Why do we have dogs or cats,,,

[Patrick Hand]

I had two cats..... Meouser... and Cyber kitty.... cyber kitty kinda cat like dissapeared..... hope he is doing well.. just don't know..............

The question..... why do we bother with them....... we don't get that much in return.... (OK with a big dog.. maybe defence....) and with kittys.. some purring...... but why do we feed them... take them to the vets (well I don't.. I figure that nature takes it's course...)

I got Cyber kitty to play with Mouser....... Mouser could care less..... dang amthropolymorphisim..... and other than running around a bit... they did not get along......

When I go out to have my smoke, and coffee.. Mouser lives up to his name.... But too loud... sometimes pissses me off.... but can't kick him.... that would be wrong...... Kinda see my point.... why do we do it.................

I like having the kity around...... but sometimes ..... awh.. heck... I don't............."that Darn cat"

[William Brand]

Because.

Cats are Karma batteries.

[Patrick Hand]

I tried to wire Cyber Kitty inter a battery... ( figured I'd gets lots of Kitty energy offa him...) rats... didn't work that way......................

[Mad Matt]

Better 'n' dryin' him out in a microwave....

[blackjohn]

I have the dog to bark at strangers. I have the cat to kill cave crickets.

[Caraccioli]

We have cats so we can toughen ourselves up and experience the joys of servitude, indifference and rejection. Also to reduce the number of mice, squirrels, rabbits and, apparently, cave crickets wandering about the land and increase the number of them lying dead on our porch steps as offerings to the gods of cat food. (Cave crickets - you mean those ghostly, spindly white things with no eyes? I always thought they were kind of cool.)

I'm told that people get dogs in preparation for having children. (I'm not sure about this one... Is it the copies quanties of slobber?) Dave Barry has them so he can write really funny columns.

[Barbados Sam]

Patrick, in your case, you probably shouldn't have cats. Either you love 'em or you don't. But indifference isn't fair to the pets. I had a Labrador Retriever I named Bob Barker. He was my buddy for a little over 10 years. He had an amazing personality and was just good company. Always there to cheer me up when I needed it. I never had cats until I met my wife 15 years ago. Now we have three cats, and I love every one of them. Granted, cats aren't quite as rewarding as dogs because they are much more independent and free spirited, but there is nothing like having a cat laying on your lap, doing the deep throaty purrs while you rub their tummy or scratch behind their ears. It really soothes and relaxes me. Sure, they piss me off when they scratch the furniture or piss where they're not supposed to, but overall I can't imagine not having pets in my life. We never had any children, so maybe this is our version of a family. Surrogate children? God, I hope that isn't the reason. I don't tend to overanalyze it...all I know is that you are either a pet person or you're not. There isn't any middle ground.

[Cap'n Pete Straw]

I have cats. And life would be miserable without them.

Cats are like women... great to cuddle up with -- but they have a mind of their own. They can be fickle, and refuse to give up their independence. They act like they can do without you, but shower you with great affection when you can get their undivided attention.

[NicoleDeLaMer]

I enjoy dogs and can name a dogs breed faster than most but many of the dogs I enjoy are always described as "cat like". I like my cat even though she would gladly kill me in my sleep if I were a lot smaller or if she were bigger. I have always enjoyed an animal's company. I like cats because they like to live with you but don't require you to faun on them. They live side by side with you just as another person would. They don't expect anything of you except those things they can't do themselves. (open the food bag)

So although I accept that she is not human, the cat is someone to hang out with and I am someone she can hang out with.

[William Brand]

My cat brings offerings in the form of dismembered crickets.

Sacrifices to the redheaded God who provides sustanence.

[Captain Jim]

I have a labrador. Kate is 14 now and still retrieving. She is my hunting companion and household guard dog. She is known to have driven one burglar out of a house we lived in in Ocala, as evidenced by the blood stains left by the intruder. She is a great dog in a world where the average dog is nicer than your average person (Andy Rooney).

She is at the end of her life now (14 is way old for a Lab) and will leave behind a hole in our lives much larger than dog-sized. And when that time comes I will cry, but that is alright, for as long as grown men cry over dogs there is still hope left in this world.

Then I will get a Labrador puppy, because there is no greater healer of a broken heart than having a puppy lick you face.

[Dorian Lasseter]

The world according to dogs;

Wow! This being takes care of me, feeds me, gives me shelter, makes sure I'm clean and healthy....

They must be a God!

The world according to cats;

Wow! This being takes care of me, feeds me, gives me shelter, makes sure I'm clean and healthy....

I must be a God!

I love my cats, even the one who doesn't want a thing to do with me... alright, maybe I don't love him as much...

[William Brand]

My cat comes running when I call.

[Rumba Rue]

I love my cats. First I can leave them at least one night or two and I don't have to worry about where they are going to poop/pee, they know where the two litter boxes are. And I can leave dry food out and know they aren't going to gobble it all down in one night. Course they are spoiled cuz I give them moist food in the evenings.

I like dogs, I've had many in my years, but I wouldn't trade my cats for one.

I have 5 cats. My oldest, Shadow, in her kitten years was a running gymnast who made her own race track through wherever we were living. She's calmed down now at age of 15, but still healty and still does her horrible meowing that sounds like a strangled cat. She still does her howling in the middle of the night and brings us her cat toys she likes and makes a nice path from the bedroom to the livingroom every night.

But she's my Shadow since she followed me everywhere when I got her, hence her name, and she's all black. When it's cold at night, she'll want to climb under the covers with me on my left side and loves to knead and smell my hair.

My next cat is Smoke who is now 14, he's big, he's fat, he's all grey except for a diamon of white on his stomach. This is a cat you can do anything to. He loves the attention. I like to say he's 'grey and underway' if he's kind of chasing the other cats. He's also a cat that likes sleeping on the bed, unfortunately, he's a big lump you can't move. And if you do manage to get him off the bed, he comes right back like a boomerang.

Next is Magick who is now 6, who is the most beautiful cat I've ever seen. He's half Siamese, with the coloring of light orange on his ears, face and tail while the rest is cream colored and he has beautiful blue eyes (better known in the Siamese world as a Flame Point). He was born in my apartment after having found his pregnant Siamese mother here at the complex and taking her in until her kittens were born. Magick was the most whitest cat I have ever seen as a kitten, very unusual. Being born on the 21st of July, he certianly has the traits of a Leo and the crabbiness of Cancer.

He is the only kitten I kept after turning over his mother and other kittens to the Humane Society.

Next are my two cats, Kiki and Jasper, brother and sister who are now 3. Both were feral kittens born here at the complex, that I knew were different from other feral cats I've seen around. There was something special about them, so I set about catching them and succeeded.

Kiki has long black hair and trots around here like a Queen with her tail up and bouncing, while Jasper is short-haired black, that has become my 'bed buddy' as I call him.

Being a person who can't sleep alot of times at night, I will get up for awhile, then when I go back to bed, he's there and wants to be petted, now (even if it's 3 or 4 in the morning) and if I ignore him he'll paw at me till I do.

It's taken a very long time for both of them to not run away scared and they like to play with all the toys I provide for my kitties, and be petted.

All my cats are de-clawed. I know there's a lot of people who don't like that, but hey, I at least I can play with them and know I'm not going to get ripped to shreds.

They can't rip up the furniture or other things---my parrot takes care of that position now .

Also, with two litter boxes, which are cleaned daily, you won't find any stinky smell in my home!

[Christine]

I enjoy having pets. No matter what, they'll always love you, unlike some people. They pass no judgement on you, it's an unconditional love. I have 2 cats, I can't imagine not having them in my life.

[Captain Jim-sib]

I've had pets since I was a youngter. Been petless for about 4 years now...kinda like the freedom of not wondering how they'd be doing while we away...yet I miss the purrs & wanging tails...and my frisbee dog...the love, calmness, and even the frustration(skunk? where's the skunk?) that they bring.

Best regards.

[BLACK JACK SHALAQ]

We gots 20-30 cats out in da milk barn...ain't a RAT in sight! Of course the chickens ain't skeered of em'. They try ta peck thar eye's out...It's kinda humorous actually....Now our german shep "Hell Boy", Is the yard boss...He does the thinkin' in this barn yard!

[Bonnie Red Weasel]

I am a dog person who married a cat person. So, naturally, I got, first, a bird. He was a budgie (Australian parakeet), and I adopted him both because of the therapeutic effects of birdsong, and because I thought, as a pirate, that I ought to have a parrot (the term "parrot" is actually descriptive of a whole range of hookbill birds). Lo (my budgie) was a wonderful companion for me, but although I hand-tamed him, he preferred me (they often prefer just one person), and allowed my young daughters only very limited contact with him (although he did love to go on bike rides with my oldest daughter, sitting either on her shoulder, or on the bar between the handlebars). So, they continued to very much want a more hands-on pet. A "pettable," "cuddlable" pet. I figured if I brought a dog home, my husband would make me take it back anyhow, so instead, I started scouting out cats at the local shelter. And one day, when my then newly four year old daughter visited the shelter with me, a little cat decided that he had to come home with us. Seriously. When it was time to put him back in his cage, he clung onto Gillian's shirt with all his strength. I literally couldn't pull him out of her arms, and had to enlist the help of a shelter employee. The pathetic crying from the little kitten as he was returned to the cage, and pawed at the door and watched us as we left the room was more than I could take. I really believe that God, is His infinite wisdom, had some hand in all that, because the very next week, we lost my beloved Lo (the budgie) due to a week-long power outage caused by a horrible ice storm. The cat (Khan) was a great comfort to me.

Anyhow, I really got Khan as a pet for the girls, but I've come to enjoy sharing a home with him more than I ever thought I could. He seems to sense when I'm very upset, and pesters me until I stop everything, and gather him in my arms and pet him. Of course, the peace and quiet and the gentle affection in these moments is good for me. He's probably a little more like a dog than like a cat, perhaps because I'm a "dog person." He comes when I call him, he plays fetch, he greets me at the door when I've been out, and he licks my feet mercilessly in the mornings. I think all this stuff is good for the soul.

[William Brand]

Anubis, jackal god of the house, sniffs the newborn.

[Red Bess]

I grew up on a farm with all kinds of critters, so it's hard to imagine life without pets. I prefer to own cats primarily because they so self-reliant.

The best thing about animals is you can talk to them about anything, say anything you want, speak gibberish to them, insult them, tell them secrets -- and they never give you any grief. They mostly just love to hear the sound of your voice.

The same cannot always be said for your spouse or children.

I have a 4 year old orange tabby named Gus. He's my buddy. :)

[Jonathan Hawks]

Cause they taste good....

Just kiddin..

Why do we have insects, er mice, snakes etc.

Now, fer me I like and have raised dogs (Terriers). Now I know I be hearing from all the cat lovers out thar, but cats I consider pests.

[BLACK JACK SHALAQ]

Anubis, jackal god of the house, sniffs the newborn.

.....That is a cute pic William

[The Doctor]

Nice pic, William! Is Anubis a Nebelung?

[William Brand]

He's a mutt from a farm.

But we love him.

[The Doctor]

Aye. He looks like my Caleb. A very sweet, but opinionated kitty. Then again, so are Selena and Jack, Jr. We raise 'em mouthy around here.

I firmly believe that the reason cats interfere with our attempts to read is that they wish to keep their servants uneducated, and therefore more compliant to their whims. After all, 2000 years ago, they were worshiped as gods. They have not forgotten this simple fact. :)