Pets are great entertainment value, & if you spend some time with them, they'll return lots of affection & companionship. But if you don't have the time for them, they'll get used to that, & prefer to ignore you most of the time, do what they want, or turn a little bit to their wild side. Ones they are used to or want a lot of attention can get emotional problems if they don't get it.
After my dog that I had since 5 died, I was too busy with work & other things so thought I didn't have the time for another pet. Back then, I was too occupied with other stuff to even bother with TV anymore either. With so much wonderful music around at the time, why bother with TV anyway? It got to be that I donated my TV to the Mattachine Society's lounge room because I never used it anymore, & lived without any TV for a few years. It wasn't until front & rear projection TV became common, & VCRs came around that I noticed TV again... loved cool movies.
In my college years, & shortly after, I had roommates with cats. They were fun to watch, & would play a little, but weren't very affectionate. They preferred to be left alone most of the time.
Later in life I had a roommate move in with a cat. But he was never home. Odd, because he only worked 12-15 hours a week, but wouldn't spend much time at home with a pet he claimed he loved. When he was home he'd spend time with the cat, but he was never around. Kitty got lonely & instantly warmed up to me cuddling, purring, & rubbing against me. He was only there a month when he would sleep on me or my arm every night.
The cat eventually wouldn't go near my roommate anymore. He told me not to go near the cat anymore because the cat was ignoring him. That didn't work, because the cat would run to my side or my lap every chance he got, & he was never home.
When he moved out, I refused to let him take the cat because he never took care of it or spent any time with it. He was welcome to visit the cat anytime. A couple years later he calmed down some & stopped being a bum, so I let him take the cat.
I adopted a mean-ass old cat that nobody else wanted... the cat from hell. But after a year with me she was a cuddly sweetie pie too. I always had a knack for animals. Even the birds I had, loved to cuddle & play with me.
With cats the more you try to cuddle them, & get them to stay by you, the more they'll hate it & try to avoid it. The trick is lots of playtime with them & toys will develop a companionship. They want to hang with you when they think you're fun, & do things they like with them. Then they get attached & want to cuddle. Don't play rough though, otherwise they'll get used to rough play & rough affection. You'll be stuck with an animal that likes to bite & scratch a lot for fun, or be too wild. Once playtime gets a little rough. Just stop until the animal calms down a little. They'll figure it out & learn to play nice.
The previous cats I had didn't care what food was around unless it had meat in it. These current cats will eat anything. Past cats would eat some of their food in their bowl, them come back & nibble on some more through the day. These cats will eat everything in the bowl in a minute. I can't leave extra for when I'm not home because they'll try to eat it all at once, & get so bloated they'll throw it back up. At 6 weeks old, their second day in the house, they ate a half a loaf of homemade bread I had cooling on the counter.
I still make homemade bread, but as long as I let it cool somewhere in sight, they won't go near it. They won't go up on anything when I'm watching or nearby.
I have to put the toilet paper in a cabinet when I'm done with it or they'll tear an entire roll to shreds in a couple minutes, but I've grown used to that. They won't touch the paper towels in the kitchen anymore though.
I felt so cozy & comfy with 2 soft furry cats curled up against me sleeping last night. I've gotten so used to it, if I wake up & they're not there, I toss & turn & can't fall asleep right away. Besides, if they're not on the bed when I'm sleeping, there a good chance they're up to mischief. Sometimes they heard something outside & are sitting in a window, or fell asleep in the dirty laundry basket (yuck, then they smell like my old socks). but other times I discover my pens, brush, or the bath & dish towels on the floor. Of course if a bug or mouse got in the house, it will not survive long. Anywho, if they're not in the bed when I'm sleeping, there's usually something wrong, or they're doing something or in something they shouldn't be.
They're great alarm systems too, because they can hear & smell better than people. they can also see better in the dark. If they're acting unusual, or staring in a direction or pointing their ears somewhere where you don't hear or see anything, they're alerting you to something long before you notice it. They can even hear an ant walking inside the walls, or a mouse rummaging in the yard next door in the middle of the night. If a cat stares at a wall or ceiling but you don't see anything, there's a good chance they heard something inside it.
In the over 2 years these new cats been here they've killed 2 mice, helped me catch 2 others, killed countless flies, a few ants, a dozen spiders, a beetle, 2 wasps, & 3 centipedes. Almost every home has had mice come in & out & you never knew it. Most of the time they wander in, & if they don't find anything interesting, or they perceive a threat, they leave. They do not consider people a threat. You only notice them if they decide to move in, get into your food, or furniture, or they decide to make your house a regular stop. A cat or dog know when they get in or are around your house. They'll kill, or injure it, or scare the crap out of it chasing it so it will never want to come back.
That's how they became people's pets in the first place. They keep away a lot of vermin we don't like, & they can hear, see, & smell stuff or threats we can't. About once a week I read about another dog or cat that saved people from danger, a threat, or fire, or alerted them to a problem before it was too late.
Betty's Pub 20.1
Topic: It’s the Summer is here Flickr, or boy that was a short Spring. (Read 34936 times)
