Why is there such a pathological hatred of cats in Irish society?

Greentopia · 26-10-2010 12:09am

gbee wrote: »

Sadly an urban myth. Feed your cat and he/she lets the rodents run free. At worst, he'll bring a weakling to your feet and let it go ............. go psychoanalyse a cat for Christ's sack.

Not true. Best friend has three cats (all affectionate well behaved lovable creatures) and one of them is a real hunter. He's brought birds (unfortunately) mice and yes rats that he's killed and arrives at the doorstep with his "offerings" to his owner.
My friend had a problem with rats in his back garden before he got him, not any more! We've seen dead rats in his garden and in next doors that he's killed.

Why does Jebus's testicle expect such a thing?
Is this new??

Misanthrope · 26-10-2010 12:10am

gurramok wrote: »

Wtf?

Is this a broadcast by the Doggie Propaganda Society?!

Jayzus, comparing a cat to Hitler and a cannibal, have you lost your mind?!

Read it back.I never compared cats to Hitler.I said Hitler was a cat.

I certainly made no allusions to cannibalism.A cat eating a cat is cannibalistic.A cat eating a human is not.I implied that cats,wherever the opportunity arises,(ie they're big enough to take you down or you are dead) will eat humans.

Try leaving a newborn baby in a room with a hungry cat for a few hours.Would ya?

gurramok · 26-10-2010 12:12am

Misanthrope wrote: »

Read it back.I never compared cats to Hitler.I said Hitler was a cat.

I certainly made no allusions to cannibalism.A cat eating a cat is cannibalistic.A cat eating a human is not.I implied that cats,wherever the opportunity arises,(ie they're big enough to take you down or you are dead) will eat humans.

Try leaving a newborn baby in a room with a hungry cat for a few hours.Would ya?

Yes, why not?

Has there been proof of a cute gorgeous cat eating a human?:eek:

Greentopia · 26-10-2010 12:12am

Misanthrope wrote: »

Read it back.I never compared cats to Hitler.I said Hitler was a cat.

I certainly made no allusions to cannibalism.A cat eating a cat is cannibalistic.A cat eating a human is not.I implied that cats,wherever the opportunity arises,(ie they're big enough to take you down or you are dead) will eat humans.

Try leaving a newborn baby in a room with a hungry cat for a few hours.Would ya?

Seen this? http://www.catsthatlooklikehitler.com/cgi-bin/seigmiaow.pl

Sonnenblumen · 26-10-2010 12:13am

Shenshen wrote: »

Title says it all, really.

I've never met so many people with such a dislike and hatred of cats anywhere else, and I find it confusing.
Unlike dogs, cats tend to be fairly easily avoided, they are shy and towards humans non-aggressive.
In many countries, cats are the number one pets. Yet here, people will voice opinions like "the only good cat is a drowned cat".

So where does it come from?

Disagree. You're circle of contacts is too narrow, mixing with the wrong folk.

FreudianSlippers · 26-10-2010 12:15am

Misanthrope wrote: »

Read it back.I never compared cats to Hitler.I said Hitler was a cat.

I certainly made no allusions to cannibalism.A cat eating a cat is cannibalistic.A cat eating a human is not.I implied that cats,wherever the opportunity arises,(ie they're big enough to take you down or you are dead) will eat humans.

Try leaving a newborn baby in a room with a hungry cat for a few hours.Would ya?

So if Hitler is a cat and cats eat humans then is hitler a cannibal? or.... am I missing something?

ScumLord · 26-10-2010 12:21am

Cheap Thrills! wrote: »

Cats barbed tongues mean their fur nd padded paws are 'clean' of any 3D items and dirt. However although this is a thorough process it doesn't ensure the kind of hygienic cleanliness a human family would require.

Hygienic human cleanliness is a very new thing partly exacerbated by advertising. There's nothing to prove being highly hygienic is really any better for you as you may miss out on building up natural immunities to common bacteria.

Oh yeah, just to make things clear, I'm more of a dog person. I just respect cats for the ultimate predator that they are.

OisinT wrote: »

I wanted that job

Can I be the grammar nazi of the king?

Indeed, the spelling court of the king is always in need of a heavy hand.

Wibbs · 26-10-2010 12:30am

ScumLord wrote: »

Cats aren't pretending to be clean it's just much more important that they are clean due to their hunting style.

That explanation doesnt really make sense. Dogs roll in shíte etc to disguise their scent. They will if given the chance roll on the shíte of prey animals so the prey doesn't smell danger. Its part and parcel of their hunting technique. A wolf in sheeps shít clothing as it were.

The domestic cat is a highly sophisticated hunter with loads of specialised traits that make it highly sensitive to changes in it's surrounding

As are dogs. Fido may be cute and cuddly in the house but on a hunt he's a very different animal. Even the pampered poodle. The poodle was originally bred as a hunting dog. That's where his or her inner wolf comes out. They're top of the food chain wherever they are. Even up against something like polar bears. Inuit dog teams get twitchy when they smell a polar bear in the area, but not so much when they're unleashed. If they smell their cousin the wolf they get far more worried. It's all about the pack advantage in the latter. A bear on it's own up against a pack of dogs? He's in trouble. Pack to pack? It gets more equal. Just like humans. That's why we were such a good fit for each other from way back in the day.

(the pads in it's feet are sensitive to vibrations in the ground) even it's hair is highly sensitive so that it can detect it's position, which is probably why they go into spasm when you rub them. By all accounts they have one of the top kill ratios in the animal kingdom.

Dogs are incredibly sensitive in the hunt too. It's just in our modern society we don't see that when compared to cats. Cats still hunt today, few dogs do. If people observed their fido in the natural state they might be shocked. In the wild a human with a dog is going to have a higher kill ratio than either alone and way more than a cat and a human or a cat on it's own. Cats are limited by the size of prey they can effectively bring down for a start by dint of their solitary hunting strategy. A cat can't bring down prey bigger than itself. A pack of wolves/dogs/humans can.

It's an unusual bound that they have with humans, not being a pack animals should mean they would have no interest with bounding with anything other than themselves, but they're obviously intelligent enough to overcome their own design to reap the rewards of domestication or at the very least close contact with humans.

Not really. The cat human bond is more parent child in origin. Although a cat well knows you're not another cat, the instinct of "that's ma/da" kicks in. The dog human bond is that, plus the pack "we're all in this together lads" bond. It's more layered. A cat wouldnt want to hunt with a human as we would get in the way and vice versa. A dog will as they have instinctively recognised that the two legged pack member increases their kill ratio. We recognised the same.

Many theories have been put forward why we modern humans out competed Neanderthals in the past. Culture, disease, better hunting techniques etc. All have their supporters, but IMHO a big reason we out competed them is because we had dogs. We're the first humans we know of that did. We even have evidence of early burial of dogs out of respect which says a lot. It was good for the wolf/dog too. Wolves are quite rare worldwide, yet their genetics live on in the fido at your feet and fido is one of the most common mammals on the planet.

Greentopia · 26-10-2010 12:42am

I love cats. Don't get all the hate for cats. But then again I'm a knitter and it's kind of a requirement if you're a knitter to love cats and own a few

On Ravelry-U.S. craft site for knitters, crocheters dyers etc. nearly 900,000 members and it seems like at least half of them have their cats as r(avatars).

It seems while dogs might be deemed to be more intelligent than cats (not sure I'd agree though, I think they just have different types of smarts) that cat owners are more highly educated than dog owners so perhaps that accounts for high numbers of knitters being cat owners as the average young knitter is college educated.

I had a cat when I lived abroad but can't have any now sadly so I have to have my kitteh needs met vicariously from my friend who has three

Personally I love all animals but I definitely prefer cats over dogs. I like cats independent nature, you have to earn a cats affection. I don't want an animal like a dog who will show me blind loyalty and obedience. I'm not that needy.

I don't know if Irish people dislike cats more than other nations but I certainly think we don't generally show enough care for animal welfare in this country.
My ex-English was taken aback when he moved down from Dublin to the sticks in Wicklow and found the local farmers had huge disdain for cats, not even letting them inside the house and were disgusted that my ex had two totally domesticated kitties that he loved. :rolleyes:

That attitude is probably more a bogger thing than an urban Irish attitude though it seems to be in the cities as well, judging from some of the posts here.

ScumLord · 26-10-2010 12:52am

Wibbs wrote: »

As are dogs. Fido may be cute and cuddly in the house but on a hunt he's a very different animal. Even the pampered poodle. The poodle was originally bred as a hunting dog. That's where his or her inner wolf comes out. They're top of the food chain wherever they are. Even up against something like polar bears. Inuit dog teams get twitchy when they smell a polar bear in the area, but not so much when they're unleashed. If they smell their cousin the wolf they get far more worried. It's all about the pack advantage in the latter. A bear on it's own up against a pack of dogs? He's in trouble. Pack to pack? It gets more equal. Just like humans. That's why we were such a good fit for each other from way back in the day. Dogs are incredibly sensitive in the hunt too. It's just in our modern society we don't see that when compared to cats. Cats still hunt today, few dogs do. If people observed their fido in the natural state they might be shocked. In the wild a human with a dog is going to have a higher kill ratio than either alone and way more than a cat and a human or a cat on it's own. Cats are limited by the size of prey they can effectively bring down for a start by dint of their solitary hunting strategy. A cat can't bring down prey bigger than itself. A pack of wolves/dogs/humans can.

The major difference being dogs hunt in a pack where cats hunt alone. Dogs don't need to be that sensitive as they're playing the numbers game, well they would be if wild. Watching a pack of wolves hunt is completely different to watching any of the cats hunt. Nearly every part of a cat bar the nose is more sensitive than a dog in the domestic cat.

From what I've seen cats are much more precise killers where as wild wolves will just start ripping the prey apart while it's alive and fleeing, they don't necessarily kill the prey first. But then if a cat get's injured it dies as it can't hunt, if a dog get's injured it can depend on the rest of the pack.

Not really. The cat human bond is more parent child in origin. Although a cat well knows you're not another cat, the instinct of "that's ma/da" kicks in.

But that's not all that common in the wild is it? for a cat to stay with it's parent for life, outside of lions? I guess in the wild there's the added factor of the parent not wanting another adult around when it's having a litter or competing for mates.

Many theories have been put forward why we modern humans out competed Neanderthals in the past. Culture, disease, better hunting techniques etc. All have their supporters, but IMHO a big reason we out competed them is because we had dogs.

I hadn't heard that one, very interesting. It would have been a huge advantage.

gbee · 26-10-2010 12:54am

Wibbs wrote: »

We even have evidence of early burial of dogs out of respect which says a lot.

Worth repeating that/this ..... the cat has missed a trick ...

In Titanic [as in the the ship sinking] terms, the cat has already gone off with the lifeboats, actually probably has not even boarded the ship, whilst the dog is saving lives, despite him knowing the dangers to itself, will stay and defend, as best he can.

I'd like to honour my own departed friend here, a bitch, a Full Black Labrador, "Beauty" .

I'll watch for a thread to tell her story.

GLaDOS · 26-10-2010 12:58am

Cheap Thrills! wrote: »

a lower evolved mammal.

A species could only be considered "lower evolved" if they were dying out, which cats clearly aren't, in evolutionary terms cats are doing pretty fantastically.

policarp · 26-10-2010 1:05am

Because we don't eat cat. If we did, there would be no pathological hatred of cats...Just gastrinomical...

Irish Guitarist · 26-10-2010 1:10am

I think it's hilarious when people whinge about cats killing birds. It's not like humans eat chicken, duck, pheasant, goose, turkey and various other birds or anything.

RolandIRL · 26-10-2010 1:11am

I just don't like cats cos i can't stand the thought of one of them coughing up a hairball on the couch. their eyes freak me out as well.
that ikea ad hasn't helped any either. i'll probably never buy anything there cos of the cat hair that'll be on the furniture now :P

FreudianSlippers · 26-10-2010 1:13am

whiteman19 wrote: »

I just don't like cats cos i can't stand the thought of one of them coughing up a hairball on the couch. their eyes freak me out as well.
that ikea ad hasn't helped any either. i'll probably never buy anything there cos of the cat hair that'll be on the furniture now :P

Aw those cats are all so cute!

ScumLord · 26-10-2010 1:18am

ScienceNerd wrote: »

A species could only be considered "lower evolved" if they were dying out, which cats clearly aren't, in evolutionary terms cats are doing pretty fantastically.

How much of that is down to human intervention though? Not only did we spread them everywhere and supplemented their diet while they got used to new prey but we also tipped the balance by giving them free access to our cities and pretty much eradicated any competition.

GLaDOS · 26-10-2010 1:21am

ScumLord wrote: »

How much of that is down to human intervention though? Not only did we spread them everywhere and supplemented their diet while they got used to new prey but we also tipped the balance by giving them free access to our cities and pretty much eradicated any competition.

A valid point, but actually agrees with what I was saying

They evolved to suit the changing environment, which was the increasing dominance of humans. They adapted to it to proliferate further, classic evolution.

nyarlothothep · 26-10-2010 1:24am

I like cats, dislike most dogs.

Nulty · 26-10-2010 1:27am

Cats are cool. Watching them in the garden is as close to a safari adventure as I'm likely to get.

policarp · 26-10-2010 1:31am

OisinT wrote: »

So if Hitler is a cat and cats eat humans then is hitler a cannibal? or.... am I missing something?

Godwin...,

Nulty · 26-10-2010 1:50am

policarp wrote: »

Godwin...,

Catler

FreudianSlippers · 26-10-2010 1:52am

I prefer Stalincat.

gbee · 26-10-2010 1:54am

I've secured Cobh Cathedral for Halloween sacrifices, €20 'buy a brick for the roof' entrance fee, but you must take away your dead cat afterwards.

Doc · 26-10-2010 2:14am

I initially learned to hate cats from my dad who hated them. He was living with his aunt who had a cat and one day he arrived in to the changing room to get ready for an important game only to discover that the cat had pissed in his gear bag. How I have experienced the smell of cat piss and it is disgusting. He had to ware the gear for the game as he had no alternative and never liked cats from that day on.

I personally dislike cats for a number of reasons the first is that growing up the local cats used to use the slope at the back of my garden as a meeting ground for their illicit affairs. Anyone who has overheard cats having sex knows the racket they make (if having a barbed willy isn’t a sign of an evil creature I don’t know what is!) and if their doing it out your back garden every night at 3am I would like to see anyone here not grow to dislike them.

Having said that I am never cruel to cats I meet. I owned one with my old girlfriend and before that I lived with one in a shared house.

The thing I don’t like about cats is they don’t care what you are saying to them. If you call them 9 times out of 10 they will ignore you and if you tell them to go away they will defiantly ignore you. They don’t seem to understand tone of voice like a dog can or if they do just don’t care. There are few times I wanted to be cruel to an animal but the cat I lived with in the shared house would not stay off the work surfaces. You would be making your dinner and it would jump up and stick its noise into everything. No mater how many times I put it back on the floor or shouted at it he would never F off. I have had dogs and every one I ever owned if I told him to get down or go to bed he would do it.

Cats basically don’t give a **** about me so why the hell should I give a **** about them.

Sharpshooter · 26-10-2010 2:19am

Nulty wrote: »

Cats are cool. Watching them in the garden is as close to a safari adventure as I'm likely to get.

I wish I could say the same.

Mine sit back while the Starlings steal their food.:D

Cats are superior to Dogs because they choose their owner, not the other way round, and if you don't treat them right they feck off with their tails held high and find someone who will.

Dogs are cool too though, I have to say that because mine is sitting on the back of the armchair watching me type.

cedan · 26-10-2010 2:21am

WWe have cats at home on the farm, horrible creatures. The thing I dont like about them is that they always expect something of you and give nothing in return. Coming up and rubbing your leg and purring and all that bull****. All they want is a stroke and then food.

Love the dog though. He always seems genuinely happy to see you.

Bloody cats.

Greentopia · 26-10-2010 2:24am

Nulty wrote: »

Catler

Nah, Kittlers :pac:

Rockery Woman · 26-10-2010 2:26am

All they want is a stroke and then food.

kinda like men!!!!;)

cedan · 26-10-2010 2:27am

Rockery Woman wrote: »

All they want is a stroke and then food.

kinda like men!!!!;)

At least we are honest about it;)

Why is there such a pathological hatred of cats in Irish society?

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