Cats are amazing creatures
My blue shorts are going right back into the laundry hamper. What is it that makes a white cat seek out dark laundry for a comfortable resting place?
My one complaint about cats is that they are let loose to wander and kill songbirds in staggering numbers along with other animals. Cats have the wild killer instinct that dogs have mostly lost.
tomcat - same instinct that immediately leads them to the guest wearing black pants, or the guest who's allergic...
bub - Dunno about dogs losing the instinct. Neighbor's otherwise docile and goofy golden did a very thorough job on a nest of rabbits in the back yard. Many i've known were sure they would have gotten that squirrel, if only they weren't on leash, or had just another millisecond before the squirrel got to the tree. Less opportunity: on leash or more closely supervised than cats? otoh, i'm not aware dogs are much use as mousers.
Absolutely agree about outdoor cats vs. songbirds. Maybe people are gradually coming around to indoor cats?
I’ve had a couple of cats. Of the 3 only 1 would stay indoors. I put a bell on the others to give songbirds a fighting chance. Trying to keep a cat indoors that WANTS to be outside is a battle I’ve yet to win.
They can kill but the instinct is much more diluted in dogs. I read a study that scanned dogs brains and it showed that their play center is activated when they're chasing - they're having fun. And like you say, people don't let their dogs wander around off leash so there is far less opportunity. I'm not sure what my dogs would do if they ever caught a squirrel, not that their Wile E Coyote track record suggest they would ever catch one even off leash.
They can always amuse themselves (no matter how much I yell and scream).
I had to lift her out of there by the scruff of her neck.