Should Single Men Own Cat(s)?

[BEAVER]

This topic came up at the bar last night.

My take - Single guy owning a cat = Beta and should not happen.

There are some extenuating circumstances by which one might end up with a cat. Dead Wife, Girlfriend, Mom, Sister.

But if a single guy actually makes the effort to get a cat as a pet? Unacceptable.

I knew the final word could be found here on CP. This place is a bastion of what is right.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by Kiimosabi

it's always consistent that people who "hate cats" have completely wrong opinions about what they are like.

I don't hate cats. I prefer dogs. I don't think cats make great pets overall and that's from my personal experience of owning probably 150 cats over the years.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by Frosty

No kidding. All of this "cats ignore you" stuff is weird. Two of mine run up to me when I get home from work while the third rolls around on her cat tree while chirping at me because she wants pets. It's really hard to work at home now because I usually have one in the chair next to me yelling for pets while another is trying to sit on the keyboard so he can be right in my face while the third crashes around behind the monitor. Sometimes a little less attention would be nice.

Maybe if cats ignore you, it's a "you" problem and not a cat problem.

Again, you got good cats. If you got 100 cats, you'd get probably 20 that are like yours.

If you got 100 dogs, 80 of them would act like your cats.

Again, it's all about averages.

[Gravedigger]

I find it cruel to keep a dog in an apartment if you don't have staggered hours with your roomate/significant other so I always gravitated towards cats. Cats are easy, it's really just scooping litter boxes that you have to deal with, but I always had two cats before I got married, so they'd keep each other company while I was gone.

[LoneWolf]

Originally Posted by Frosty

No kidding. All of this "cats ignore you" stuff is weird. Two of mine run up to me when I get home from work while the third rolls around on her cat tree while chirping at me because she wants pets. It's really hard to work at home now because I usually have one in the chair next to me yelling for pets while another is trying to sit on the keyboard so he can be right in my face while the third crashes around behind the monitor. Sometimes a little less attention would be nice.

Maybe if cats ignore you, it's a "you" problem and not a cat problem.

Maybe you smell iike tuna.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by Gravedigger

I find it cruel to keep a dog in an apartment if you don't have staggered hours with your roomate/significant other so I always gravitated towards cats. Cats are easy, it's really just scooping litter boxes that you have to deal with, but I always had two cats before I got married, so they'd keep each other company while I was gone.

Totally agree when it comes to apartments.

[Megatron96]

Mostly a dog person, but I've had a cat twice as a single man. There's easier. They don't require nearly as much attention, you can leave the house for days and they barely care. Leave out enough food, they'll usually eat a little each day until you get back, not like a dog that would just eat everything the minute you walk out the door.

Don't get me wrong, they will do asshole things, but you don't really have to worry about cats if you go on an overnighter for the weekend. Dogs will freak out, need to be fed daily, given attention daily, etc.

Dogs are like having a 4 year old. Cats are like having a teen-ager. They can be snotty, but they can find shit to eat and amuse themselves for days without needing you in anyway.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by Megatron96

Dogs are like having a 4 year old. Cats are like having a teen-ager. They can be snotty, but they can find shit to eat and amuse themselves for days without needing you in anyway.

That's actually a really good analogy.

[BEAVER]

https://youtu.be/WOndRFZkeh4

[Frosty]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

Again, you got good cats. If you got 100 cats, you'd get probably 20 that are like yours.

If you got 100 dogs, 80 of them would act like your cats.

Again, it's all about averages.

I've had 10 cats as an adult (not all at the same time) and not one has been as you described. We always had cats when i was growing up and they were all great. I think maybe you are letting your experience with barn cats shade your opinion. Cats aren't domesticated like dogs and need to be properly socialized when young or they don't end up liking people and are basically feral.

I have seen way, way, way more ill-mannered, asshole dogs than bad cats.

[Bearcat]

Originally Posted by Kiimosabi

This thread is trash and so are half the posters on this god forsaken site

So.... you're just here so you'll have something to be angry about?

[morphius]

I like to travel to a few places where I can't take a dog, so I prefer cats over dealing with a kennel every time I want to head out for a weekend. Not entirely sure what being an alpha human and having a pet that will love you nearly unconditionally is. Seems kind of needy.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by Frosty

I've had 10 cats as an adult (not all at the same time) and not one has been as you described. We always had cats when i was growing up and they were all great. I think maybe you are letting your experience with barn cats shade your opinion. Cats aren't domesticated like dogs and need to be properly socialized when young or they don't end up liking people and are basically feral.

I have seen way, way, way more ill-mannered, asshole dogs than bad cats.

Out of the volume of cats we've had over the years, probably 25% of them have been indoors at some point, if not permanently. We've got 6 cats in the house right now, 3 of whom were bottle fed because their mother abandoned them after about 5 days. They've been thoroughly socialized, with each other, with our dogs, and with us.

It's not just the outdoor cats that are like that. That's my experience and yeah, I have a lot. Not saying that anybody should like cats less because of my opinions because that's all they are.

[notorious]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

Exactly. Mice for whatever reason gravitate to drop cords, audio cables, and just about any other sheathed wiring you can think of.

Cranking over my forklift the other day and it wouldn't start. Popped the seat up and behold, a mouse nest and chewed up cords.

I'm thinking about putting a cat in the roundtop the forklift is stored in. Mother ****ers.

[seamonster]

Owned a cat with my wife and I picked it out. Years ago. At the time we lived above these Salvadorian MS13 dirty bitches and they attracted vermin. Mice **** around and find out pretty quick when you've got a barn\shelter cat. Most mice won't even enter a condo when they can smell a cat. I've since grown up and live in the suburbs with a Dog but we still own a cat for the same reason (heat pumps attract mice).

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by notorious

Cranking over my forklift the other day and it wouldn't start. Popped the seat up and behold, a mouse nest and chewed up cords.

I'm thinking about putting a cat in the roundtop the forklift is stored in. Mother ****ers.

They've chewed up the spark plug wire in my mower twice over the last few years. 2 years ago, we had a opossum take up residence in that building and the mice really haven't been back.

The real kicker was the time I discovered they chewed through about $250 of pro audio cables, including wiring inside of a speaker cabinet.