Cats and the stigma

Discussion in 'Member Casual Chat' started by Moi621, Dec 24, 2020.

  1. Moi621

    Moi621 Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Is there a stigma about being a cat person.
    How & why?

    There is the old cat lady.
    And something about being a single guy with a cat.
    The most socially awkward characters in Star Trek,
    Data & Barclay, are cat people.

    Ideas?


    Moi
    :oldman:
    Cat Whisperer
    and they whisper back




    canada-cat.jpg
    Beware The :flagcanada: Cat
     
  2. Sallyally

    Sallyally Well-Known Member Donor

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    Cats seem to elicit great attachment and affection from their owners.
    Dog people seem to be a bit less attached. I think it’s the power imbalance. It’s generally acknowledged that the cat is the boss in this relationship.
    C1B2B2F2-092F-4A4C-8F76-B543F279E405.jpeg
     
  3. Modus Ponens

    Modus Ponens Well-Known Member

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    Good observation. I would say that dog owners are just as attached, it's just a different kind of affection, which you sum up well here.
     
  4. Sallyally

    Sallyally Well-Known Member Donor

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    Thank you. Do you agree? It’s definitely a different relationship don’t you think?
     
  5. cristiansoldier

    cristiansoldier Well-Known Member

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    Mister Seven from the episode Assignment Earth was not awkward at all .
     
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  6. Modus Ponens

    Modus Ponens Well-Known Member

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    It is different. It's obvious why humans like dogs; humans are attracted to hierarchies, and dogs always defer to us. The appeal of cats is not so obvious. As companions, we seem like the supplicants, not them. That probably seems suspicious to our fellow hierarchy-loving primates. But I just think that a relatively aloof companion is better than an unabashedly servile one. The key I think is to not have too many cats... :)
     
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  7. Moi621

    Moi621 Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    That was not just a cat
    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
    Here name was Isis

    Seven also has a constant companion in Isis, who at first appears to be an ordinary cat, but is then shown to have intelligence and capability that far exceeds that of an Earthbound feline. Though she gives the appearance of being Seven's pet, Isis is more. She communicates with him through a rudimentary telepathy and understands his speech. She accompanies him wherever he goes and watches out for him, to the point of being able to find him easily when they are separated. In fact, Isis seems to have a classically magical power, in that she appears able to alter her shape into a different form, or at least create the illusion that she has done so. Lincoln discovers this ability during one of the last scenes in the episode, when Isis appears to her briefly as a human female, wearing a collar similar to the one worn while in cat form, and then reverts back into her original feline shape while Lincoln's back is turned.
     
    Last edited: Dec 24, 2020
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  8. Chrizton

    Chrizton Well-Known Member

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    Dogs will starve to death beside your dead body. Cats will eat your remains. Typically unless you leave them outside on a chain all the time, dogs require more attention from the owners. Cats, on the other hand, don't require much more effort than goldfish. Having had all three as pets, I find that dogs are more high maintenance and dog owners have to be more committed to their pets than cat people who only have to open a can of food every now and then.
     
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  9. Modus Ponens

    Modus Ponens Well-Known Member

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    I don't think it's true that dog owners are more committed to their pets than cat owners. Dogs involve more work, sure, but they also give lots of positive feedback to their owners. Cats give comparatively little in terms of that but cat owners are typically quite devoted.
     
  10. Aleksander Ulyanov

    Aleksander Ulyanov Well-Known Member

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    Both dogs and cats and even some humans will eat you if they are starving

    Dogs and cat both generally love their owners, unconditionally, which no human ever will.but they love you as the species they are, which isn't human

    Dogs are pack animals, they see their owners as the pack leader. This accounts for their loyalty and trainability

    Cats are solitary hunters but they are very maternal and the instinct is global affecting each sex about the same.

    A cat sees you as either its mother or its kitten usually both. They are also very territorial. In human terms, they become very proprietary about the house or area they live in and very interested in caring for their owners, though they show this in feline terms, not human.
     
  11. modernpaladin

    modernpaladin Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Cats are the only true 'pet.' If you release a ferret or a frog or a turtle or a goldfish or a hamster or a chinchilla into nature, it will not come back. A cat will (unless you're really mean to it or you have too many other cats).

    Dogs will as well, but they are more of a companion than a pet. They are emotionally dependent. And they must be 'broken' of their natural instincts to cohabitate with humans on a long term basis. Cats don't. You can't 'break' a cat. They either choose to be with you or they leave.

    Dogs are for 'alphas' (and people who think they're alphas, but they have very misbehaved dogs). 'Alphas' don't much like cats because cats are rarely 'betas'. Cats are 'omegas' and people who like cats tend to be 'betas' or 'omegas'. 'Alphas' like 'betas' but they don't like their cats, and 'alphas' don't much like 'omegas'.

    'Alphas' tend to guide society, so it makes sense that society denegrates cats and their owners.

    The cat doesn't have to be taught to **** in its box. It just does. Alphas don't like that. They would prefer to make it **** in its box.
     
    Last edited: Dec 24, 2020
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  12. James California

    James California Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    [​IMG] ~ I adopted many black cats that were abandoned near my home. I was told black cats bring good luck. My pal tells people "Jim has a lot of puss-*y at his house. " [​IMG] Makes me feel like the Hugh Hefner of cats !
     
    Last edited: Dec 24, 2020
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  13. Spooky

    Spooky Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    I think it's a number of things.

    Cat's act more intelligently, they are perfectly fine on their own most of the time while dogs need attention, cats are a natural predator which adds a feeling of security. I have my cat because I Have a fear of mice.

    I think those with cats are less outgoing and more reserved, probably higher educated overall...a bunch of stuff.

    Maybe someone has done a study on it.
     
  14. Gatewood

    Gatewood Well-Known Member

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    Dogs have masters. Cats have servants.
     
    Last edited: Dec 24, 2020
  15. cristiansoldier

    cristiansoldier Well-Known Member

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    Yes, a great classic episode. One of my favorite from TOS. It was intended to be a spin off series but never made it.
     
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  16. Moi621

    Moi621 Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    The Stigma Put On Cat People! The Presumptions.

    Data & Barkley - cat people.

    Can you imagine Kirk or Picard with a cat?

    Old, crazy, cat lady too. Simpsons


    Moi
    :oldman:






    Consider how cat lovers & no-love
    are cast! The stigma?​
     
  17. Grey Matter

    Grey Matter Well-Known Member Past Donor

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  18. James California

    James California Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    ~ This just about says it all ... [​IMG]
     
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  19. Sallyally

    Sallyally Well-Known Member Donor

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  20. Grey Matter

    Grey Matter Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    I have two cats and a dog. However, the dog is a Brussels Griffon, which kinda makes him seemingly maybe half a cat. I love all three, but the cats do not come even remotely close to returning the love like the dog does. Also, the cats do not come even remotely close to requiring the care that the dog does. I think @Sallyally has her assertion bass ackwards. Dogs are way more effort than cats, so it seems odd to me that anyone would assert that cat owners are more attached to their cats than dog owners are to their dogs.

    I once had a dog owner come at me when while jogging his dog ran out from his yard and was running up to bite me so I stopped and prepared to kick the dog. His maniac owner came across the street at me, not at his dog. I was then ready to throw down with both of them. Man, that was a surreal moment. Fortunately he caught himself and realized he was a bit over the limit after I asked him in a rather aggressive manner if I was supposed to just let his loose dog bite me. Jogging. I was jogging. There are probably no stories of cats and their owners ever having any issues with joggers or delivery folks.

    Regarding the stigma question, well, it is what it is: cats are for girls and dogs are for boys.
     
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  21. Seth Bullock

    Seth Bullock Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Cats are good people.
     
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  22. Grey Matter

    Grey Matter Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Don't lay it on me, this was the 60's, when sexuality was still legal....
     
  23. Moi621

    Moi621 Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Times have changed.

    Guys are the dominant cat owners
    and girls the dominant dog owners


    I do lots of stuff to keep my cats social.
    Like petting each one everyday.
    Each to their own preferred way.

    Work on calling them, talking to them.
    Some individuals are naturally more social than others.
    The big orange / white tuxedo cat is very social.
    Loves strangers.


    Cat people are plainly nicer people than dog people. :D

    We don't need all that reinforcement the doggie people need.
    So why are we stigmatized as . . .


    Moi :oldman:
     
  24. Aleksander Ulyanov

    Aleksander Ulyanov Well-Known Member

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    Dogs have Owners, Cats have Staff. A cat would make a good butler. A dog is a good guard. Both are great drinking buddies
     
  25. Aleksander Ulyanov

    Aleksander Ulyanov Well-Known Member

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    They probably had a much bigger part planned for her in the spinoff series this episode was a pilot for. Pity they didn't show more of her, with Terri Garr as co-star it probably would have succeeded
     
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