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What research says about cats: they're selfish, unfeeling, environmentally harmful
- Thread starter theusedversion
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captainnapalm
Member
When I was a kid our cat used to sleep with me at night. He'd creep in under the covers. One night I woke up and momentarily freaked out until I realised the cat was sleeping on my head. I guess he couldn't get in under the covers.
A dog would never go to sleep on your head. It has too much consideration for you. Cats don't give a fuck really.
A dog would never go to sleep on your head. It has too much consideration for you. Cats don't give a fuck really.
I've had The same problem.
The problem with cats being environmental disasters comes from irresponsible owners. Cats are merely acting on instinct so we either change that instinct or change the cat owners.
You can probably guess which one I'm in favor of.
Turin Turambar
Member
Literally every species is an invasive species, this is, there was a time they could have been considered "non-native" in the area. Usually we reserve the term for species that has been introduced some years/decades ago. Given that cats have been around for thousands of years (9500 with humans, more in the wild), it would be a bit silly to call them invasive species.
Dog poop does contain nutrients — the kind that, when washed down storm drains into streams and the ocean, fuel toxic algae blooms that suck up oxygen and turn coastal habitats into dead zones. Stephan Budiansky, in his book, "The Truth About Dogs," claims that dogs serve as reservoirs for 65 diseases that can be transmitted to humans. A dog, per pound of body weight, produces 10 times the fecal coliform of a cow.
Perhaps you're thinking — and I do understand this — that picking up after your dog is futile, a bit like driving a Prius to fight climate change or jumping up and down to affect the orbit of the Earth. Even the 62% of dog owners who responsibly collect every last turd — including those left behind (we call them "orphan poops") — exact a toll on the environment just by having a dog.
Erin Auerbach may be the most criticized dog owner in America
Erin Auerbach may be the most criticized dog owner in America
Plastic bags of poop account for 4% of the municipal waste in San Francisco's landfills, as much as the whole city's disposal diapers. And every ounce of it produces methane — a greenhouse gas 30% more powerful than carbon dioxide. The city of Chicago's 68 million pounds of annual dog poop creates 102 million cubic feet of unburned methane.
And the environmental problems actually start long before a dog even produces a waste stream.
My 55-pound pit bull, for instance, consumes about 500 pounds of meat a year, half of it lamb. The production of one pound of lamb, says the Environmental Working Group, releases 85 pounds of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere , so just feeding my dog loads our warming planet with more than 21 tons of heat-trapping gases. Brenda and Robert Vales, in their controversial 2009 book "Time to Eat the Dog?" claim a dog's ecological footprint is twice that of the average SUV.
Oh, and I have one of those, too — only because I insist on transporting my precious dog around in a large, crash-proof crate.
How, you might ask, knowing all this, can I still call myself an environmentalist? After researching these figures (and more — I've run out of space), I'm actually not sure I can. I am sure, however, that I'm not willing to live a life without dogs. As a child I ignored dolls and toys, devoting my energy instead to hosting dog shows in my backyard. The feel of a rough terrier coat under my fingers still stirs in me some ancient sense of comfort, as if only with a dog can I live safe and secure.
It is not so far-fetched, that resonance: Humans first brought dogs into their villages to help hunt for food and control scavenging rodents thousands of years ago — some studies suggest tens of thousands of years ago. The sense of peace we get from living with them probably comes from deep within our DNA. Some biologists have theorized that our small noses receded in the evolutionary process as we relied more heavily on the keen noses of our dogs. I suspect they also helped us evolve without fur: Nothing warms you on a cold mountain night like a dog zipped into your sleeping bag.
So what can be done? A lot, as it turns out. First, the food: Feed made from chickens and rabbits has a far less negative effect on the environment than feed from cud-chewing ruminants; I can easily swap out lamb for a more benign meat source. (Dogs can also eat vegetarian, but I figure my dogs and I have a cap-and-trade relationship — I forgo meat so they don't have to.)
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-lewis-dogs-environmentalism-20141102-story.html
Dogs cause global warming confirmed...
NoblesseOblige
Banned
It's not doing it because it particularly likes you either. Cats have glands in their head and cheeks that spread their scent. It's more of a "you belong to me" than a "I love you".
Exactly right. Same with when they stand up on their hind legs and rub their paws on you.
I'm perfectly fine with that. If they want to own me and not someone else that's love too.
Calm waterfall
Banned
SliceSabre
Banned
Nah I'm not to going take in this pro-dog propaganda. I know my cat loves me and I'm not going to let some silly study tell me otherwise. And let's say it doesn't and my cat actually doesn't give a shit about me? Well, it does things to make me think it does and it makes me happy and that is enough for me.
As for the environmental factors, well of course feral animals have a negative impact on the environment. Dogs included.
As for the environmental factors, well of course feral animals have a negative impact on the environment. Dogs included.
Angelus Errare
Banned
But they can and will do it to multiple people/objects/things...
Marvel
could never
Cats kill babies too.
My cat will only sit on my lap andno one elses. If they don't become attached to a person then why does she do that?
Can Crusher
Banned
The thing I like about cats over dogs, is that they are pets. Dogs on the other hand are more of a half step to having a fucking child. At least that's what I get from some couples I know who adopt a dog, basically to fulfill the need being created by the biological clock of somebody wanting to be a mom/dad. It's sad to see how suddenly the lives of those couples start working around the dog's schedule, and how they humanize him to the point of embarrassment.
I definitely think dogs are the superior companion.
I definitely think dogs are the superior companion.
Was the cat rescuing a friend in need, or protecting its future victim since it is just waiting until the kid is large enough to make a sufficient meal before striking?
All cats are vicious scheming murderers (except my little fluffy baby, she's different); that's part of their charm, walking that fine line when you are petting one of them, knowing your arm is going to be shredded any minute now.
Still Team Cat though, dogs are cool but it's scientifically proven that cats are better
Alligatorjandro
Banned
Cats are evil. I saw one rob a bank and another push an old woman down.
D
Deleted member 1235
Unconfirmed Member
I love it that people need 'scientific research' to decide if a cat is fucking rad or not.
Who gives a shit if my cat doesn't love me. he sits on my belly and a scratch his ear. that's the deal I signed up for and he's holding up his end of the bargain nicely. Total dickbag when it's 5.01pm and I'm overdue with the wetfood, but other than that he's pretty dope.
Who gives a shit if my cat doesn't love me. he sits on my belly and a scratch his ear. that's the deal I signed up for and he's holding up his end of the bargain nicely. Total dickbag when it's 5.01pm and I'm overdue with the wetfood, but other than that he's pretty dope.
And?
They're allowed to love (or own, in this case) multiple things.
And they usually don't start doing so until a decent relationship is formed and they know they can trust the person.
Which leads to another point...cat "love" may not be the same as human love but that doesn't matter to cat people. Cats are fickle beasts and when a cat owner brings home a kitty and takes the time to form a good relationship with it to the point where the human can have a cat companion to cuddle with, play with, whatever...well, that's what we are shooting for.
All the scientists in the world can scream "Your cat doesn't actually love you" but, when I wake up in the morning and my cat runs down the stairs, chirps at me all excitedly, and rubs against me, I dont care what the science is. I'm happy. And my cat is happy.
Oppo
Member
seriously how do you know that toxoplasma gondii is not affecting you?
how would you actually know? have you been tested? ever considered it?
or do you just feel that what you say is true?
neither cats nor dogs are feral, by the way. they're both domesticated in cities.
I don't get this thing about elevating cats. They are funny creatures that are hyper adapted to urban environments. They think you are a large benevolent cat who shares food. That's sort of enough for me. I get the feeling some cat owners think they are fighting some suffragette style equality with dogs movement and it just doesn't apply. You can appreciate cats for what they are. At the same time, ignoring what effects cats can have on people and the environment is extremely irresponsible. The dog comparisons fall apart early, at the "they need to be licensed and on leashes outdoors" stage. If cats were licensed by law and kept indoors I would really have no problem personally. As I said, I like cats, but I know what they fucking are. I get to be "aloof" too
I mean ask most anyone from the UK if keeping a car indoors is 'cruel' and they will say yes. That is classic projection, and wrong.
I really have no problem assuming the worst about cats, that's why I love them. They're well designed killing machines, just in micro form.
If dinosaurs were still alive, velociraptors and other small theropods would be a cat-like pet. Vicious, curious, and deadly, but just small enough to be adorable while they go about their business.
If dinosaurs were still alive, velociraptors and other small theropods would be a cat-like pet. Vicious, curious, and deadly, but just small enough to be adorable while they go about their business.
Angelus Errare
Banned
You two need to learn to read the quotes that go along with posts. I'm not arguing cats can't love someone else, in fact that's my point.
I did read it but your response came off as stating the extremely obvious. If that was your point then my bad.
People know it, they just pretend that it's all some secret propaganda by dog lobbies.
Watching people on GAF fight about it is certainly goofy. And that Pop Sci article is pretty embarrassingly bad, I can't believe they published that. Refuting science they consider bad with... No science at all.
Snkfanatic
Banned
What? I can't tell if this is serious or not...
Your Entertainer
Member
Yeah, tell me about it. The dog dick ridin here is unbearable
Yep.
EdibleExplosives
Member
Just like us humans then, no wonder we get along so well.
This is my favorite post in a long time
evilromero
Member
If anyone in this thread that is stubbornly refusing to look at the issue from a logical perspective (i.e. cat enthusiasts I'd gather), then I invite you to look in the mirror. Because you're essentially demonstrating the very psychology of the Republicans that are so often vilified. Refusing to address the facts and by extension pointing to something else, completely unrelated as a, "well look there. That thing is bad too!" rather than find an amicable or reasonable solution. Or at least entertain the notion of a reasonable discussion. I figure you'd be disgusted with yourself for expressing such a poorly celebrated trait. But I can see that when our favorite things are put into question, we just lash out like a petulant child. I wish we we're better than this but as always we tend to cling to the familiar because change is hard.
So this person is wrong?
http://www.popsci.com/article/science/sorry-cat-haters-science-isnt-your-side
John Kowalski
Banned
What research says about humans: they're selfish, unfeeling, environmentally harmful
Alex Connolly
Member
DOG: I smell...gas!? GAS! Quick, I must save the human child. Drag him away from the source.
CAT: Get the fuck outta here, bastard. You kill this biped, I lose an easy avenue for food.
[Large explosion follows, cat survives, finds new home, no fucks given]
When my dog is being needy, I say "go away" and she goes away and does something else because dogs understand and can obey commands. When one of the cats wants attention the only thing I can do is pick them up and move them and hope they don't come right back.
What is this nonsensical garbage? They need to be let out because we teach them to not shit and piss in the house. I'd gladly take the cats for walks if they could be house trained and it meant no gross cat boxes in my apartment. The reason dogs are leashed generally has nothing to do with running away. It's: the law, for the dog's protection from other dogs, and for the dog's protection from traffic. I've seen plenty of dogs in my neighborhood who (illegally) go on walks without leashes and know to stay near the owner and stop at cross walks. I'd never do that in the city, but on hikes my dog is great at staying near me and coming when I call her, and that's with extremely lazy basic training. Come with me on a hike, I'll bring my dog and you bring your cat. We can see which one is more likely to run away.
SoulUnison
Banned
Cats are pretty much barely-domesticated monsters.
infinitys_7th
Member
I'm surprised no one responded to this. I guess people looking to demonize an animal overlooked it?
There are so many social science studies that do things like this - not taking into account the testing situations themselves as variables. At most they can say that their results hold in the testing environment, but it is just extrapolation to bring it beyond that. Do cats act like this at home? Who knows - they didn't account for that.
You wouldn't look at how a particle is accelerating without looking at all the forces on it. These sorts of studies are ignoring very obvious forces on behavior.
let's fite
Super Wario
Banned
This is why I have a dog.
JustenP88
I earned 100 Gamerscore™ for collecting 300 widgets and thereby created Trump's America
People really need to wake up to the fact that cats are dangerous.
Sources:
https://www.google.com/search?q=cats+are+dangerous&oq=cats+are+dangerous
http://thesource.com/
Sources:
https://www.google.com/search?q=cats+are+dangerous&oq=cats+are+dangerous
http://thesource.com/
I think people ignored it because he didn't make any points worth addressing. An animal knowing the concept of reproduced sound is far beyond the capabilities of cats and dogs. If they're smart enough to know that a speaker isn't their owner then they should be smart enough to know there's no mice in the ipad or no cats in the speakers.
20 doesn't seem like an unreasonably low number to me, especially for an animal as simple as a cat or a dog. And it's kind of ridiculous to argue that any study done on behavior outside of the home is unreliable.
crazygambit
Member
LOL, clearly you have not heard about pugs. Mine will sometimes sleep on my head if she can't get comfortable anywhere or on a pillow next to me. We had to get a Super King bed 'cause I wasn't getting any sleep.
She also thinks she weights like a feather and has no problem walking or sitting on you.
Commanche Raisin Toast
Member
Are you sure they think there's nice in there or are they completely aware and are playing an iPad game? Same with the speaker. Cats and dogs don't see or hear the same way we do. What sounds like music from speakers to you could sound like garbled frequencies to a cat, while vocal cords could sound clear or more pronounced.
And actually it makes perfect sense considering cats rely so heavily on scent and establishing territory with their own, so if they're suddenly in an environment they haven't established yet they're going to be nervous, recluse, defensive, scared, etc.
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