Photograph by Andrey Pavlov.
Photography contest, Finalist.
Felis catus -- domesticated cat. Mr. Pavlov tells us, "The photo of the cat is my cat Rosie, short for Rosen of Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (her sister is named Electron, not pictured). She is a daughter of a feral cat, rescued from a swamp in central Louisiana."
15 Comments
Don Luigi · 31 August 2015
What a lovely photo!
The marvellous thing about cats is that, although they have over centuries and millennia been domesticated, they can if necessary still look after themselves. They can still hunt if they have to and survive. Quite unlike dogs.
Mike Elzinga · 31 August 2015
I and my family have had many cats over the years (I almost typed "owned" but I don't think we ever own cats).
Cats are surprisingly intelligent but often seem to play dumb. They can learn to flush toilets, open and close doors, hoard things they take from neighbors, taunt the dog, and wake you up if you don't respond immediately to the alarm clock. Just counting the number of things they learn to do - sometimes keeping secret what they have learned - is a bit of a task. One often doesn't discover that the cat did it until you eliminate other alternatives and finally observe the cat doing it.
I find it difficult to understand why some people hate cats so much. Perhaps it's that cats have an "aura" that people project onto them that makes people feel inferior.
Dogs seem to want to let you know they are smart. My Siberian husky was always coming up with something he learned that he wanted to show off; but the cats always seemed to be "cool" about revealing what they learned or understood.
My current cats have music preferences; and one of them in particular will let me know when I have reached a "satisfactory level of proficiency" on a piece I am learning on classical guitar. She stalks out of the room if she disapproves and lies down by my feet if she approves.
Mike Elzinga said:
I and my family have had many cats over the years (I almost typed "owned" but I don't think we ever own cats).
Yeah â they own us.
richard09 · 31 August 2015
I have shared an apartment with several cats over the years. I've found that there is really quite a wide variation in intelligence and temperament, even though they were all the usual random American shorthair. One in particular was very inquisitive and trainable, and I'm sure he was as smart as the average dog. The others, not so much, although they each have their good and bad points, of course.
Henry J · 31 August 2015
A dog thinks: Hey, these people I live with feed me, love me, provide me with a nice warm, dry house, pet me, and take good care of me... They must be Gods!
A cat thinks: Hey, these people I live with feed me, love me, provide me with a nice warm, dry house, pet me, and take good care of me... I must be a God!
Yardbird · 31 August 2015
Mike Elzinga said:
Cats are surprisingly intelligent..
e.g, Schrodinger's, that managed to be alive and dead at the same time.
KlausH · 31 August 2015
I never had a cat act like it owned my house. My cats always come when I call them. Even when I was a kid, neighborhood cats would come to my yard just to hang out with me. The neighbors' cats would also usually come when I called, often to the annoyance of the owners, who are ignored. I like most animals that I encounter, and get along great with dogs, ferrets, rabbits, and cavies. Cats seem especially attracted to me, though. It may be that I am simply more attentive to attempts made at communication by other species. I have noticed that the people who complain the most about pet behavior usually act totally oblivious to clear signals given by the animal.
LazyDay · 2 September 2015
Pavlov's cat? Doesn't ring a bell.
richard09 · 2 September 2015
You can get the t-shirt here.
http://www.snorgtees.com/pavlov-s-cat
Jim Ramsey · 3 September 2015
LazyDay said:
Pavlov's cat? Doesn't ring a bell.
Bell? no, but electric can opener, oh yes!
justawriter · 5 September 2015
Dogs have masters, cats have staff.
Henry J · 5 September 2015
justawriter said:
Dogs have masters, cats have staff.
Well sure, but good help can be hard to find.
And purr-fect help is even rarer!
gnome de net · 6 September 2015
Dogs come when they're called; cats tell you to leave a message and they'll get back to you.
shebardigan · 6 September 2015
The behaviour set is exceedingly wide.
On the one hand we have Hephzibah, whom we might have considered a feral rescue; I imagine she considered us to be light touches -- you could get in out of the rain, and there was free food. She is the only cat I have ever known who would leap to the top of a door and wait to pounce on whatever walked through the doorway next, often our three-year-old son. She got tired of us after a while and went off to other hunting grounds.
Olivia, currently snoozing nearby, was the only survivor of her feral family, who had made their home down in the brush near Jack Ruby's old house in Dallas. Mother and siblings tested positive for Feline AIDS virus, she tested positive for antibodies only. She is now 18 years old, profoundly deaf and nearly blind, but still up to demolishing a bat-bat-bat dangly toy on a regular basis. Friendly, talkative, affectionate, but will take my arm off at the elbow if I don't pet her quite right.
15 Comments
Don Luigi · 31 August 2015
What a lovely photo!
The marvellous thing about cats is that, although they have over centuries and millennia been domesticated, they can if necessary still look after themselves. They can still hunt if they have to and survive. Quite unlike dogs.
Mike Elzinga · 31 August 2015
I and my family have had many cats over the years (I almost typed "owned" but I don't think we ever own cats).
Cats are surprisingly intelligent but often seem to play dumb. They can learn to flush toilets, open and close doors, hoard things they take from neighbors, taunt the dog, and wake you up if you don't respond immediately to the alarm clock. Just counting the number of things they learn to do - sometimes keeping secret what they have learned - is a bit of a task. One often doesn't discover that the cat did it until you eliminate other alternatives and finally observe the cat doing it.
I find it difficult to understand why some people hate cats so much. Perhaps it's that cats have an "aura" that people project onto them that makes people feel inferior.
Dogs seem to want to let you know they are smart. My Siberian husky was always coming up with something he learned that he wanted to show off; but the cats always seemed to be "cool" about revealing what they learned or understood.
My current cats have music preferences; and one of them in particular will let me know when I have reached a "satisfactory level of proficiency" on a piece I am learning on classical guitar. She stalks out of the room if she disapproves and lies down by my feet if she approves.
phhht · 31 August 2015
John Scalzi's cat
gnome de net · 31 August 2015
richard09 · 31 August 2015
I have shared an apartment with several cats over the years. I've found that there is really quite a wide variation in intelligence and temperament, even though they were all the usual random American shorthair. One in particular was very inquisitive and trainable, and I'm sure he was as smart as the average dog. The others, not so much, although they each have their good and bad points, of course.
Henry J · 31 August 2015
A dog thinks: Hey, these people I live with feed me, love me, provide me with a nice warm, dry house, pet me, and take good care of me... They must be Gods!
A cat thinks: Hey, these people I live with feed me, love me, provide me with a nice warm, dry house, pet me, and take good care of me... I must be a God!
Yardbird · 31 August 2015
KlausH · 31 August 2015
I never had a cat act like it owned my house. My cats always come when I call them. Even when I was a kid, neighborhood cats would come to my yard just to hang out with me. The neighbors' cats would also usually come when I called, often to the annoyance of the owners, who are ignored. I like most animals that I encounter, and get along great with dogs, ferrets, rabbits, and cavies. Cats seem especially attracted to me, though. It may be that I am simply more attentive to attempts made at communication by other species. I have noticed that the people who complain the most about pet behavior usually act totally oblivious to clear signals given by the animal.
LazyDay · 2 September 2015
Pavlov's cat? Doesn't ring a bell.
richard09 · 2 September 2015
You can get the t-shirt here.
http://www.snorgtees.com/pavlov-s-cat
Jim Ramsey · 3 September 2015
justawriter · 5 September 2015
Dogs have masters, cats have staff.
Henry J · 5 September 2015
gnome de net · 6 September 2015
Dogs come when they're called; cats tell you to leave a message and they'll get back to you.
shebardigan · 6 September 2015
The behaviour set is exceedingly wide.
On the one hand we have Hephzibah, whom we might have considered a feral rescue; I imagine she considered us to be light touches -- you could get in out of the rain, and there was free food. She is the only cat I have ever known who would leap to the top of a door and wait to pounce on whatever walked through the doorway next, often our three-year-old son. She got tired of us after a while and went off to other hunting grounds.
Olivia, currently snoozing nearby, was the only survivor of her feral family, who had made their home down in the brush near Jack Ruby's old house in Dallas. Mother and siblings tested positive for Feline AIDS virus, she tested positive for antibodies only. She is now 18 years old, profoundly deaf and nearly blind, but still up to demolishing a bat-bat-bat dangly toy on a regular basis. Friendly, talkative, affectionate, but will take my arm off at the elbow if I don't pet her quite right.