quite an extreme wrote:
It's not as easy to get the emotions of cats as it expresses in their eyes. You need to be really good at reading facial expressions to get it. It's even harder because many of them avoid direct eye contact.
Actually, cats "talk to you" with body language in their entire body.
The position of their whiskers sends messages.
The condition of their eyes sends messages.
The position and orientation of their ears sends messages.
The shape of their spine sends messages.
The way they are standing sends messages.
The position and motion of their tail sends messages.
Skjald wrote:
It’s their personality traits this bitchy, arrogant, wimpy, moody, unpredictability I dislike.
I and others disagree with the unpredictable bit.
(as well as the rest of it, but for now let's just talk about the unpredictability)Here's one sample, this one being about when a cat gets overstimulated,
https://www.petassure.com/new-newslette ... cratching/ Quote:
This behavior is the most confusing because it seems so sudden and unpredictable. However, from the cat’s standpoint, he’s already given you several warning signs and signals prior to biting that he’s had enough. These signals include:
Narrowed eyes
Skin rippling
Cessation of purring
Ear flicking or rotation sideways
Shifting its body position
Growling
Tail-lashing or thumping - if you see this sign, you've waited too long
If you watch your cat closely, you will learn these signs and know when your cat has had enough attention, before he becomes defensive in order to communicate his feelings to you.
Another thing to keep in mind is that compared to dogs, cats are more highly aware of being both predator and prey. Even urban and suburban owls are known to prey on domestic cats. Therefore, defense against predators is more of a thing to cats than to dogs, and that makes for an attitude difference in cats and dogs.
and moving on,
Quote:
I have never understood why people like cats so much and why they are such a popular pet to so many folks. I probably won’t ever get it either.
Even though you probably won't get it, I will tell about my case, and that is that while I like and enjoy both cats and dogs, my health and living arrangements make cats much easier to care for.
_________________
"There are a thousand things that can happen when you go light a rocket engine, and only one of them is good."
Tom Mueller of SpaceX, in Air and Space, Jan. 2011