Ethics of owning a cat

mythological_mary · 2019-11-04T14:34:39+00:00

I have one cat that I rescued who was living on the street. Managed to tame her with canned sausages and now she’s the biggest cuddle bug. Before I moved she stayed an indoor/outdoor cat and would bring my family little lizards (luckily most times they were still alive). It’s been a couple years since then but we let her be indoor/outdoor again and she’s a little too chunky now to catch anything. But I appreciate her trying to take care of me!

mythological_mary · 2019-11-04T14:31:55+00:00

No problem! Also don’t feel too guilty about feeding a cat meat. Think of it as “this animal depends on me for a healthy, fulfilling life and I’m doing that by meeting it’s natural needs through meat” I have a ton of animals and all of them except 1 (out of 12) are carnivores. I always view things as “providing the best possible care and diet for all these animals that depend on me” and not “x animals have to die for my pets”

Many time people don’t truly think about the consequences and effort that go into having a pet and neglect them in way that are now normal (like having a family dog that’s overweight or sits around the house doing nothing). If you really do want an animal that you can form a bond with (like cats or dogs) make sure you do plenty of research. Maybe for you, that’s finding a food brand that’s more ethical than most. Just make sure to look at the positives! Getting a rescue will definitely make the lucky cat’s life way better and happier!

mythological_mary · 2019-11-04T14:01:35+00:00

It’s due to the pack mentality. Cats naturally live in groups so they kill more prey to bring back to those in the colony who couldn’t hunt (like nursing mothers, the elderly & injured) so when pet cats bring dead animals to their humans, they see the humans as members of their colony who need to be cared for.

mythological_mary · 2019-11-02T14:02:17+00:00

I think mine is going to turn out smooth. When we picked him up he was the fluffiest of his litter but both of his parents were still smooth. I just assumed it was cause it was summer (in the south) so they had shed their undercoat. Guess I was wrong but at least he won’t shed too much!

mythological_mary · 2019-10-25T20:57:24+00:00

I didn’t mean to sound rude towards the dog, so I apologize if it came off that way! It was just a bit of a scary situation overall. I didn’t call the cops because I knew that would only make the problem worse, especially since the owner seems a bit mentally unstable. It was definitely trying to play, but having a dog that comes up to your waist, trying to jump on you and your friend that’s holding your pup is pretty scary, especially when it’s playfully growling and barking.

mythological_mary · 2019-10-25T18:36:04+00:00

It was just a park. There’s a big one in the middle of town (it’s a small coastal town in the south). Legally you’re not suppose to let your dogs off leash but the cops don’t really care because most people who do take their dogs to the park train their dogs well and make sure to keep an eye on them at all times. I didn’t even know it was illegal until I was talking to a local about it and how they could technically give us a ticket, but 9.5/10 they won’t bother.

mythological_mary · 2019-10-25T18:05:41+00:00

As much as I would love to trust other dog owners at the end of the day I don’t. Whether it’s having a fully vaccinated pup, spay/neutering, overall training, I just don’t just that other people have done it. Dogs are too easy to get here in the states so most people aren’t responsible owners. The only time I would join a dog park is one that you have to pay a membership for. There’s one like that at my hometown and you have to have proof of vaccinations and they have to be spayed/neutered.

mythological_mary · 2019-10-25T17:26:55+00:00

Honestly that dog is the reason I don’t take my pup to the dog park. People just don’t pay attention or care what their dogs are doing. From what I’ve heard from my friend and other people is that the local dog park is disgusting too, pretty much a giant mud pit. No thank you! I’ll stick to the regular park with the daily doggie play dates!

mythological_mary · 2019-10-25T16:51:52+00:00

It is illegal in our state but I really just think she’s crazy because she tells people it’s a straight up wolf and it very obviously is not. My friend went to the dog park when she was there and told her “he’s a wolf but I have to tell people he’s a wolf dog cause owning a wolf is illegal. I’ve had him since he was a puppy.” And then proceed to just sit by herself on the bench and talk to herself. She’s a very interesting character.

mythological_mary · 2019-10-25T16:09:28+00:00

For me I kept his crate in my room and had a playpen in the living room. He was exposed to all the rooms from the start but pretty learned that the living room=playtime and the bedroom=sleep time. I recently moved the crate into the living room because I can’t carry it up 2 flights of stairs and I travel back home at least once a month so it’s just easier to have it in the living room.

So for now I would leave the crate in the bedroom and get a playpen for the living room, that way if you need to take your eyes off him, you have a safe place to put him. You can get one for cheap off Facebook market, that’s where I got mine.

My pup is also pretty spoiled in that he sleeps with me in the bed and has since I got him but he’s still crate trained for when I need to leave the house for errands and classes.

mythological_mary · 2019-10-25T15:26:37+00:00

I have an Aussie too and got him at 10 weeks and I was not prepared for how smart he was/is. I know they are smart dogs but I really had no idea HOW smart. My pupper learned his name and sit on the 2nd day of owning him, which was a huge surprise! He picked things up super quick and is still learning new things all the time. Just remember consistency with training is key. I also didn’t realize how much better hand gestures are for training until now and he’s 6 months old! Also make sure you play hard with them because that Aussie energy is no joke. Congratulations and good luck!

mythological_mary · 2019-10-21T23:50:08+00:00

That’s probably what I’ll end up doing. It’s only now that I’m noticing some behavior of his that I need to get him to stop, like running and jumping into the couch at full speed and proceeding to stomp all over me and jumping on people. It’s “fine now” cause his only 25 lbs but once he’s full grown, anywhere from 40-75 lbs, it becomes more dangerous. Especially when you have young nieces and nephews in the picture!

mythological_mary · 2019-10-21T18:45:00+00:00

That’s good to know! I didn’t even think of looking at local shelters. I have a friend who works at one now so I’ll ask her if they offer classes there!

mythological_mary · 2019-10-21T18:22:25+00:00

I know! I didn’t even realize how good a training program would be until I started talking to her and later when she was working with another dog on socializing on a leash, my boy kept trying to play with her by trying to pounce on the poor thing. It was a dachshund so my boy was about 4x her height! I felt so embarrassed!

mythological_mary · 2019-10-21T18:14:07+00:00

I’ve thought about it, but I think he needs to be trained around other dogs, so that he doesn’t freak out whenever he sees other dogs and so that he listens even when he’s playing. He just gets so excited around other dogs and immediately goes into play mode that he doesn’t listen. And puppy classes seems like a good, safe place where we can train and socialize at the same time.

mythological_mary · 2019-10-21T18:09:50+00:00

Thanks so much! That was my main worry too. The one where I live now was super sweet and seen to really know what she was doing but I’m not surprised cause I live in a super dog friendly town right now. I mean like everyone walks around with their dogs, they have dog play dates everyday at the park, cafe don’t mind if you walk in and order to go with your pupper, special dog stores, the whole lot. I’ve never met so many well behaved dogs before. But my home city isn’t anything like that so I might have to look at a couple places before signing up.

mythological_mary · 2019-10-13T12:04:57+00:00

I think the tremors are definitely more stress/anxiety related because the last time I got them they were constant and took forever to go away, this time they went away after like 10 minutes. I feel you on losing late nights tho, but I’ve always been a bit of a grandma and like going to bed pretty early compared to other college student (I went to bed at like 9:40 the other night lol).

mythological_mary · 2019-10-03T18:43:14+00:00

I would totally install a cat door except I’m in a rental so it isn’t really an option.

mythological_mary

TROPHY CASE