I took a little informal poll among Twitter users and asked the question:

Is the house cat a tiny predator or a cute, adorable pet?

Here are some of the responses I received:

@mareserinitatis: It depends on whether you are a large human or a little mouse.

 

@aventuredebz: Both!

 

@CremeMagnolia: my cat is a large bed hog!

@BABSBJGN: Cats are both. We have three who are adorable but bring bloody presents home for us

 

My favorite:

@mecbc: Predator. Bells are essential!

 

@midnigth cute

 

@De_Risky: But very cute predators? I can see that you will take some convincing……………………..

As you can see the majority of responses at least slightly acknowledged that the house cat has a predatory nature.

So how did this Blog post come about, anyway?

I was remembering rather vividly the time my sister’s cat (I would not personally own one) opened its mouth and revealed a huge cage like network of very, very sharp and pointy curved teeth – obviously not designed for a vegetarian diet.

I was never more aware of the cat’s predatory nature than at that moment. It was a bit shocking and even revolting.

If the house cat weighed 100 lbs or so, that cute adorable fluffy ball on your couch might be eyeing you as a potential food source!

House cat behavior makes it a bit obvious too. For example – above you see the response that the cats bring them ‘bloody presents’ from time to time.

Do you realize that means that cats are blood drinking, flesh eaters that don’t even cook their food! Isn’t that gross? For all that you know, your adorable fluffy cat was out having a bloody mouse lunch, and cleaned itself up before you let it back in and you would not even know the difference.

The cat probably scoffs at the dry biscuit meals that you think are so nice and is secretly eyeing your fish tank or just can’t wait to go out and get some ‘fast’ food.

Yes my friend, the domestic house cat is not so domestic after all.

House cat health isn’t all that great either. Many domesticated cats end up with house cat disease such as gingivitis, probably at least in part because of those dry biscuit meals that humans try to feed them.

House cat problems include that potentially awful urine smell. Cats, as predators, often feel the need to ‘mark’ their territory to let other cat’s know that this area is theirs alone!

Isn’t it strange that people have dog houses but not cat houses? The closest you can get to a cat house is simply a cage and most people don’t let their cat stay in a cage for very long. It would be, well, ‘inhuman’ to say the least.

What about house cat training? Hmm. What most people do is simply declaw and neuter or spade their cats in an attempt to deny the cat it’s natural ways. I would argue that is actually harmful to the cat. Once you take away your cat’s claws you cannot really let her out. She may not be able to defend herself from other cats! Outdoor cats will eat her for lunch, possibly quite literally!

Even worse, you can suffer from a cat house attack! Yes, if you have ever spent time around cats that didn’t have their claws taken away, you probably know exactly what I mean. Think long, awkward looking scratches that cause you to declare that no, your boyfriend or husband has NOT been abusive towards you.

The chance for infection from your house cat after such an attack is a possibility because they may have recently been scratching around in the cat litter box!

Ok, despite all of this, I am NOT against other people owning cats. I’m simply against myself owning one. Therefore, if you are willing to live with a cat and live with the chance of being clawed or worse – having your children or even baby suffer from a cat house attack – well who is to say you are wrong? Not me, that is for sure. I am not here to judge.

I am not here to try and deny anyone their right to a pet. I am just pointing out some of the potential pitfalls.

The cost of caring for your house cat’s illnesses can get high too! Now, they have cat scaling and root planings (a.k.a deep cleanings), expensive cat surgeries for a variety of diseases, cat medications and the list goes on!

For the record and so that you do not think I’m prejudice against the house cat, I am no fan of pet dogs either! (that’s another story!)

I get that you might not like some of what I said here. But if you disagree, agree, have a pet cat story to tell or remorse over, or just an opinion to share, you are cordially invited to leave your comments below. No worries – I won’t bite or scratch you…

 

David Snape is the author of the book: What You Should Know about Gum Disease: ISBN: 978-0981485508

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This entry was posted on Sunday, January 24th, 2010 at 8:51 pm and is filed under All Posts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.