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Comment on How come if my dog is sick and I take him to get put out of his misery its ok? On a human its not? How come human laws don't apply to animals? I think of our dog as family and he's one of us?

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theunknownmuncher@lemmy.world ⁨9⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

I guess because cats don’t really bond with people like dogs do.

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.

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cerebralhawks@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨8⁩ ⁨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.

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- theunknownmuncher@lemmy.world ⁨8⁩ ⁨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.
  
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