Cats vs Dogs, or Cardboard Approximations vs Real Creatures

Discussion in 'Biology & Genetics' started by superluminal, Aug 19, 2006.

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  1. S.A.M.

    S.A.M. uniquely dreadful Valued Senior Member

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    More assumptions? Tch Tch.
     
    S.A.M., Aug 20, 2006
    #41

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  3. superluminal

    superluminal I am MalcomR Valued Senior Member

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    I do not disagree with anything in this article:

    http://perfectpaws.com/help2.html

    I would say that cats can socialize but do not have a need for it.

    So the evidence, my charming and quite bedazzling sam, is that house cats are naturally solitary, but at times can form a kind of social group (colony) but are nothing like people or dogs in our fundamental need for the pack.
     
    superluminal, Aug 20, 2006
    #42

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  5. superluminal

    superluminal I am MalcomR Valued Senior Member

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    Nope. Observations. And anyway, my world is awash with assumptions. Otherwise how would I know to cross to the other side of the street when an "ethnic" person is coming toward me? Sheesh.
     
    superluminal, Aug 20, 2006
    #43

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  7. S.A.M.

    S.A.M. uniquely dreadful Valued Senior Member

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    Careful, the white stripe is showing.

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    S.A.M., Aug 20, 2006
    #44
  8. S.A.M.

    S.A.M. uniquely dreadful Valued Senior Member

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    Just shows cats are smart, while dogs are led by instincts.

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    S.A.M., Aug 20, 2006
    #45
  9. superluminal

    superluminal I am MalcomR Valued Senior Member

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    Oops. Better straighten up my "I'm a free-thinking, unbiased, caring, modern human being" costume!

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    superluminal, Aug 20, 2006
    #46
  10. superluminal

    superluminal I am MalcomR Valued Senior Member

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    OoooK. Super. I have a headache and must get some aspirin. I think it's all the cat hair floating around here...
     
    superluminal, Aug 20, 2006
    #47
  11. S.A.M.

    S.A.M. uniquely dreadful Valued Senior Member

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    You're a sweetheart.

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    S.A.M., Aug 20, 2006
    #48
  12. wsionynw

    wsionynw Master Queef Valued Senior Member

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    Why are Britons weird?
    There is eviodence that owning a cat can help reduce stress related illness.
     
    wsionynw, Aug 20, 2006
    #49
  13. superluminal

    superluminal I am MalcomR Valued Senior Member

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    Same for dogs.

    Read:

    Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/1965499.stm

    See? Britons are wierd. But then I'm wierd too. I love Britons actually. My ancestry is all Brit and Swede.
     
    superluminal, Aug 20, 2006
    #50
  14. S.A.M.

    S.A.M. uniquely dreadful Valued Senior Member

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    I think this says more about the state of relationships than about the cat owners.
     
    S.A.M., Aug 20, 2006
    #51
  15. superluminal

    superluminal I am MalcomR Valued Senior Member

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    Agreed. Probably a relic of the stuffy, upright, victorian british era.
     
    superluminal, Aug 20, 2006
    #52
  16. S.A.M.

    S.A.M. uniquely dreadful Valued Senior Member

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    I have news for you. It's happening on both sides of the Atlantic.

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/22/AR2006062201763.html

    Americans are far more socially isolated today than they were two decades ago, and a sharply growing number of people say they have no one in whom they can confide, according to a comprehensive new evaluation of the decline of social ties in the United States.

    A quarter of Americans say they have no one with whom they can discuss personal troubles, more than double the number who were similarly isolated in 1985. Overall, the number of people Americans have in their closest circle of confidants has dropped from around three to about two.
     
    S.A.M., Aug 20, 2006
    #53
  17. superluminal

    superluminal I am MalcomR Valued Senior Member

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    And this is obviously due to the rise of cat ownership. The cats will destroy us all I tell you! Sly, manipulative, devious furballs with access to transdimensional portals.
     
    superluminal, Aug 20, 2006
    #54
  18. superluminal

    superluminal I am MalcomR Valued Senior Member

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    I have a good cat/dog interaction story. Just happened last night. I'll type it soon.
     
    superluminal, Aug 20, 2006
    #55
  19. S.A.M.

    S.A.M. uniquely dreadful Valued Senior Member

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    Its more insidious than you know; and the reasons are deeper and have to do with cuteness and affection.

    http://webcenters.netscape.compuserve.com/homerealestate/feature.jsp?story=petsforwomenormen

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    Pretty widespread too:

    According to the latest statistics from the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association (APPMA), pet ownership is currently at its highest level. They estimate that 63 percent of all U.S. households own a pet which equates to more than 69 million households.

    According to the APPMA survey that tracks hundreds of pet ownership trends, Americans own approximately 73 million dogs, 90 million cats, 139 million freshwater fish, 9 million saltwater fish, 16 million birds, 18 million small animals and 11 million reptiles.
     
    S.A.M., Aug 20, 2006
    #56
  20. G. F. Schleebenhorst

    G. F. Schleebenhorst England != UK Registered Senior Member

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    Dogs are stupid. Dogs stink, and they eat their own shit.

    Cats are aloof and contemptful. It's as if they know something we don't. Cats are slinky and elegant whereas....dogs eat their own shit.

    The cat is the purest form of carnivore there is. Dogs....eat their own shit.

    So in summary, cats are ace, and dogs....eat their own shit.

    Case closed.
     
    G. F. Schleebenhorst, Aug 20, 2006
    #57
  21. Hapsburg

    Hapsburg Hellenistic polytheist Valued Senior Member

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    Cats are better IMO. They're stealthy, independent, complex, and intelligent creatures.

    Dogs are doting dopes fore the most part.
     
    Hapsburg, Aug 20, 2006
    #58
  22. Fraggle Rocker

    Fraggle Rocker Staff Member

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    By any measure we've devised, dogs and cats rank about even in intelligence. Dogs are better at learning the kinds of things that fit the life of a social animal and cats are better at the those that fit the life of a solitary animal. Individual dogs and cats differ more from one another in intelligence than the average dog differs from the average cat.
    They you're not keeping him clean. Cats clean themselves, which is something a lot of people appreciate about them. Dogs need to be bathed.
    Every mammal has to have a way to maintain the bacterial culture in its gut. With all Canis species, it's by eating all parts of their kill, including the intestines and their contents. They can't do that since we stopped them from hunting--or even from scavenging the leftovers from other predators' meals.

    All they can do is eat stool. Preferably that of other animals, but their own if they're forced to. They're recycling the bacteria that survive in the stool for a while.

    We exacerbate this by feeding them commercial food with preservatives that kill off the culture.

    A dog who eats his own stool is desperate and needs your help. First off, switch to a brand of food that doesn't have preservatives. Get him jump-started by giving him a spoonful of yogurt, more for a big dog. You may need to give him regular doses of yogurt, once a week or something like that, if you find him going back to his old habits.

    And remember that dogs are creatures of habit. If he's been doing this for a long time it won't be easy to stop. Keep the yard clean so there's nothing for him to find, and eventually he'll get out of the habit as long as he has no physiological need for it.
     
    Fraggle Rocker, Aug 20, 2006
    #59
  23. superluminal

    superluminal I am MalcomR Valued Senior Member

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    Sheep cats
    Herding cats
    Guard cats
    Cat pulling teams
    Search and rescue cats
    Sled cats
    Drug detecting cats
    Seeing eye cats
    Cats for the disabled
    Military service cats

    Need I go on re the uselessness of cats?
     
    superluminal, Aug 20, 2006
    #60
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