cerebralhawks@lemmy.dbzer0.com 10 hours ago
This is a tough question. I’ve had to put down a dog and a cat. They were both basically messed up beyond any kind of reasonable care. Like we could have spent tens of thousands of dollars to keep them alive, but they would have been suffering. I haven’t had a dog since that dog, and was almost brought to tears when I saw a dog like him last weekend, but it was cool because the owner let me pet it and it was super friendly.
Cats I honestly don’t care as much about, I guess because cats don’t really bond with people like dogs do. I see cats as more of a utility. You get a cat and it kills things. They’re also way cooler, IMO. But cats like to get hit by cars, they’re dumb as hell, you get another cat, it’s fine. I guess dogs do too, they chase cars, they don’t know any better. My dog was an inside dog (small breed). You can’t do that with cats (or big dogs).
As for people… there are ways. I mean, once you’re of legal age and if you aren’t impaired, you can get a DNR (do not resuscitate) order. There are bracelets. Some people get it tattooed on them. If you’re DNR and you go to the hospital, they can treat you with your consent, but if you cannot consent, they are not allowed to treat you. If they do, it’s legally considered assault. So they won’t do it. They will make you comfortable, but they will let you die. They won’t do anything to quicken your death, either — except in some places where they will.
I believe anyone should be able to choose to have their life medically terminated, if they are suffering and of sound mind and body. I have no religious opposition to it. If someone I loved made that choice, I would be sad, but I would not tell them they can’t. That’s not for me to say.
theunknownmuncher@lemmy.world 10 hours ago
I used to believe this, too, until I bonded with a cat. It’s definitely a different relationship than with a dog but just as valid, in my experience. Their personalities are different from dogs and vary much more from cat to cat than dog personalities do.
cerebralhawks@lemmy.dbzer0.com 10 hours ago
Oh, don’t get me wrong, I absolutely do not think any less of people who bond with their cats (my wife, for instance — she was very upset when our last cat got hit by a car). I just don’t. I like cats, but again, I see of them more… maybe “as a thing” is less humane than I meant to be. Maybe “as a force of nature” would be a better way? But not as a family member or friend. I like cats, but I like more the idea of cats, I guess.
And I consider myself a cat person.
I’m also on the spectrum, so I don’t really bond well with people. It’s easier with kids, who basically have a “if you’re nice to me I will be nice to you” kind of ethos. Or adults who are exceptionally kind. Everyone else is like hard mode. I also realise I’m the weird one. So the experiences I speak from, I do not expect to be a base line for humanity.
theunknownmuncher@lemmy.world 10 hours ago
Cats deeply confused me and seemed unreadable for most of my life. Then at some point, it clicked. They’re naturally incredible hunters, so they instinctiveoy disguise their attention/intentions very very well. Their focus is a “threat”. A lot of their communication happens with their attention, alone, and some of it is basically the same actions with super subtle differences.
I know my cat has her active focus and alert on me when she does a conspicuous walk around the room and makes a big academy-award-performance of focusing on and inspecting everything around except me and what I’m doing. She also says “I feel really comfortable and non-threatened around you” when she lounges super relaxed and carelessly faces away or deliberately closes her eyes when she looks towards me. By diverting her attention away, she can communicate 2 very different things. When my 2 cats stare at each other with unbroken focus, something is about to pop off lol.