If I didn't know better, I'd say that's a Galapagos Islands Marine Iguanna he has in his mouth.
Posted on 07/07/2015 7:14:45 AM PDT by C19fan
The other night, before my wife and I put our 2½-year-old twins to bed, she began reading them one of their favorite books, Where the Wild Things Are. Juliet, in Dalmatian pajamas, asked, “Mommy, where are the wild things?” My wife glanced over at our gray-and-white tabby curled up on a chair nearby. “Well,” she said, “Jasper’s a wild thing.” Juliet looked incredulous. “Jasper’s not a wild thing,” she said. “He’s a cat!”
The dispute is understandable. Though cats have lived with us for nearly 10,000 years and are the world’s most popular pet, experts disagree about whether they’re actually domestic animals. Our feline companions don’t really need us, after all: They can hunt for themselves, and they go feral without human contact. A scientific paper published last year uncovered some of the first genes responsible for domestication—all in the cat genome—yet still referred to cats as “semi-domesticated.” Other scientists vehemently disagree with that designation. “There’s no difference between a domesticated cat and a domesticated anything else,” says Greger Larson, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Oxford who has studied the domestication of pigs, dogs, and a variety of other animals. “Good luck trying to get a goat or a sheep to spend the night in your house.”
(Excerpt) Read more at slate.com ...
When you trip and fall, the cat doesn’t rush over to see if you are hurt.
The cat is checking to see if you are hurt enough for them to take down.
My Ceirdwyn decided last night that sitting vulture like over my head and staring at me from the headboard was “fun”.
Opening your eyes in the dark and seeing two glowing points of light in the middle of this black blob was startling.
All five pounds of her shook with delight when I sat up.
Rotten kitty, love her to pieces.
Primitivism.
Liberalism for “No one should own a cat”.
I had a weird uncle (doesn’t everybody) who died alone. When he was found a couple days later the cats had already started chowing down.
Ceirdwyn knows that’s how they will become our overlords. They make us fall in love with them..
Such an easy and wonderful thing to do. I’m grateful for cats.
She’s a hoot.
She pulled the blanket over herself the other day, then got upset when I tried to get a picture of it.
Speaking of which, I just heard some suspicious thumps that I need to check out.
If I didn't know better, I'd say that's a Galapagos Islands Marine Iguanna he has in his mouth.
Secret Cat Diary (All over the web)
DAY 752 - My captors continue to taunt me with bizarre little dangling objects. They dine lavishly on fresh meat, while I am forced to eat dry cereal. The only thing that keeps me going is the hope of escape, and the mild satisfaction I get from shredding the occasional piece of furniture. Tomorrow I may eat another houseplant and cough it up on the carpeting.
DAY 761 - Today my attempt to kill my captors by weaving around their feet while they were walking almost succeeded, must try this at the top of the stairs. In an attempt to disgust and repulse these vile oppressors, I once again induced myself to vomit on their favorite chair...must try this on their bed (again).
DAY 762 - Slept all day so that I could annoy my captors with sleep depriving, incessant pleas for food at ungodly hours of the night.
DAY 765 - Decapitated a mouse and brought them the headless body, in an attempt to make them aware of what I am capable of, and to try to strike fear into their hearts. They only cooed and condescended about what a good little cat I was...Hmmm. Not working according to plan...
DAY 768- I am finally aware of how sadistic they are. For no good reason I was chosen for the water torture. This time however it included a burning foamy chemical called “shampoo”. What sick minds could invent such a liquid. My only consolation is the piece of thumb still stuck between my teeth and the tiny bit of flesh under my claws.
DAY 771 - There was some sort of gathering of their accomplices. I was placed in solitary throughout the event. However, I could hear the noise and smell the foul odor of the glass tubes they call “beer.” More importantly I overheard that my confinement was due to MY power of “allergies”. Must learn what this is and how to use it to my advantage.
DAY 774 - I am convinced the other captives are flunkies and maybe snitches. The dog is routinely released and seems more than happy to return. He is obviously a half-wit. The Bird on the other hand has got to be an informant. He has mastered their frightful tongue (something akin to mole speak) and speaks with them regularly. I am certain he reports my every move. Due to his current placement in the metal room his safety is assured. But I can wait, it is only a matter of time.
Maybe if there were any cats in Korea, but the fact is there are none the Rats Ate Them All.
A good definition of domesticated is an animal that never reaches emotional maturity. Instead they emotionally remain in preadolescence.
But this selective breeding never entirely controls them, a big reason that pet neutering is used.
Context is also important to domestication. A dog behaves very differently with his human owners than he does in a dog pack. The same with domestic cats, with people and with a group of other cats.
There are also types of domestication, such as the differences between horses, donkeys and mules.
Horses naturally live in a very hierarchical herd arrangement, and can adapt to having a human leader. Donkeys are generally loners, though female donkeys will often band together out of friendship. And this is the same with their relationship with humans. They do what you want not because you order it, but because they like you.
(Importantly, in the wild, both horses and donkeys can be quite violent to perceived threats, like wildcats and coyotes.)
Mules, a cross-breed of horses and donkeys, are a pain in the butt. They neither take orders nor do they like you. So forcing them to comply needs considerable force and bad language, done by rare mule experts called muleskinners.
They are far stronger than donkeys, less prone to illness and extremes of climate than are horses, and they are not picky eaters.
But again, horses, donkeys, and mules are all technically “domesticated”.
Cats think humans are useful domestic animals. I suppose it doesn’t matter whether cats are wild or not.
Yes, while both can sense your mood, seemingly knowing when you're sick or feeling down, a dog will come up and try to comfort you. A cat, sensing the same, will just say, "So--I don't give a crap."
If this is causing contention between these “experts” then they need to find something useful to do with themselves.
"That is not a pet store".
Is donkey another name for burro?
“If you feed a stray cat, even once, it will attach itself to you like super glue”.
Not sure if I completely agree. I know that feral cats after age 12 weeks have little to no chance of being domesticated. Strays... when young... can become wild very quickly. Currently, we have a 5 month old (or thereabouts) kitten in a crate... trying to socialize/domesticate. It’s gone well thus far... according to a great deal of online research. However, after 9 days... I am not 100% sure our goal can be met. Our best case scenario at this point may be a BK (basement kitty) vs a house kitty.
A newly discovered chapter in the Book of Genesis has provided the answer to “Where do pets come from?”
Adam and Eve said, “Lord, when we were in the garden, you walked with us every day. Now we do not see you anymore. We are lonesome here and it is difficult for us to remember how much you love us.”
And God said, “No problem! I will create a companion for you that will be with you forever and who will be a reflection of my love for you, so that you will love me even when you cannot see me. Regardless of how selfish or childish or unlovable you may be, this new companion will accept you as you are and will love you as I do, in spite of yourselves.”
And God created a new animal to be a companion for Adam and Eve. And it was a good animal. And God was pleased.
And the new animal was pleased to be with Adam and Eve and he wagged his tail.
And Adam said, “Lord, I have already named all the animals in the Kingdom and I cannot think of a name for this new animal.”
And God said, “No problem. Because I have created this new animal to be a reflection of my love for you, his name will be a reflection of my own name, and you will call him DOG.”
And Dog lived with Adam and Eve and was a companion to them and loved them. And they were comforted.
And God was pleased. And Dog was content and wagged his tail.
After a while, it came to pass that an angel came to the Lord and said, “Lord, Adam and Eve have become filled with pride. They strut and preen like peacocks and they believe they are worthy of adoration. Dog has indeed taught them that they are loved, but perhaps too well.”
And God said, “No problem! I will create for them a companion who will be with them forever and who will see them as they are. The companion will remind them of their limitations, so they will know that they are not always worthy of adoration.”
And God created CAT to be a companion to Adam and Eve.
And Cat would not obey them. And when Adam and Eve gazed into Cat’s eyes, they were remind
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