all animals. I adore dogs, especially big ones like samoyeds, german shepherds and huskies. I owned several dogs during my lifetime and have friends who own them, so I interacted with dogs a lot. They are great pets, but I personally find cats to be much more pleasing for my needs in a furry companion (I assure you that this has no perverted undertone whatsoever ;_. I actually find a dogs life to be a sad one. I would not have the heart to train it harshly and make it do things I want and would end up having an unruly, disobeying dog which is the worst kind of a dog. With cats, we understand each other. A cat learns over the course of life and all I need to do is make a bond while the cat is little and then live if it for a first few years. Cats I had somehow learned on their own; I'm there with my cat, we do something and the next day, he knows. I think I'm a genuine cat-person; a type of a person who is too soft to train a dog, but is as independent as a cat so we understand each other (wow, this is turning into a half-assed, difficult to explain stuff).
What I am trying to say in this, oh so tl;dr, is that cats are "evil" only for people who actually probably never ever interacted with a cat on a daily basis over the course of a few years; and that is important with cats. You don't give them orders and they won't obey you after a few weeks of training; they will obey you only when they deem you worthy enough and when they start to respect you. If they seem "evil" towards you, it only means that you haven't earned their respect. For most people, that's hard to digest so they turn to hatred because, obviously, there's nothing ever wrong with a human and his/her approach; it is always the animal who is the guilty, evil one. So, there's the answer; anthropocentrism. People don't know how to treat cats -> cats respond badly or do not respond at all -> cats are evil.
P.S. I am sorry for this... novel that I wrote ;_; If anybody actually reads it, give a cookie to yourself (or to a nearest cat).
Did it ever occur to them that cats just ... don't really like them personally and are not evil per se? I mean, I'm sure there are people that don't like them either because they don't share opinions or interests; do they call those people evil too? If a cat is indifferent to you or plainly ignores you, it is most likely that they don't share "interests" and "opinions" with you. So they will at least "use" you as someone who gives them food (because cats are opportunists; they take when food is given, not nitpicking about it (although, most cats will not approach any food given, unless they're starving)), but if you want to make a bond with a cat, you'll have to work your way in the cat's eyes. No cat will ever subdue to a human if it sees no real reason to do so; they will not let you train them if they don't like you, they will not let you pet them, carry them around, or even be in the same room with you. Face it; the cat finds you boring/uninteresting/not-compatible/unworthy. Sorry
My cat does not like strangers. They make him uncomfortable and they "pollute" his area. It takes him up to three days to get used to guests if somebody comes over for a visit; and he's very careful and is examining every person in detail. Then, he decides which people will he play with or interact with and which ones will he ignore. He usually ignores loud and careless people, people who act like he's a toy, people who think that he exists to serve, and usually, people who tend to have no respect for his privacy. He is very well trained (although we never trained him; he learned to obey the rules that we imposed and we learned to respect his "opinion") and knows which things he is allowed to do and which things are forbidden. When we eat, he sits on the chair (does not go on the table while we're eating) and waits patiently for a small "tribute"; when we give it to him, he takes it off the table with his paw and eats on the floor. He listens and comes when we want him to go somewhere with us (if I call him to come to my room, he obeys if he is interested in going to my room; he won't come if he wants to do something else, obviously, but won't go intentionally if I forbid him to do so). He follows us around and is generally curious and loves us (because he's used to us). He is very clean, never makes a mess in his litter box and covers his poop and piss. He learned to drink water from my glass of water that I keep near the bed; now I have two glasses there. One is mine, and the other one is his; he never drinks from my glass. When my mother wants him to get off the bed, he listens to her. When he's hungry, he comes to us and gently touches us with his paw and then "leads" us to where his food is kept. When he wants to play, he gets into his playing position and waits for us to see him. He almost never meows and usually meows when we "ask" him something; for example, if I should ask him to come to my room, he meows (telling me that he heard me) and then he runs towards me. I could go on and on about these little things and I know that other people who have cats and had enough time to bond with them will have similar stories. Cats are not slaves and will never learn things that do not serve them personally. It is only natural, isn't it? People don't learn useless skills either; say, if you never go skiing, why should you bother learning how to sky if you're never going to use that? Cats are like that; the sooner people realize that, sooner will they just turn to having dogs if they like servants. Cats are not just cute, fluffy, purring animals; they are temperamental, independent, and hard to keep. Sure, you can always take a cat and interact with it only via feeding and cleaning the litter box and never spend any time with it because you're busy; it can work, but don't claim cats are evil when they run away to seek out other, better, companions. They might be passive and indifferent, but they do love occasional time sharing and bonding. I made a bond with my cat when he was little; we played, slept together, I fed him, I cleaned him and gave him a lot of attention, allowed him things he liked, never punished him for anything; he replied by not forgetting me, by giving me respect and finding me worthy enough to expose his most vulnerable place (stomach) for me to pet. I live in a different town for most of the year because of college, but when I come back after not being home for three months, he runs towards me, jumps around from joy and immediately makes me play with him, sleeps in my bed and shows how much he's enjoying the fact that I came back after all.
A cat will not wave it's tail to strangers and will not lick your face the first time it sees you. You will have to actually do something in order for a cat to like you. That does not make cats evil; it makes them more humane. And I believe people are afraid of animals that are similar to, well, people. Superstition and hatred grows from it and after a while, people are taught that cats are evil, cunning, vile animals that interact with you only for food, don't give a shit about you and are generally unpleasant. Well, try getting a cat once and try keeping it from "cradle to grave" and then you'll see what cats really are.
Just to make it clear; I love all animals. I adore dogs, especially big ones like samoyeds, german shepherds and huskies. I owned several dogs during my lifetime and have friends who own them, so I interacted with dogs a lot. They are great pets, but I personally find cats to be much more pleasing for my needs in a furry companion (I assure you that this has no perverted undertone whatsoever ;_
. I actually find a dogs life to be a sad one. I would not have the heart to train it harshly and make it do things I want and would end up having an unruly, disobeying dog which is the worst kind of a dog. With cats, we understand each other. A cat learns over the course of life and all I need to do is make a bond while the cat is little and then live if it for a first few years. Cats I had somehow learned on their own; I'm there with my cat, we do something and the next day, he knows. I think I'm a genuine cat-person; a type of a person who is too soft to train a dog, but is as independent as a cat so we understand each other (wow, this is turning into a half-assed, difficult to explain stuff). What I am trying to say in this, oh so tl;dr, is that cats are "evil" only for people who actually probably never ever interacted with a cat on a daily basis over the course of a few years; and that is important with cats. You don't give them orders and they won't obey you after a few weeks of training; they will obey you only when they deem you worthy enough and when they start to respect you. If they seem "evil" towards you, it only means that you haven't earned their respect. For most people, that's hard to digest so they turn to hatred because, obviously, there's nothing ever wrong with a human and his/her approach; it is always the animal who is the guilty, evil one. So, there's the answer; anthropocentrism. People don't know how to treat cats -> cats respond badly or do not respond at all -> cats are evil.
P.S. I am sorry for this... novel that I wrote ;_; If anybody actually reads it, give a cookie to yourself (or to a nearest cat
).
What? Your trying to say Dogs don't kill things? That is the dumbest thing I ever heard. Anyone who has ever owned a Dog knows that they can and will attack birds, bugs, rodents, bubbles... pretty much anything that looks like fun to chomp on.Chipperz said:
A Dog will never bite it owner too? Really? Never? Wow... better do some research fella.
Also I've owned quite a few cats in my life and they were all just as loving and loyal as the Dogs I owned. If you treat a Cat like a Dog then your doing it wrong.
OT: I find most Men dislike Cats because they are viewed as being a more Feminine pet. Stupid reason if you ask me.
Good point about the seeing-eye bit but I might have more to do with the fact that dogs are more easily trainable. Oddly enough I have a cat that actually comes when called and knows some basic commands like "down, stop, out, come here, etc."Exocet said:
One thing I don't like about dogs is that you don't just interact with them when YOU see fit...you can go outside and be jumped on by dogs that have just recently been running through a muddy yard and regardless of their discipline training they will jump on you anyways...always fun when you have to head out to school in the next 5 minutes.
Also, a good point about the livelieness, although when cats are awake they are very, very active.
Actually, I'd say cats are becoming more accepted. I mean, even 4chan likes cats. How many other things can you say that about?
Indeed it comes down to the dogs personality, but in any case, a dog requires more time then a cat. The reward are also higher, but I simply wouldn't risk getting a dog in case I were to neglect it and thus passively abuse it by not taking care of it enough.Housebroken Lunatic said:
In the future I might get a dog since I do like them very much, but I think you have to be much more prepared in order to get a dog rather then to get a cat.
So, I guess it goes houseplant, cat, dog, child.. In terms of preparedness I mean.
So, when you master the first one, you can move on to the next one ; )