Dudes Owning Cats

I have always considered myself a dog guy. To the point of making fun of anyone who liked cats. I had a dog I loved and couldn't see myself ever going without one but then he got old and had to get put down when his hips gave out. I didn't get another one right away and then my lifestyle changed to where I'm now traveling a lot more for work and could really responsibly own a dog. Being a single guy who lives alone I'd been missing that furry friendship and in talking with my brother one day I just decided I would give a couple of cats a try. I got two (siblings) because of the travel I do and I was wrong all the years that I mocked cat owners. They've been awesome since the second week I had them and they learned how to get into their litter box. I still love dogs but I've done a complete 180 on cats.

 

I have two cats and they're awesome; girlfriend also has a tortoise who, while slow, does have some personality and can be super entertaining when she's not mistaking your fingers for carrots. That hurts like hell.

I'll be straight up, I do not have time to properly care for a dog. Cats are way easier.

 

My idiot is a cat guy. It suits him. Cats are assholes. You don't own a cat, it owns you. They do what they want, when they want. Here, let me rip your Christmas tree down four times. Allow me to pounce on you from on top of the fridge. Oh, are you sleeping, excuse me while I sink my claws in your feet. Oh, were you calling me? Excuse me while I hide under the bed and glare at you. Oh, were you working on that paperwork, guess what I shredded it. Ooooh, coffee, yes, I will stick my paw in it!
He has two. A calico female named "The duchess". Yes, he does refer to her as "The duchess. " She is a snobby bitch, and tolerates him. She fucking hates the rest of the world. He just rescued an abandoned Siamese from a parking lot. Of course, he named him "Duke. " I get sent pictures of him feeding the Siamese peanut butter, and the Siamese sinking his teeth into his hands. Duke wears a collar complete with a bell. My idiot also owns dogs, but he adores his asshole cats. I compare him to them. I don't know whether he finds it as a compliment or an insult.

 

#NotAllCats

My cats tend to be pretty docile. Worst thing my older, fatter one does is steal my weed and hide it in my girlfriend's pajamas. Worst thing the younger one does is occasionally jump the older one and sometimes gets shit stuck to his tail.


Downside of tortoise with cats - you best get a screen for your enclosure as cats will view substrate as litter.

 

I'd be careful that the older one isn't eating that weed, maybe thats why she's so docile.

 

Cats do have the advantage of being lower maintenance. I feel like with a dog, max you want to leave them alone is six hours a day and I'd feel bad about that.

Dogs are amazing creatures, but they aren't hamsters and do require commitment and time

 

I would love a cat, but I am highly allergic, they are evil and I don't want to deal with the looks I get as a sober, single man working in tech that explains my cat's personality.

In Boston, I got a bunny. Finn. Which soon became Finn the Fucker.

The idea was I like pets, but I can't have one running around the house and it's unfair to have one in a small space in Boston. So, I got Finn and he would chill in his cage and dispose of all spare vegetables. I would take him out of the cage and he fucking hated it. I would put him on a leash and take him outside and he fucking hated it. He despised all interaction, and would claw and bite you.

I moved to South Carolina, and my mom was sick. She has a Yorkie. Finn was 2-3 lbs heavier and during the day, mom was in her chair and Finn would chill on the couch. On the day we made my mom eat a pot brownie, her dog and Finn were on the couch together. We heard the dog growl, yelp and then whimper. The bunny had cornered the dog, pounced on it, pinned it down and was furiously fucking the hell out of it's face.

Hands down the funniest thing I had ever seen.

Now, the Yorkie is gone and Finn the Fucker lives on a farm and hangs out with swans.

 

I have two cats and a dog. The best thing about the cats is that when I go out of town it takes me 5 minutes to deal with them. I put out extra food and water, and scoop the litter box.

However with the dog I have to pay someone $30 a day to take care of it.

The other cool thing about cats is that I don't have to spend half an hour outside when it's raining or -20 for it to get exercise and poop.

Cats have their downsides also. They can be affectionate. But they can also ignore you for days on end. Sometimes you want to be ignored. Sometimes you don't.

 

I grew up with cats rather than dogs, because my Dad loved cats and my step-mom was allergic to dogs. It seems to me that the cats people like the most would be considered dog-like in their attitudes. People like a cat that is playful, friendly, doesn't randomly attack you... etc. And of the 13 cats that I've been at least part owner of since I was a kid, there have been maybe two that didn't fit that description. People who hate cats think of them as antisocial assholes. That's because they don't know you yet, and you're probably treating them like a dog. Dogs are big slobbery idiots who love everything, unless it happens to knock on their door. Cats, you have to earn that affection, but once you do it's great. Pete Holmes had a bit along the lines of, "Cats, you gotta earn that love. When you first meet a cat it's like, 'fuck you, I'm a cat'. But then over time you build up to that purr, and that purr means something."

We currently have two cats and a dog. Asia Mae (she came with that name) is a half Shar-Pei, half black lab; she's the sweetest, most gently, cuddly dog with kids, cats, people (she can't stand puppies though, they get right in her face wanting to play). Wreck-it Ralph is a brown tabby we got from the shelter as a kitten. He's polydactyl, seven fingers on each of his front paws. Huge hands, hence the moniker. He seems to think of my as his MMA trainer, and my kid as his sparring partner. He will literally stalk my kid back and forth across the living room. It's hilarious. And then afterward, he cuddles up in a ball next to the legs of whomever has the softest blanket, before sleeping in the kids bed at night. Groot recently adopted us. We were trying to let Ralph outside more often, so we put food and water out on the patio. Soon this stray cat started showing up. Then he started coming inside. Then he started sleeping in our bed. Now we have him collared, fixed, chipped and shotted. Super friendly, super cuddly, plays a lot.

 

I love how many cats just decide that they live with you. I've heard a million versions of this story. I just like imagining them looking up at their new person the first time they snuggle on the couch and thinking "bitch did you think you had a choice?"

I have to say, I think cats are an excellent judge of character. They can sense out the people that they should be shitty to and proceed to be shitty to them. So whenever I hear someone say they don't like cats because they're never nice to them, I always think of that. It's like when a girl talks about how she doesn't have any female friends and uses it as an example of why women are the worst. Maybe the problem isn't all other women. Maybe the problem is you.

And if A DOG doesn't like you, well, I am leaving your general vicinity immediately and never returning again.

I don't think there's anyone in my life who "just isn't really an animal person."

 

We have four dogs (rat terrier, some kind of mix breed, and two toy chihuahuas which I don't claim). About 10-15 fish depending on how many decide to get eaten by the others in a given week, 8 ducks (one male and 7 females), used to have a cat but it died fairly recently so I'm going to the shelter soon as I get over the flu to get two more replacement cats.

The ducks are livestock. We got them for pest control and their eggs, and that they're tasty is a secondary benefit. I could have spent time bonding with at an early age so they imprinted on me, but I didn't want that. They're ducks. Know your place. I setup an automatic waterer like we have for the horses in the barn, and they come and get me when they need more food. Beyond that, they're fucking hilarious entertainment. Sometimes I'll just sit outside and watch them chase each other, or watch my dogs try to play with them and the ducks start chasing the dogs around the yard instead. It's great. We'll let them breed and separate some of the ducks for eating then feed them some super high protein stuff. If anyone is thinking about getting a duck, just do it. You won't regret it. Except for when you have to clean all the shit off your porch. That sucks. But they're awesome otherwise.

My wife is basically afraid of nature, but if it were up to me alone I'd have a pet snake, a few turtles, tarantula, iguana. We're already thinking about getting some mini goats for the yard too. Benefits of living in the country I guess.

Cats are cool but they aren't for everyone. For us, cats are the working pets. They're out all day killing snakes and shit and come home to eat and sleep. And our dogs get spoiled rotten.

 

Well thats his own fault, calicos and Siamese are both notorious shitty tempered breeds of cat.

 

A lot of things are his own fault. His snobby cats are just the beginning. He is notorious for making bad decisions.

 

I grew up on a farm, had skipped school one day and found these kittens that were hiding in the back of a shed. Dad was currently trapping all the feral cats and getting rid of them and had caught their mother. I got to keep the two males and they were awesome. One hunted around the house while the other went on ten day hunting trips, randomly showing up on my doorstep with full grown ducks, hares and rabbits. They were the best little personal space invaders ever, especially during winter when they'd sleep under the blankets on my legs or back.

I've yet to meet a cat that has hated me.