Is Your Cat Talking to You?

Do you prefer cats or dogs?

  • Cats

    Votes: 17 39.5%
  • Dogs

    Votes: 13 30.2%
  • Neither

    Votes: 2 4.7%
  • Both

    Votes: 11 25.6%

  • Total voters
    43
Joined
Nov 26, 2016
Location
central NC
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The Bachelor Party by Louis Wain. (Public Domain)
In 1895, Marvin R. Clark self-published a 150-page pamphlet about how (and why) to talk to your cat. Mr. Clark’s motivations came from his heart. He was a cat-lover in a time when most people saw cats as nothing more than a nuisance. Even Webster’ Dictionary, a supposedly neutral authority, defined cats as “a deceitful animal” and “extremely spiteful” in its 1828 edition. Mr. Clark wrote his pamphlet in an effort to change that opinion. He wrote, “One of a million dogs gets a bad name, while not one out of a million Cats gets a good one.” Unfortunately, in his effort to convince readers of his views, he seems to have invented several scientists, whom he both quoted and impersonated.

Mr. Clark made many rather outlandish statements about the wondrous abilities of cats. Here is a few:
  • Cats can predict the weather - “When a Cat washes herself in the ordinary manner, we may be sure of bright, sun-shiny weather, but when she licks herself against the grain of her fur or washes herself with her paw over her ear… there will be a storm.”
  • All famous people love cats - “Shakespeare, Milton, Byron, Moore, Talleyrand, Edgar Allen Poe, Chateaubriand, Robert Southey, Dr. Johnson, Benjamin Franklin, Julius Caesar, Thomas Gray, Sir Isaac Newton, Sir Walter Raleigh, Cardinal Wolsey, Rousseau, Lord Chesterfield, Whittington, Lord Mayor of London, Plutarch, and thousands of others have expressed their admiration of my favorite.”
  • Cats have French accents.
  • Cats care about money - “... a millionaire in the Cat language is a ‘zuluaim."
  • God provided cats their own language. - “I am of the opinion that language is of Divine origin, and that it was put into the mouth of the Cat, the same as it was put into the mouth of Adam, by the Almighty. In this opinion I am encouraged by many of your most prominent writers. There is the language of the ear, the tail, the limb, the body, the facial, including the mouth, the nose, the eye, the brow, the chin, the lip and the whiskers, the motion of the whole and the significant general appearance, as in the carriage while in motion, and the form when at rest.”
Lastly, Mr. Clarke said humans could learn to speak “cat.” He provided 17 essential vocabulary words and noted that when speaking cat, body language is important.
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(Public Domain)
 
I didn't take the pole for the same reason. We have 4 cats (age 9-23 yrs) and 4 dogs (age 8-15+yrs).
Their body language speaks volumes to me. A couple are real snuggle cats, the others like petting a snake. A head touch or two, then comes a bite !
Tough time for Mr. Clark to be a cat lover. Wouldn't he be surprised now.
 
I took the poll. I love dogs, but I absolutely adore cats. They win for me every single time. Hearing and feeling a cat's purr is pure bliss for me. My retirement plan therefore includes becoming an eccentric old cat lady. :laugh: :cat:

One of the best quotes about cats I ever read went something like this:

A man wanted to get his animals into a cave for protection because it was raining or thundering outside. Everyone more or less willingly followed eventually, only the cat remained outside, no matter how often the man called it. The cat then said, "I am the cat. I decide when and I decide what to do. No one can make me do something I do not want to do."

Sadly, I don't remember anymore where I read it or what story it's from. All the cats I've met so far fit that quote except one of grandma's cats. He was so devoted, you would think he actually was a dog. He had trouble with his eyes and needed daily eye drops. Whenever he was outside in the garden, you only needed to open the door, call his name and he'd come running instantly!

the others like petting a snake. A head touch or two, then comes a bite !
My dad's cat was that kind of cat. He attacked everyone who dared caming even close. His favorite object to attack were the shins. Everyone had to resort to wearing knee high rubber boots and long trousers tucked into them. My grandma who at the time was feeding him even had to wear a thick towel around her lower arm because he would attack it when she proceeded to place down the bowel. Since then he has mellowed quite a bit, especially around my dad and stepmom. But with everyone else he's only playing the innocent one for a headstroke or three before whack! Out of the blue come the claws if you don't watch out for it.
 
Did the survey..there is a reason why my liscence plate says Caturdy...I like dogs, but well trained ones seem to be so hard to find..got jumped on today by a hound..a big one..very excited doggo...he calmed down later, but yeesh! I did get lots of doggy licks though..evidently I taste good?!? Oh, and did I mention I was in full Civil War day dress regalia??
 
Did the survey..there is a reason why my liscence plate says Caturdy...I like dogs, but well trained ones seem to be so hard to find..got jumped on today by a hound..a big one..very excited doggo...he calmed down later, but yeesh! I did get lots of doggy licks though..evidently I taste good?!? Oh, and did I mention I was in full Civil War day dress regalia??
When you have an unruly dog, there is a poor owner. Every dog ought to be trained and socialized to make him/her socially acceptable!
 
Very Pretteh kitteh! She is indoor/out? Our cat, who is 20 was in/out. He really kept the rodent population down. Squirrel, Chipmunk, mice etc...I know, I used to clean up the mess!
Thank you for the kind words. Although she has been both inside/out she is older now we try to keep her confined to the back porch. Second photo is when we stayed inside during the virus.
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