Cats don't deserve to be second class citizens.

I hear you, and please vent away! I had a rude awakening when I started my Auntie Em business and went to my first show. I do 90% cat things and 10% dog things. The advice that I get consistently is that I should devote my time to dog things because that is what people are willing to spend their money on. People beg me to make clothing for their dogs and I'll have no part of it. In fact I've stopped making dog things just on principle.

People don't balk at spending $10 for a dog bone that will be gone in a day, and won't spend the extra money to buy a good brand of litter for their cats, then complain when their cats pee around the house.

I'm with you on this one. The rate of euthanasia between cats and dogs in shelters always alarms me. It's up to people like us to set the example to those that are not as open minded.

Ignore the idiot on your other forum. If that's the type of people it attracts, don't waste your time there.

We've all heard or seen this. I don't see why one should treat and "love" one type of animal over another. If it's in your care, it's your responsibility to give it the best possible care you can. That means problem solving instead of giving up, too.

There's been numerous times I've heard the "it's just a cat"... What do you say to these people, though? If they can't accept responsibility how can you make them learn how to do so? Heck, look at all the children in foster care because their parents weren't responsible and mature in some way or another.


Personally, I'd consider doing some custom stuff for dog owners (who request it) and charge more - just so you could use that to offset prices on cat items. But I understand your free time is limited.
A bit more O/T just how would one get into and sell dog clothes? I've always liked making little things like that and dog lovers seem to be a bit more likely to spend a lot on items than cat people do. (cat people seem to like to get things their cats actually enjoy instead)

It drives me nuts too. "Cat doesn't get along with new dog, so we're getting rid of the cat" ads just kill me.

"It's just a cat."

"They can take care of themselves."

"It's not like it's a dog."

"Cats have no personality. They don't do anything."

"I'm allergic." (Sure, you are...)

Yada, yada, yada....we've heard them all before.

I have always been a dog person. Quite honestly, when I first got a cat, that decision was made based on the fact that I didn't have enough time for a dog, so thought a cat would be a good intermediary step until a dog was more possible. It's not that I didn't like cats, I just didn't know them much.

Well, of course, everything changed once I got Zoey...and now Belle and Delilah. I'd now consider myself a cat person who likes dogs too!

That said, and don't quote me on this, I don't think I'd ever get a dog of my own...and least not until long into the future. If I was going to get another pet, I would give a cat that desperately needs a home a place, rather than paying hundreds of dollars for a puppy (I know I could rescue a dog too, but around here, there are far fewer of them). Since I know there are so many "dog people" out there, I'd rather do my part for cats. If I want my dog fix, I'll go to my parents' house and borrow theirs!

Belle thinks she's a dog anyway!

I have never been a dog person, cats rule and dogs drool. I would never mistreat or neglect a dog, just don't desire to share my life with one. Cats are still the number one pet I do believe, they out number dogs. I believe most people feel that cats can take better care of themselves than dogs. Dogs are more dependent on us for their care, cats being less dependent. This may be the reason why you see more cats abandoned than dogs. Doesn't make it right, but I think it may be just a general misunderstanding with some people. Now when I do hear people say "it's just a cat", they get an earful from me. I can't stand when I hear that. I would never say, "it's just a dog" if I saw one being abused, abandoned, neglected etc. The people who say those things are just ignorant.

Dogs are higher maintenance. I like them but not in my house.

My sister had 2 dogs when she was 23. We don't remember her being a great owner to them. Today she's about 45 and I bet if we asked her what happened to Pandy and (??) (forgot the other ones name) I bet her memory wouldn't even have enough info to provide an answer. Her life was a huge mess back then

I feel bad for any animal with a crappy owner

I was always a cat person, I love dogs and I want to add one to my household (my parents are dog people) but the more I meet cats, the more I like them more than dogs.

I love how you can take a dog for a walk or to the park. Cats kind of can't be doing that. But I love how I can have a cat, go to work for the day, and know the cat is going to be fine. He will have food, water, litter, and toys. A window sill, and he will be fine to come see me later on that evening or in the morning before work.

Dogs can't be left home during work hours. On a cold rainy day, you still have to take the dog outside. Dogs are not usually litter trained unless you get a small one, and I find cats a lot cleaner.

I understand there are always exceptions to the rule, but I find a cat would better suit a lot of households of today. For the most part, there isn't a household who always has someone home. Our society is lazy and doesn't want to go for a walk for two hours a day. We'd rather sit around, and a cat better suits this. A cat is just as content playing by itself with a toy mouse or ball and usually just likes to cuddle. I don't understand why people get animals that do not fit their lifestyle. If you love your garden and enjoy silence, don't get a terrier, ya know? Same as, if you can't be bother to put food, water, clean the litter, and cuddle and play a little every day, don't get a cat.
My big peeve was always when people got ferrets thinking they were hamsters and would enjoy eating seeds and sitting in a small cage... but that's a different lecture. lol

I'm allergic to cats, and I have three of my own!

A woman in the cat coalition also rescues dogs, I could easily have well over 100 kittens and mommas with all the calls I've gotten since kitten season started... (It breaks my heart to tell them I have no room-- maybe part of why I'm pro spay/abortions.) And she'd have maybe 12 dogs since January... Insanity.

Oh, me too. Sounds horrible, but I agree with you on spay/abortions. It is so much better than having them suffer.

But I am also not a huge fan of 'no-kill' shelters right now. All animals deserve a chance, but if all shelters were no-kill, we would run out of room REALLY fast and what would we do then? Sometimes, it's better to put them to sleep then let them live a lonely, caged, life. One day we will be able to have no-kill shelters, but not yet.

I am sure some of the little ones enjoy soft carrying cases and if we could carry the larger dogs, I am sure they'd enjoy it too. But I think people forget to walk little dogs and hense make them into 'bad' dogs. Of course a dog would like to be fawned over, who wouldn't? But in the end, it's still a dog and needs to walk and get exercise to keep it happy.

Clothing, I don't normally agree with, but I do believe some dogs need a coat because it's too cold for them. Life jackets are important as are shoes in some areas with snow since the salt can hurt their feet. But it's something, just like a collar, that you have to start with from the beginning to get them used to it and shouldn't be overwhelming.

The attitude some people have toward cats makes me so mad. I've learned to ignore their comments at work; otherwise, it just encourages them to keep talking. I can write them off as ignorant, but the fact remains that they still have these same opinions. Sadly, most of the people I'm talking about are only marginally better with their dogs.

Yup. You said it better (I was trying to make that point earlier).

Years ago a co-worker (we'll call him K) said he threw a kitten out a window because it peed behind a sofa or something. Another co-worker (call her D, who has a dog) and I both looked at K with disgust (D added verbal disgust too) and K simply said "What, it (the kitten) landed in a tree!!" If there's a silver lining it would be K realizing cats aren't his cup of tea and never adopt one again. To my knowledge he doesn't do pets at all now. He also happened to be one of the most unhelpful people at work I ever met.

I'm going to take this on a tangent a bit. No More Homeless Pets in Kansas City has a goal to make the entire city no-kill in the next few years. To support this goal, they opened up a low/no cost spay/neuter clinic and just fixed their 10,000th pet this past month. Through coordinated efforts with the area shelters, they reduced the rate of euthanasia by 25,000 animals a year from 6 years ago (now down below 13,000 a year).

So with a responsible society to support them, a no-kill shelter doesn't have to house animals for a long period of time, if we reduce the animals in shelters in the first place.

I volunteer for this organization because I support the strategies that they use. It doesn't have to be how you describe.

Yes, I agree that with a responsible society, no-kill shelters can happen. I just said that right now, they cannot. Unless all of the USA (or Canada, where I am originally from) make a similar effort, that is. However, unless this happens, it is impossible and with our society today, there is a very little chance they will make this effort everywhere. It is easy to make the goal and even the steps needed to make it happen, but we have to then convince the area to take part in it and the people to start taking part as well. We can put in a low cost spay/neuter all we want, but unless pet owners know about it and they are not too lazy to take part, it still won't be a success. Here in the Philippines, to spay a cat it is 500 pesos which transfers to about ($12-$15 our currency). The thing is is that
a) a lot of people still don't care,
b) they still don't have the money to spare.
And even though we are agree that if you don't have the money, don't get a pet, but it's hard to convince others who do not share in that opinion. A lot of people think it's their right to have a pet.
We have a lot of opinions and attitudes to change before no-kill shelters can really take flight. If it is working in Kansas City, don't get me wrong, I will jump up and down with cheer, but we need to make it happen everywhere.

WELL said! I bolded my favorite part. This goes for reptiles too or any pet for that matter that you take on total responsibility for!

As another reptile owner, and also knowing we have people here who have rodents, fish, birds, and livestock type animals, that was pretty much why I phrased it that way. Heck, even if it's not your pet or even a wild animal they all deserve respect. IMO, if someone can have that basic respect for life in general it goes a lot further towards them being able to care and show responsibility - whether that means taking all of your animals to the vet when needed or not dumping lots of dangerous chemicals on your yard out of concern for the local wildlife.