Pet People
Matt Seinberg

Household pets own us; we don’t own them. This is so true. Is it because we cater to their every need, asking them if they're ok and happy in a child-like voice?

My wife talks to our two kittens as if they're little children. I often think she will wait for an answer. Come on, kittens can't talk to us! Full-grown cats that we've had for a while can talk back, in a way, but not kittens.

Some cats are better listeners than are others.

p> My two late cats, Domino and Daphne were great listeners. They would sit with me, purring away, looking right at me when I spoke to them, with a look of understanding on their furry little faces.

Our new kittens, Daisy and Scarlett are too young and inexperienced to understand, truly, what we are saying. Right now, they know the words "treats," "food" and "night-night." They cannot understand the trials and tribulations of a long day at work, nor would they care.

Cat are much more independent than are dogs and probably smarter, as well. Cats only need two things from their human pets, food and clean litter box. After that, they can pretty much take care of themselves.

Dogs, on the other hand, are much more dependent on their human owners. Two or three walks a day is necessary for dogs, as they don't and won’t use a litter box. Dogs need feeding two or three times a day, as well.

Cats will eat their dry food throughout the day and meowing like crazy for their canned food in the morning and evening. Cat dinnertime has always been around 6 pm, but Daphne got very demanding and the girls started feeding her around 5 pm. I told them that the cat is not the boss, so don't feed her so early.

Dogs, especially bigger breeds will go through copious amounts of food, especially the dry variety. Didn't you ever wonder why dry dog food comes in much bigger bags than cat food does?

Dry cat food will start at about two pounds and top out at around twenty pounds a bag. Dry dog food will start at twenty pounds and go up. The cost of feeding a dog is much more than a cat.

People bring small dogs into the store, often in shoulder bags.

I get to see people bring their dogs into retail stores all the time, mostly the small variety and mostly in small carriers. I think the dog people that walk their dogs on a leash in a store are inconsiderate and downright morons.

What if a passerby accidentally walks into or kicks the dog? What if the dog sees something it doesn't like; it may start to pull on its leash, bark and run away? Whose fault is that: the idiot owner of course?

Cat people may be crazy, but they're not stupid. Cat people won't take their animals into a store and show them off; the cats themselves won't allow it. Most cats are private and not interested in anything other their immediate surroundings.

I met two sisters, yesterday. They both have cats. Luckily, they weren't crazy cat people; because of our affections for cats, we got along very well. Cat people always seem to have a connection to one another.

This morning, both Daisy and Scarlett were looking intently out the back window. I couldn't see what they were seeing. I'm sure it was a bird or something. When I approached the window to see what it was, they both jumped down and ran.

My wife tells me to talk to our cats.

I find it easier to talk to Scarlett than to Daisy. Daisy really is misnamed; her original name was Raven and we should have stuck with that. I think it fits her personality much better. So far, Daisy doesn't like me too much. I hope it's just a matter of time before she comes around.

I miss Daphne. I was hoping Daisy would take her place, but that hasn't happened, yet. Scarlett is sweeter than is Daisy and we have fun together. She'll head butt me and always come over for petting. Her purring is so loud!

I love dogs, but I can proudly say I'm a cat person.