Because cats are so much easier to live with. They take up far less time & energy & money. Cats are independent and anti-social, they are lovely creatures.

This is an answer to a similar question, I just copied it over.

Dog-lovers will always be dog-lovers and no amount of “ logic ” can change their mind. Cat-lovers will always be cat lovers and understand the logic of not wanting to own a dog.

Some people love both equally, which is best and each pet has his/her own redeeming qualities. However, every cat-lover on the planet knows that CATS are far superior to dogs in every way.

Dogs are loud, they bark at everything & anything that moves. They bark at cars that drive by on the street, they bark at other dogs, they bark at cats, they go crazy when the doorbell rings, they bark at people. Dogs are nothing but noise, noise, noise.

Cats are quiet, they purr and they meow. It is peaceful & quiet inside the house. I have never had to “shush” my cat.

Dogs are needy & demanding. They demand constant attention, they sit at your feet waiting for a kind word or pat on the head. They are restless and follow a person all over the house, waiting for attention, demanding it. Good luck, coming home from a 12hr shift and wanting to just relax for a bit. No, you have to take the dog to the park and play fetch 1200 times.

Cats are independent. They don’t need constant attention, they decide when they need a human touch. They sleep most of the time and won’t bother you after a long work day.

Dogs are invasive creatures. They jump up on your clean clothes, they sniff the crouch of someone unfamiliar, they push they way into your personal space. They jump up on the couch to be near their human owner. They are craving & needy, like a parasite.

Cats may or may not pay attention to their human owner's, mostly they say hello and then go away. Humans can then relax and not worry about an invasion cat, sniffing their crouch for no apparent reason.

The way dogs eat their food, is truly laughable. Dogs will wolf down their food like they haven’t eaten in a year. They splash the water bowl, all over the kitchen floor. Some dogs will eat their own food and then steal another dogs meal. They eat like they are starving animals.

Cats (mostly) graze during the day & night. You can fill the cat dish with food and they will only eat what they need until later. The water is never on the kitchen floor.

Dogs beg for food at the kitchen table. They sit and watch you like a hawk, waiting for a morsel of food to fall. Dogs at the table, are again invasive. Wanting a piece of food to show your affection & attention. Dogs literally make one feel guilty for eating a meal and not sharing.

Cats generally do not beg. Cats are fussy eaters and food snobs. My (2) cats won’t eat anything off the floor, it’s almost like they are too sophisticated to eat food off the floor. I have to pick it up. Cats don’t care of you are eating or not.

Dog-owners say that dogs are smarter than cats. How smart can dogs be when they eat poop? Dogs literally eat POOP . They eat garbage and rotten food they find in an alley. They will eat anything they find, if they think it’s food, even poop!

I have never in my life seen a cat eat poop. They are fussy eaters. Cats will eat mice & birds, but that is in their nature.

Dogs crap wherever they want. They poop on lawns, on sidewalks, in the park, on the driveway, in the alley, the world is a dog’s toilet. Human owners are required to pick up dog poop and there are many dog people who do not pick it up, so other people are forced to walk around dog crap or worse, step in it.

Cats poop in a litter-box, and cover up their poop & pee. The litter-box needs to be cleaned everyday, and it’s definitely easier than picking up warm, stinky dog-shit.

Dogs smell. I don’t care if you bath your dog every damn day, dogs smell. They have a naturally occurring dog-odor; like a musky, earthly, dog-dander, just rolled in the garbage, smell . Most dog people don’t realize that their house stinks like dog, because they are used to the smell.

Cats are self-cleaning. Cats do not smell bad. They clean themselves everyday and smell nice. I bath my cats every six months, just to keep them fresh, but they never small bad. Cats don’t generally roll around in garbage.

Dogs are vicious, hateful animals with the potential of harming or killing a human being. Go to Google and look up dog attacks . Dogs have been known to attack and maul, both children and adults and other pets. Dogs have been known to kill both children, adults and other dogs/cats.

I don’t know of a single news story where at cat mauled a full-grown adult to death. It simply wouldn’t happen. Can a cat scratch a child? Yes. Can a cat bite a child? Yes. But can a cat kill a child by mauling? No effing way?

SHALL I GO ON?

Why do more and more people nowadays like cats?

Cats are better than dogs, that’s why cats are becoming SO popular.

The debate between dog-owners and cat owners will NEVER dissipate. So why bother, each pet owner should love & appreciate their pets as family members.

On a personal note: I tend to get very irritated when “self-righteous” dog-owners try to insist that dogs are better than cats, jeesh people, logic says otherwise.

Unlike other animals, cats appear to treat me more like a peer. Cats are independent creatures who are there with us because they want to be. I find that striking and very interesting.

When I bond closely with a cat, I find it a very special experience because it's genuine. Cats don't really have to bond all that closely with us, and they pick who they choose to bond with too. I love it when that happens, because it's a lot like making a friend. Having this happen is simply not a given with a cat.

Cats present as little people to me. They lack spoken language, but they can be very complex creatures with more than casual thoughts about things and people and they regularly express this with robust body language and vocalizations.

And they are smart. As a species they are generally smart, but the smarter cats really are something!

Here's just a couple examples.

A cat we loved, but who is gone now, was walking across the floor in the basement of our old house. There was a piece of one of those bristle brushes that looks kind of rounded with all the bristles spread out. Somebody had stepped on it and the plastic was slowly flexing back to it's default shape...

The cat walked by, stopped and immediately took notice. She looked at me, back at that thing, curled her tail into that "what the fuck?" question shape and proceeded to examine this brush. It had hair, it was moving on it's own, and then it popped out!

She jumped back and proceeded to treat it like a living thing. Cautious, testing, using various body language and looking all around. Finally after looking around for a long time, and a head slightly cocked long, thoughtful pause, she again looked at me with a "meow" and I knew precisely what she was asking: "Where is the face?"

I walked over, crouched beside her, looked at her, then the object, then her again, to which she nudged me, extending a paw toward it. "You do it." This, just like a little kid, wanting to see the other side, but a little inhibited about just flipping it over. Tail swishing about, anxious.

So, I did, and she watched with great interest as I picked it up, smelled it, moved it in various ways, then placed it back on the ground. She looked at me, then the thing, then me, reading my "it's OK" expression, relaxed, rolling over as if to play. So, I brushed her with it, and she took it, carried it off to her napping place where it remained. Sometimes I would brush her with it to her great enjoyment. Somehow, through that experience, that became "hers."

My wife got seriously ill, requiring time in the hospital and recovery time at home. That same cat would attend her near constantly. She would be feeling bad, or experience some pain, and out would come the paw, gently brushing her face. My wife reported it was the soft touch of somebody who cares deeply. Not just a casual touch, but one with intent, "I'm here..." Not every cat has done that, but that one knew to touch just right, watching my wife to see her feel better, and when she did feel better, the cat would curl up close to her face and purr for hours.

The thing is, I've watched this when the cat didn't know it. Amazing. She would look, move her ears, sometimes nudge, and then pause, and then the cat touch, all the while her tail moving very slowly back and forth, back and forth, her eyes fixated on my wife, moving her paw gently. That cat knew exactly what it was doing, and it was the same darn thing I would do and for the same reasons too.

(We have another one who has already taken to giving my wife great comfort. Cats know, and so do dogs BTW. I will often see both of them making her feel better in that simple, pure way animals can do. My wife thought having a dog would be enough, but it wasn't. A cat has it's own special love to give.)

She loved us. Near the end, she got ill after being trapped in a trailer as somebody was off to vacation. Took her months to get home, but somehow she did. We were stunned, and of course all of us were extremely pleased, but she ended up with a disease that would take her from us just two short years later.

Near the end, she was struggling, and I went to make the bed. She did not want to be alone and followed, or attempted to, lacking energy to go the whole way. I stayed up all night, giving her gentle comfort, and she would spend long periods of time just looking into my eyes, happy. That morning she died, but as she did, she licked my wife over and over, until she expired. "Good bye, good bye, good bye, good bye..."

I must be honest here. That cat was a best in breed cat, special, but many cats are close to us on many levels. I love them immensely for their ability to present as little people to me, secure in who they are, willing to share time, because it's good for both of us. Some of them have souls that burn bright, others dim, all interesting and curious creatures. Great companions to those they want to be a companion to.

Still miss that one, but I've got two others well on their way to being those furry friends I know I won't be able to live easily without. Endings are painful, but man! The journey is so worth it.

We are also dog people, and the dogs bond emotionally with us very rapidly and they are best friends, but they don't have that complex nature cats do, and their love is basic and unconditional. With cats, I get the sense it IS conditional! When a cat really loves you, it's special, because it doesn't really have to, and it knows it, and it knows you know it. Dogs don't appear to have that same extra layer of complexity to how they interact with us, and that makes cats extremely interesting to me personally.

To the Dog out there, I love dogs. In fact, I love animals period. This was about why I like cats, and I thought it worth putting some of the subtle things about cats out there, not to take away from other kinds of furry friends we may all have.

cats are in my opinion the overall cutest pets out there. They have it all:

big pointy ears like kids in a big cute hat

big bright eyes that are never bulge, bloodshot, or beady-unlike dogs’ and rodents’ eyes.

Very round flattened face, which is unusual in the small animal kingdom, which makes them very human infant like.

whiskers on the sides of a flat button nose and tiny mouth when closed, sticking their little dainty tongue out occasionally.

Their body is extremely soft and plushy, like a fluffy pillow when they lay down. and when they walk on their stubby legs they literally stumble a bit (especially cats with short legs) just like a human baby, yet it doesn’t make any noise and still retain the grace.

Their cute little fluffy tail that has a personality of its own and almost always high up in the air.

Their cotton-ball paws!! How can anyone resist that!? And even when their claws are out, they look like sticks coming out of tiny separated cotton balls.

they use their front paws in many ways just like a small human child. Clumsy and many times breaking things, but always trying.

Curious and distracted all the time, which makes them super funny and silly.

They smell great! Especially if you frequently clean the linen they are on then their tummy smell like clean sheets all the time

and last but not least their voice, like a human infant trying to sing. And they purr like a message machine.

Basically, they are just too darn cute and too human like. I find cats to be the most human like pets out there. Many people choose dogs because dogs will always suck up to you doesn’t matter what, but that’s not human. Human beings are independent and can be assholes sometimes, even your own child. And that’s what cats are.

(My 17 years old baby “Mimi”)

Update : Mimi just passed away this new year on 01/03/2019, she was 17.5 years old. We are all very sad and we buried her in our little back yard. We feel so lucky having her for all these years, she has brought us so much joy it’s hard to let go. I grew up with her and she was truly family, it will be difficult not seeing her around anymore. For us she was our miracle cat, the cutest, most perfect kitty we’ve ever seen and probably ever will. It will be a long grieving period for us. RIP Mimi.

Update Update 5/4/19:

My parents just welcomed a new 9 weeks old kitten named Maomao, they love him and his personality! he seems a very good kitteh, I wanted to call him foxy because he’s got a blackish nose, big ears and big fox/wolf like paws, he looks like a fox mix or something lol very active and curious too! wishing him a long life.

Not all people like or love cats!

For some people they are annoying balls of pesky hair who crap all over their gardens and act like they own the neighbourhood. Animals who yowl in the night, leave dead mice and other small critters wherever they feel like and fight other cats noisily at night. My neighbour of over 20 years hates cats and when he thought nobody was watching he would turn the hose on them. Because they dug up his front garden for kicks; ruining his prized peonies, and used his back garden as a giant kitty litter box.

BUT let’s face it, cats are beautiful balls of soft fluffy fur who are loyal and sweet almost always. They are easy to care for, independent and loving. Whether you like them or not they will twirl around your pant legs, purring noisily, jump up on your lap for you to stroke that soft fuzzy body of theirs. They often don’t care if you like them or not; my friend used to come over often. She loathed cats mostly due to them shedding fur all over her clothing and irritating her nose and eyes. But Max and Tiger didn’t care. They would leap up onto her lap, purr very loudly and demand that she love them anyway. 9 times out of 10 times she would absentmindedly stroke them, without realizing she was doing it. I think Cats love a challenge.

I must admit I am really more of a German Shepard or Rottweiler person but I could not imagine my life without my little furry friends who comfort me when I’m down and love me unconditionally. They love me too, even though I refuse to let them go outside to play, I know they do and that is a wonderful feeling!

The appropriate lead-in question is “why have a pet?” For me, I’ve had a houseful of pets, and I’ve lived without any, and I prefer having furry hoodlums around. They amuse me and keep me conscious of how other species are different from us. They feel good when I stroke their fur. I get to dote on them. I get to worry about them. It’s paternalism transfer, but it feels right.

So why a cat? I love dogs and cats. I love a dog’s loyalty and territoriality, his fawning attentions and constantly offered friendship. But I also love a cat’s playfulness, unpredictability, and individuality. Cats act goofy much more often than dogs do. But dogs come when I call and are more easily trained to conform to my lifestyle.

Cats don’t require backyards in which to relieve themselves, as dogs usually do. We can go away for days and just close the cats into their own small space and they’re quite happy. They have a table to get off the floor, old cheap blankets to hide in, plentiful toys, a water fountain, lots of food, and each other. No further maintenance required. Cats amuse themselves; dogs often need you for that. Cats are naturally independent and won’t do things just to please me; I grudgingly admire that.

Cats bring a surprising warmth to a home. There’s something comforting in just watching them sleep near us in the evenings. It’s like a live Norman Rockwell painting. Knowing that my cats are snoozing so close to us, and without any tension in their bodies, tells me that we’ve reached an agreement with them and they’re feeling secure. Lacking children in the house now, we rely on our cats to give us that parental glow. Dogs can do the same thing, but it’s easier with a dog. With cats, you have to work at it, making its achievement somewhat more satisfying.

Good heavens, where are you from? Everyone doesn’t love cats. Many people are allergic to them. Many sick people enjoy running them over if they’re spotted on the street. Many family pets have been poisoned by neighbors who feel the cats are defecating in their garden. People refer to cats as arrogant, instead of obedient and loving like dogs. (Cat lovers contend that cats may be proud but they are also loving.)

Cats are only semi-domesticated, since about 5,000 years ago; dogs have been domesticated approximately 16,000 to 30,000 years. As a result, dogs are much more useful to human beings, bred to bond with us and seek our approval, while cats are more independent and difficult to train.

On the other hand, cats are sleek and attractive, and seeing their pride punctured makes us laugh. As a result, there are many hilarious videos online.

We don’t see wild dogs up close, but we see plenty of feral cats even in our cities, which fascinate us. There are videos online of cats standing up to much larger dogs, and even to at least two different bears, and most humans admire that courage.

As families increasingly involve either a single parent working full-time, or a married couple with both working full-time, dogs (and human children) are difficult to take care of, but cats can stay indoors with food, water, and kitty litter until we return home from work, making them an increasingly popular pet.

Everyone doesn’t love cats. But maybe we should.

I can only speak for myself. I am not a psychologist or a human medical professional to answer correctly what happens in the minds of people obsessed with cats. I am a veterinarian however.

I find cats aesthethically very beautiful. I like to paint and am attracted to beautiful things. Cats have different colors and most are symmetrical in the lines on both sides of the head, but some are not. Their eyes are very inviting and look like pencil drawn. Also, because they blink less frequently it seems as they were starring at you all the time.

Cats are soft, and purr. You can't get to them unless they let you. So you have to work for their trust. That makes them more desirable. Once you have them doesn't mean you have them forever. You have to keep them happy or else they they'll look for someone else. That's how they get you hooked to them. (Some say they're like girls and dogs are more like boys).

They look for warmth when they're cold, if they look for you, it's your chance to win their love, so you better not leave.

Cats are mysterious and silent and attractive, and soft and lovable and fierce and independent but needy at the same time. That's why the can be obsessive I guess.

I, at least, am completely in love and obsessed with my cats.

-They are less expensive:

Cats are small and they eat far less than dogs. A month of premium cat food is less expensive than a month of regular dog food. You also spend less on treats, since cats are so tiny.

-They are cute as hell:

Nothing is softer and shinier than a well fed cat. You just can't stop touching them. Their eyes are very expressive too and they make the weirdest and cutest faces ever.

-They are less demanding:

Cats are independent creatures. You do not need to walk them around. They don’t have unlimited energy and they can release it effectively at home and they pee in their sandbox. Also, unlike dogs, cats do not need varying smells to relax. In fact, they feel relaxed in familiar places. Also, feeding them is easier. Most dogs will eat up the whole food bowl at once even if they’re not hungry, so most people have to keep filling the food bowl in small amounts several times during the day. That is not an issue with cats, you can fill their bowl to the top at once, and they will eat it as they need.

-They can live in smaller spaces:

One reason why cats are so popular nowadays is the fact that they are good pets for people with smaller places and apartments. First of all, they are small, and secondly, unlike dogs, they can use the space fully, fitting everywhere and jumping around. Also, they enjoy familiar places and smells.

-They communicate effectively:

It is said that cats only meow to people and not to other cats or in the wilderness. That means, they have found a way to actually tell you stuff. I know my cat does. There’s a meow for “my food bowl” is empty, another one for “my water is gone” and you can really tell them apart. Then there’s a meow for “hi, I missed you”, a meow for “I did something that you’re not gonna like”, a meow for “There’s a moth in the ceiling and I need you to come and lift me up so I can get it”. My cat could be in a different room and most of the time, I would know what he wants! And of course, all those different kinds of supersonic ultra low meows they do to complain about something or get your attention, and they are cute as hell. And don’t get me started on purring, the universal sound of peace. : )

-They are extremely funny:

Cats are very light and a lot more flexible than dogs, and so have a wider array of positions and actions than dogs do. Because of this, they can fit and get almost anywhere, and do almost anything. This gets them in the funniest and most unexpected situations, like when you see them hiding inside your shoes, walking on top of the curtain reel, or you start hearing noises from inside a drawer J.

-They are very, very clean and a lot less destructive:

Cats are constantly and obsessively grooming themselves all the time, so their coats are always clean. They actually avoid messiness and anything sticky or dirty, so in the worst case scenario, the most they will ever smell like is like a dusty pillow, if your place has a lot of suspended dirt. Also, they poop by own choice in a sandbox, which is very easy to clean. My cat was left once a whole day without access to his sandbox, and guess what, of all the places he could have peed on, he chose the tub. The TUB. Directly in the hole.

-They are quiet:

Cats walk very silently around the house, and while some cats do like to talk about, most of them are very quiet. That is something a lot of people appreciate. They also sleep 14 to 18 hours a day, so that helps too.

Because they make me laugh. I have three cats and each of them has a totally different personality. They all get along great (and that helps) and they each have a different relationship with my boyfriend and me.

As I've said before, I grew up a dog guy. I had dogs inside all my life, while cats were strictly barn creatures. But, I've grown to love my kitties a great deal over the past five years.

Leela ("Leelee" or "Kitten") is my gregarious chatty-kathy. There is little that she does that isn't comical. She's still a kitten (maybe 8 months old) and is hyper as can be. I hope that she remains a spaz forever. She runs up and down the hall purring and meowing to herself. We have no idea what she's thinking.





Milo ("Mimi" or "Wirbler" or "Grumplestilskin") is my guy. He hates everybody but me. He's always grumpy--even with me--and is fairly demanding. I have come to the conclusion that I'm his mattress. I'm okay with that, because after a very close brush with death this past December, I realize how much I love him. He doesn't meow. He croaks (or, something. I haven't figured out what he does).





Oliver ("Olivee" or "Jabba the Cat" or "Hippopotocat") is a fat, lazy slob who is constantly meowing for something, even though it's rarely attention, or for food (he gets plenty). I think he likes to just sleep and occasionally exercise his vocal chords.

I like cats because they are super cute, warm, soft, cleaner and less stinky than dogs, do not have to go outside in the heat, cold, or rain to walk them, just have litter boxes and keep them cleaned out as needed. You can be at work for 12 hours and not have to stress about cats having to hold it or making a mess all over the floor for you to have to clean up as soon as you get home from work. Cats can be very affectionate if all of there other needs are met first. Food of course is survival so that is priority number one, then there are toys, scratching post, and compation kitty for play in your absence, unless you are retired and can be home with them a lot. Once you met their needs and gain there trust they are wonderful and loving companions that are fun and entertaining to be around. Also, they may scratch your furniture a little or knock something off your tables and counters but I have never had a cat to chew up any moulding or even chew through walls as I have seen dogs do, yikes!

Because they have hypnotized us cat lovers with their kitty slow blink technique. While under hypnosis, they meowed and said that we will serve them forever as their slaves. They will sing to us every morning the songs of their people at 4am while twirling on our bladders for their morning meals. In return for their kindness, they will make sure to hunt for us since we don't have knives (claws) or expensive fur coats like they do. They will humm (purr) and make dough while we doze off due to lack of sleep from their singing at 4 in the morning. No matter if their claws cause us to bleed to death.

Let me stop playing. I love cats because they are adorable fluff balls that don't need constant attention like dogs. When you pet them, they turn into purring machines. They don't need us, but they want to be with us. When cats are ready for attention they will find you. Sweetie’s time was me on my throne. I have no reasons why, but I had to get her grooming tools ready for her salon treatment. What should have been a nice 5 minute bathroom break always turned into 45 minutes and no blood in legs moment. When she was done with the pampering, Sweetie would throw her beautiful tail up, chirp a thank you and go to her royal chambers. My sofa. I was her humbled and adoring servant until the bitter end.

Cats are wonderful. I mean seriously, here is Pepper. She likes to hop into the refrigerator, mostly out of curiousity. She’s so inky black, her eyes just seem to float inside a dark outline of her shape. She likes to sit on a black laptop bag I have, and when she does, she’s virtually invisible.

She’ll follow my wife from room to room. Right now, she’s perched on a cat tree in our bedroom, sleeping while my wife takes a nap and I’m busy typing away. She mostly avoids sitting on my lap, but will occasionally jump up on my wife and “knead biscuits” on her. She won’t do that for me, but she does flop on her back at my feet when I get home, and encourages me to rub her tummy.

Her brother Bailey on the other hand loves me. The first day we had him home from the shelter, he came bounding across the room, sat on the keyboard of my laptop and then started headbutting me and biting/licking at my nose. And he still does it a couple of times a day almost a year later.

They are beautiful, wonderful animals that do a lot to reduce my stress. They are generally less needy than dogs, and spend a lot of their time sleeping, but a considerable amount of the time playing with me and generally being awesome little companions.

And god, they are just downright adorable.

I answered two very similar questions before which I think were Why do you like cats and Do you like cats? Why?

Thank you, Jonathan Polley, for your A2A.

I think this is why cats are liked so much. Mind you, not everyone does, but cats are less hated than they were about 50 years ago and they have now become the most popular pet in the world. NOTE: Parts of this answer have appeared in the other related posts I noted.

What I find is that cats are clean . They are always bathing and they are very good at the whole cleanliness routine. They take care of themselves. Cats learn very early how to bury their eliminations. As both predator and possible prey, cats have learned to disguise their presence so as to better ambush prey or avoid being detected by larger predators. Of course, sometimes they don’t cover, usually when marking territory.

My late Sasha is shown washing her face.

Cats are generally low maintenance. Not only do they keep themselves clean and use litter boxes but they eat prepared canned or boxed food that is pretty affordable, their toys are relatively inexpensive (think empty box or ping pong ball - you can keep a cat busy for hours with those), you can leave them at home with some food and water for the day while you go to work, and they sleep up to about 18 hours a day. They also easily adapt to apartment living.

Cats are loyal and loving . If you treat a cat well, it will repay you many times over. Cats appreciate it if you watch them, listen to them, and try to understand what their meows and body language are trying to tell you. Cats are basically happy to have food, water, a roof overhead, and a clean litter box. If you give them this, they will be very appreciative.

Here Velvet lies on Daddy’s knees. Velvet can happily spend up to three hours getting petted, tickled and combed when she is with Daddy. In the next picture Velvet and Sasha join Daddy in bed.

Cats have a long history with humans , although it is only in the last 200 years or so that humans decided to make them house pets. In ancient Egypt they kept the granaries free of rodents, were used to retrieve hunted game birds (as depicted in art) and were worshipped as gods - something we often say they have never forgotten! Now house pets, cats are entering a new phase and are adapting to it fairly well. If you like working with an animal opening new frontiers, then cats are the animal. Curiously, largely because of human lifestyle changes such as hours of work and apartment living, cats have become the most popular pet in the world, eclipsing dogs. They can be left at home all day and do not experience stress the way dogs do when people leave, and they are frequently accepted by landlords since they use litter boxes and don’t howl the way dogs do.

Cats are fun. When Barraclaugh was alive, I could shoot one of those giant 6 in. long by i in. wide elastic bands that the post office used to use around parcels. The elastic would go the length of the hall and Barry would chase it and retrieve, making for a second, third, fourth, etc. game of chase and retrieve. Velvet used to chase treats I’d throw and knock them out of the air and pounce on them as if she were a baseball outfielder corralling a loose ball. Velvet also has an interesting method of getting our attention with a backwards climb up the scratching post. Peach just loves to gallop through the house shooting a ping pong ball back and forth. Seeing any of these actions you can’t help but smile or laugh. Just never laugh at the cat, laugh with the cat.

Here Peach moves as a blur while he plays with a toy and in the next picture Velvet explores a tunnel..

Cats can be trained. It takes effort, but cats can learn - they just need to be taught in ways they can understand and respond to. John Bradshaw and Sarah Ellis discuss this in The Trainable Cat . Cats learn differently from dogs, but they do learn and can surprise many people by exhibiting skills that people never knew could be tapped.

In this picture, Sasha and Velvet show that they have been trained to walk in harnesses.

Cats are pretty bright. Heselton seemed to know how to do everything, and both Barraclaugh and Sasha demonstrated considerable intelligence. Once Sasha found a piece of foam rubber and put it in her bed to use as a pillow. Another time Sasha found where we’d stored her bed. When we came home we found she had dragged it out of the closet and over the floor to put it right beside a heating vent where she was then sleeping.

Cats are also the most empathetic of all pets. Barraclaugh, Sasha, Velvet, and Peach could read us like a book. Velvet knows when we have an injury or soreness. If I have an arthritic foot, Velvet seems to quickly detect it and lie on it, transferring her warmth to where it is needed most.

Lastly I’d add that cats are good friends. Velvet and Peach, our two current cats, like to hang out during the day, resting with me, following me, and meowing to me. They love to talk. Often I understand them. That produces a bond. Like I said, they are loyal and loving and they will reward your love many times over. Personally I feel it is an honour to have a friend, one who just happens to have cat fur.

In the pictures below Peach gets into Mommy’s suitcase to tell her that if she is going away, then he should be taken as well, and Velvet lies on boxes Daddy was taking to a convention, basically sending the message that Daddy should forget about travelling and just stay home.

If you have a cat, or if you get a cat, you will see just how true this is. It’s hard not to like a cat!

I write many articles about cats. Feel free to click on my profile to see them and hopefully read some. If there are any you like, please upvote them. Thank you for taking the time to read this.

I think it is our fascination with the wild animal in the cat. The cat is a beautiful animal with an independent nature, fluffy and soft, but with a spark of intense alertness in their eyes that draws us to their unique ability to go from pet to predator. They are keenly aware of everything around them, even while asleep, their ears are catching every sound around them. Like a miniature dish, the ears constantly twitch and scan their surroundings.

Running toward us, we witness the tiger, the lion and the jaguar all combined into one silent , miniature frame. The fur ripples with each step, the ears up, the tail high and the subtle bounce toward us ,reminds us , this animal was once wild. The hunter, he crouches, he springs, and in the blink of the eye, he holds his prey in razor sharp claws. Showing no mercy they tease and tear their prey to weariness and death. How cruel they become…..how unlike the purring feline we see stretched across the carpet, enticing us to rub the belly, scratch behind the ears.

They have the uncanny ability to rule the roost without asking first. They just set themselves up at the top of the hierarchy, we bend to their every whim. we cave in to the sweet purr that calms and relaxes us, then they hold us in the palm of their paw. They manipulate by rubbing up and around our legs, and we unconsciously reward them with a long, slow pat, maybe two or three. Looking up at us, it is like the smiling Cheshire cat thinking, “silly humans….I know you so well, so easy to have my way….I do love you, but only on my terms thankyou”.

They are a mystery. Little aliens with saucer eyes, pleading for food, attention and rest. What are they thinking?

Some days we are rewarded for our hospitality with a pudgy rodent, chewed in half, by our back door. Sometimes it is only a scatter of feathers, like someone could not take the temptation for long, or, until we arrived, to devour the catch. Either way they meant well.

The cat. A furry friend, a glimpse into the wild, a mystery, a reminder that we do not rule, an easer of tension, someone to talk to, an independent buddy. We do need to care for them well, because as fond as they seem of us, it takes only a minor infraction to their happiness that will send them searching for new food and accommodations. Cats are pets because they chose us, on their terms, not because we chose them.

Unlike dogs, they do not greet us after work with sloppy kisses and unconditional love. They feel us out first, can sense our moods, then act according to their mood. They do not beg for love, but provide it after much trust and respect has passed between us. We need to earn the love of a cat. They are great teachers of that.

So much more draws us to the cat, but to make life simpler and this narrative shorter, they are a source of enjoyment, comfort and curiosity. The cat is an enigma, the tame and the wild combined into a pet that fascinates.

I love my cat because she taught me what unconditional love is.

She was given away with 9 month. The family said: She had a strict upbringing - I had no idea what that meant. But when we came home I was shocked: For the first two or three weeks she was just kind of crawling on the floor! No jumps, not even onto a chair! I mean: I had a cat before - 17 years we lived together and Sissi was 9 month old! Even with 17 Minka jumped on everything.

First year: She was almost never to see - except when I fed her. Always hidden somewhere.

Second year: She looked where I was - and disappeared. Every attempt to touch her, just a finger tip - gone.

Third year: Every morning when I was writing my “gratitude letter” she came to me, staying with me while I was writing. And sometimes I was allowed to stroke her. Sometimes.

How many carpets did I first clean and later throw them away? One made of bamboo, two woolen white ones. A woolen yellow one. A few door mats, too.

And: I did everything without even f e e l upset or angry or anything.

Now - Year 5: Sissi is always in the same room with me, just watching. Or sleeping.

She is a very polite cat: Never complaining. Never begging. Never waking me up. Always in some distance.

This year I was in hospital for 10 days. When I came home often needed to lay on the bed (hip replacement surgery) and Sissi seemed “to protect” me, always next to me.

What she loves: Her “balcony” on the balcony - she spends hours there :), she loves tomatos and lettuce, peels of carots and cucumber - and I like the idea that she might love me as well :).