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Review: Juvenile Felis Catus
MBCook writes "Looking for something new? Well Dan's Data has a review of something called a "Juvenile Felis Catus" (or "kitten" for short). The review goes over everything from how to aquire one, to required maintence, to storage, to a comparison against other ways of spending your money (kitten vs. puppy vs. baby vs. new video card). The article is full of useful and informative links such as your average kitten's standard configuration. A well reasoned and interesting review."
What, a Pets: section now?
/. gets into Politics by adding that new section. Now this.
First
What's next, RealEstate: ???
Did you know that only about 1% of the housecats in the world are pure breed?
Did you know that the entire concept of a "purebred" counts as total BS, a fictional concept designed to allow a small number of people to profit from an activity this particular species engages in prolifically (and loudly)?
Not to mention that a "mixed" breed will usually have fewer health problems (some defensive cat-slaver will no doubt chime in to dispute that - True, under optimal conditions, you can breed genetic disease out of a line. It simply does not happen in practice, as the largest motivation to breed involves profit, which you don't maximize by "rendering nonviable" two out of every three newborns).
I actually just bought myself a kitten about 6 weeks ago. The place is a mess, my keyboard has even -more- fur in it (aside from my own shedding) and my mouse routinely is found hanging off the edge of my desk when I arrive in the morning (I have a home-office).
8 .j pg
:-D
This kitten was highly incompatible with the already installed old-blind-dog system. It took over a month of food and luck to get the two systems to cooperate without causing general-insanity faults with the owners.
Despite all that I could never take it back. I tried to take the cat back 24 hours after I bought it but I got about 2km down the road before everything was too blurry from the sudden onrush of water obscuring my vision.
http://pldaniels.com/photos/2004092001/mpic0000
These things are dangerously addictive
If you can't be bothered to let your cat LIVE instead of turning it into a life accessory/interactive toy, please do not get one.
In order for a cat to be happy and whole, it MUST hunt, it must have a chance to explore. It's cat nature.
Keeping one locked up it's entire life is no different than doing a bonsai kitty.
Oh, and PLEASE consider cutting off your fingers to the first joint before you consider de-clawing a cat; if you can't live with a clawed cat, Kill It, it's more merciful.
Why, yes, I AM a Pagan Libertarian.
No, stop trying to put your feeling into your cat. Cats live perfectly fine indoors, and have no need to hunt anything or explore anything. If you want your cat to experience the outdoors, TAKE it outside, don't LET it outside.
And I do find it amusing that you on one hand support cruel and neglectful treatment of cats, and then in the next breath are against cruelty. I don't know why you associate being a reponsable owner with mutilating animals, it seems kinda weird. I don't injure my cats, or my dogs for that matter. You aren't "supposed to" chop off ears and tails just because people are used to a dog looking a certain way.
Girls should not be allowed outside unattended to be raped by men, getting and spreading disease, unable to defend themselves against threats to their safety. Indeed, if you make sure to provide the finer things in life for them, there is no need at all for them to go outside.
Freedom and safety are in many ways a direct one-to-one tradeoff for each other. Both are desirable, neither is the correct choice. Such are the difficult decisions in life.
I suppose this wouldn't appeal if you're the sort of person who intends to force their children to become doctors when they want to be musicians, but personally, I believe in letting them choose their own fate. There is no proof a cat is actually smart enough to make this decision, but I believe they are. Regardless, I have had some cats who show no interest at all for going outside, and others who trod outside happily during the coldest, darkest, most miserable blizzards. Every cat is different just like every person is different.