What non-cat people don't know!

mrblanche · Mar 7, 2008

We have a friend who has never had a house cat, although she had barn cats growing up (near Paris, TX). She always wants to come in and cuddle with the cats after we've been out to dinner.

Her son, however, has never had a cat. He has no experience with cats. He's even afraid of cats.

And he had no clue when I referred to a cat's "sandpaper tongue."

What else don't these non-cat people know?

lillekat · Mar 7, 2008

Cats are good for your heart

They're proven - certainly in recent study - to be good for lowering your blood pressure.

*Take one, twice daily with water to wash the fur out of your mouth afterwards

tigerontheprowl · Mar 7, 2008

Originally Posted by mrblanche

Her son, however, has never had a cat. He has no experience with cats. He's even afraid of cats.

Well I'd say you should introduce him to cats. He has no idea what he's missing. How could anyone not like the sound of a cat purring?

Originally Posted by mrblanche

What else don't these non-cat people know?

You would be surprised what a lot of people don't know about cats. Whenever I talk to one of my friends about cats, it's almost like I'm speaking a different language. Some people just don't understand.

xlaydeextaniax · Mar 7, 2008

Originally Posted by LilleKat

Cats are good for your heart

They're proven - certainly in recent study - to be good for lowering your blood pressure.

*Take one, twice daily with water to wash the fur out of your mouth afterwards

aww! that's true, & cute!

missymotus · Mar 7, 2008

Originally Posted by TigerOnTheProwl

Well I'd say you should introduce him to cats. He has no idea what he's missing. How could anyone not like the sound of a cat purring?

I come from a very non cat family, however they are coming around to "the dark side"

Yesterday Farley was asleep on my sisters lap and she didn't even mind, she was just sitting there patting him. 2 months ago she would push them away.

babyharley · Mar 7, 2008

Originally Posted by missymotus

I come from a very non cat family, however they are coming around to "the dark side"

Yesterday Farley was asleep on my sisters lap and she didn't even mind, she was just sitting there patting him. 2 months ago she would push them away.

Non-cat people really are missing out!

I grew up with dogs, my whole life, because my grandparents/aunts are all allergic to cats.
So when I moved away from home, and we adopted Harley, they thought I was nuts

Now when my parents & brothers come to visit (they aren't allergic) they adore them both & love playing with them!

My Mom even refers to them both and her 'grandkitties'

strange_wings · Mar 7, 2008

Originally Posted by LilleKat

Cats are good for your heart

They're proven - certainly in recent study - to be good for lowering your blood pressure.

*Take one, twice daily with water to wash the fur out of your mouth afterwards

Actually the I'm hoping the stress of yelling "GET OUT OF THAT" at least once a day would bring mine up! If my cats lower mine anymore I'll really will fall over unconscious. Do note - I'm never that upset about Tomas getting into things and he knows it.

People need pets in their lives. It doesn't matter what type of pet it is, this helps teach empathy and responsibility... at least in most people. (Has anyone read Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? and noticed the significance of pets and displaying empathy in the book?)

tutti_bella · Mar 7, 2008

Originally Posted by TigerOnTheProwl

Well I'd say you should introduce him to cats. He has no idea what he's missing. How could anyone not like the sound of a cat purring?

My non cat person friend has no idea that cat purrs! Lucy Belle was purring madly on the couch where she was sitting. She looked at Lucy Belle and asked me if she is about to launch and attack. She associated Lucy Belle's purring with a lions roar or something. That was funny because the look on her face is priceless!

deedeemay · Mar 7, 2008

I've had cats my whole life, and I would never dream of living without one

I would miss the purring, the snuggles, the mewing (yes, the mewing!)

well..I would miss pretty much everything about cats. So, when I decided to get a place of my own, I shall be taking Arwen with me, and also consider getting her a playmate too

People who don't own cats sure are missing out..

auchick · Mar 8, 2008

Originally Posted by tutti_bella

My non cat person friend has no idea that cat purrs! Lucy Belle was purring madly on the couch where she was sitting. She looked at Lucy Belle and asked me if she is about to launch and attack. She associated Lucy Belle's purring with a lions roar or something. That was funny because the look on her face is priceless!

Haha once I was telling a story to a non-cat person that went along the lines of "my cat was against me last night purring so much" and she said "purring? what's that" and gave me the most blank stare ever!!! I was dumbfounded and I think even after I attempted to describe what it was, she still didn't understand.

butzie · Mar 8, 2008

I didn't really grow up with cats, but my relatives had them, especially my favorite aunt, Aunt Lotty. She must have had sucker written on her mailbox in the country because persons drove by and dropped off their kittens. So I really knew how to pet cats, etc. I never owned one until I was adopted by Brownie. Boy, you learn a lot more when they own you.

zane's pal · Mar 8, 2008

Originally Posted by mrblanche

Her son, however, has never had a cat. He has no experience with cats. He's even afraid of cats.

How old is the boy?

I don't understand being afraid of cats; not liking them, yes, but afraid? A cat is so much smaller than you are and is not poisonous--what is there to be afraid of? I can understand fear of dogs, especially large ones, but cats are harmless. Oh, they can bite and scratch, but they simply aren't big enough or strong enough to do serious injury to a human.

kittycorner · Mar 8, 2008

I never had pets growing up because of allergies in the family, so when I moved out on my own 6 yrs ago, the first thing I got was a kitty, then a bird, then another kitty, and now I own 9 kitties, 2 birds and 2 big fish tanks. My mom cannot even begin to understrand why I would own 1 kitty let alone 9 of them. She cannot understand how to deal with all the pet hair, the care that they require and why I would spend as much money on vet care, food and toys when I could be saving it for retirement. Who needs money when you have the love of a kitty or 9 in my case. My husband and I would never trade our kitties for anything and anyone who cannot understand that is crazy and we consider it their loss. It is wonderful to crawl into bed at night with my husband and figure out the most uncomfortable position we can ppossibly sleep in so as to not disrupt all 9 of the kitties sleeping on the bed purring away!

catfriend · Mar 8, 2008

When my cousin's older son was quite young (about 3 or 4 I think) I was visiting and their (outdoor) cat stood on her haunches to give him a head butt. He was a little frightened until I told him, "Thats just Kitty's way of saying 'I love you'." To my delight he crouched down to gently pet the kitty and said, "I love you too, Kitty"!

okiron · Mar 8, 2008

Originally Posted by Zane's Pal

How old is the boy?

I don't understand being afraid of cats; not liking them, yes, but afraid? A cat is so much smaller than you are and is not poisonous--what is there to be afraid of? I can understand fear of dogs, especially large ones, but cats are harmless. Oh, they can bite and scratch, but they simply aren't big enough or strong enough to do serious injury to a human.

My boyfriend's mother used to be deathly afraid of cats. She couldn't even look at pictures or she would start losing her mind. Now she could look at pictures but still afraid of them. No one knows where the fear came from, not even her.

persi & alley · Mar 8, 2008

Originally Posted by mrblanche

We have a friend who has never had a house cat, although she had barn cats growing up (near Paris, TX). She always wants to come in and cuddle with the cats after we've been out to dinner.

Her son, however, has never had a cat. He has no experience with cats. He's even afraid of cats.

And he had no clue when I referred to a cat's "sandpaper tongue."

What else don't these non-cat people know?

First and formost, they always want to compare dogs with cats. They think that a cat's tail should be wagging when happy, they think a cat should come running when called, etc. You just have to educate them. Some cats, in fact, act somewhat like people imagine dogs should act like, like my Persi. He will come and greet anybody that comes through the front door. Everybody comments on how "doglike" my cat is. I explain to them that he is not doglike at all, just a friendly outgoing cat, even though a Persian is supposed to be aloof. Just let them spend some time around a cat, they will see. BTW, my cat's tongue's feel like sandpaper.

kittymonsters · Mar 8, 2008

Originally Posted by Catfriend

When my cousin's older son was quite young (about 3 or 4 I think) I was visiting and their (outdoor) cat stood on her haunches to give him a head butt. He was a little frightened until I told him, "Thats just Kitty's way of saying 'I love you'." To my delight he crouched down to gently pet the kitty and said, "I love you too, Kitty"!

What a wonderful story! It made me misty eyed.

To me the kitty head butt is the BEST thing. I just love them. Nothing says I love you like a good head butt

callista · Mar 8, 2008

Originally Posted by Zane's Pal

How old is the boy?

I don't understand being afraid of cats; not liking them, yes, but afraid? A cat is so much smaller than you are and is not poisonous--what is there to be afraid of? I can understand fear of dogs, especially large ones, but cats are harmless. Oh, they can bite and scratch, but they simply aren't big enough or strong enough to do serious injury to a human.

It must be like being afraid of spiders--even small, non-poisonous ones that can't possibly hurt you. In our area there are only two types of poisonous spiders, and they are both quite distinctive-looking so when people scream and run at the sight of a small, obviously harmless spider (or even a non-spider thing like a daddy longlegs), it's quite confusing.

Anyway, phobias in general aren't all that reasonable, and childhood phobias are really common. As a kid I used to be quite scared of dead bodies, when obviously it's the living bodies that are more likely to hurt me.

A lot of phobias come from things that we're kind of "programmed" to stay away from--in my case, it's the "programming" against disease and the possibility that whatever killed the dead guy might kill me, too. With spiders, there are the poisonous ones that you should stay away from. And I guess with cats, they used to be wild creatures--the small wildcats--who really would hurt you if you tried to pick them up and pet them. Naturally we'd be hardwired to stay away from animals we couldn't eat, and that could hurt us. Instinct, gone slightly wrong...

saya · Mar 9, 2008

my nana was always afraid of cats.
se would get very nervous when my cats would try to jump on her lap and yell, "shoo! shoo!"

haha

I think she was attacked by one as a small girl though.
(as the story goes the cat was spooked by a dog and ran up her body. ouchie!)

onyxx · Mar 9, 2008

Non-cat people just dont know how funny cats are

dog-people in particular seem to think cats are rather boring with no personality. Mind you, cats like my two dont do much to burst that bubble, they're always rather reserved when we have friends round, its only when we're on our own that they do the jaw-dropping stuff that has us rolling round the floor in hysterics

What non-cat people don't know!

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