Help: lover doesn't like my cats
Ken Stillson
boyfriend and I have been going out for over a year, and have lived
together now for about 6 months.
He's never really connected with my cats (I have two), and lately it's
gotten much worse: he doesn't like them, and somehow they can tell, and
they hiss at him when he comes near.
I know he's just about to make the ultimatum "I cannot live with these
cats." What do I do? The apartment's not large enough to divide into
cat and no-cat zones.
I suppose the obvious solution would be to give up the cats. But I've
raised them since kittens (they've been around longer than he has), and
I'm very attached to them. But worse than my attachment to _them_ is my
attachment to pets in general. I've had at least one cat all my life,
except in college, and I was miserable without one. I felt the dorm was
cold and unlived in, because there was no cat.
I'm sure I'm not alone with this problem. Does anyone have any advise?
Thanks!
- Ken Stillson, stil...@mitre.org
--
______ | The Pledge of Allegiance says
\ / | "Liberty and Justice for All"
stil...@mitre.org | Which part of "All" don't you understand?
\/ | - Rep. Pat Schroeder
WHATLING, MICHAEL W
The solution is simple . . .
Have the boyfriend put to sleep.
Seriously though, no one should have to give up a loved one (or
thing) for someone else. Haven't we learnt anything yet?
The boy needs pussy therapy--(read the rest with a Dr. Ruth accent):
Perhaps you can find someone who has a kitten and have your boy-
friend meet and frolick with the kitty (or at least hold). Build
up to daily kitty visits. Then develop small, non-threatening
activities for him and your cats, building up to holding them
and possibly frolicking (full out and uninhibited) with them
later on.
Of course, linking _your_ sexual favours with his love of your
cats is always an excellent solution in a pinch.
Or try my first suggestion--I understand it's done humanely.
Person in flux
[about boyfriend of one year who hates his cats]
> I suppose the obvious solution would be to give up the cats. But I've
> raised them since kittens (they've been around longer than he has), and
> I'm very attached to them. But worse than my attachment to _them_ is my
> attachment to pets in general. I've had at least one cat all my life,
> except in college, and I was miserable without one. I felt the dorm was
> cold and unlived in, because there was no cat.
There are no obvious solutions, only difficult ones, in your
case. I think you should listen to yourself in the paragraph
above and follow your heart. To put it more bluntly, who do
you think will be around longer, the cats or the boyfriend?
But that's only my way of looking at the situation, and I
can do this because I'm with someone who adores my dog almost
as much as I do and who has an absolutely delightful cat and
an equally precious dachshund.
And also, I've found that I click on the deepest levels with
people who share my deep affection and need for furry
creatures in my home; people who dislike animals simply can't
understand my connection with them. Is this connection
important to you too?
Good luck with your decisions.
Katie
Nelson Minar
[my boyfriend doesn't like my cats]
>I'm sure I'm not alone with this problem. Does anyone have any advise?
become a lesbian. All lesbians like cats.
goodness, I am in a smartass mood. Have you been able to talk to him
about his dislike for your cats? I'd ask him before asking the net at
large.
__
nel...@reed.edu \/ When you expect flutes, it's whistles
Harry Carter
> He's never really connected with my cats (I have two), and lately it's
> gotten much worse: he doesn't like them, and somehow they can tell, and
> they hiss at him when he comes near.
>
> I know he's just about to make the ultimatum "I cannot live with these
> cats." What do I do? The apartment's not large enough to divide into
> cat and no-cat zones.
I don't really know what to tell you. I'm a dog person. I believe in the
sentiment a dog-loving friend of mine once expressed, "Not everyone believes
that once you get a pet it's till death do you part." I agree with her that
once you a get a pet, only the death of one you should split you up. I would
wonder, therefore about a lover who ever expressed: "It's me or the cats
(dog). I doubt I could deal with such a person.
Harry Carter |Against stupidity, the very gods
hpca...@mcs.com |themselves contend in vain.
Jack Hamilton
> And also, I've found that I click on the deepest levels with
> people who share my deep affection and need for furry
> creatures in my home; people who dislike animals simply can't
> understand my connection with them. Is this connection
> important to you too?
What if the boyfriend can get along with animals in general, and even with
most cats, but just not *those* cats? Maybe the solution is to live
separately.
I'm severely allergic to cats. Before I will visit anyone's home, for even
a minute, I find out if there are any cats there, and if there are I don't go.
On the other hand, I get along fine with dogs and birds.
--
----------------------------------------------------
Jack Hamilton POB 281107 SF CA 94128 USA
j...@netcom.com kd6ttl@w6pw.#nocal.ca.us.na
David Stevenson
> It might sound silly, but it's proving to be pretty serious. My
> boyfriend and I have been going out for over a year, and have lived
> together now for about 6 months.
>
> He's never really connected with my cats (I have two), and lately it's
> gotten much worse: he doesn't like them, and somehow they can tell, and
> they hiss at him when he comes near.
>
> I know he's just about to make the ultimatum "I cannot live with these
> cats." What do I do?
Take the cats to a taxidermist and have them stuffed and mounted. That way you
both will be happy: you'll have your cats and he'll have some peace and quiet.
Naomi Gayle Rivkis
A gay couple who are friends of my family have been together
for fourteen years and not actually lived together full-time
for any of it. Doesn't seem to be doing the relationship any
harm; on the contrary, it's probably kept them from some ser-
ious headaches, since one of them tends to fill his apartment
with books on weird languages and students at all hours, and
the other tends to fill his apartment with painting materials
and his Buddhist altar. Aside from the question of the space
these things take up, the conflict of day-to-day living patterns,
especially during the school year when the one who's a profes-
sor is seldom without a flock of students visiting him, would
likely be insurmountable if they tried it. So they spend week-
ends and a couple of nights a week together, at one or the other's
place, and summers. Works out pretty well, from outside appear-
ances.
If you have problems with technical living-space conflicts, such
as cats, is it possible to keep separate living spaces near each
other and not try to live together full-time? I think too many
people assume that sufficiently serious relationship = sharing
living quarters, automatically, without really thinking about it..
I know I did until I ran into the above-mentioned friends. Yes,
there are good and valid reasons to want to actually live together,
ranging from financial necessity to the fact that it's fun, but if
you're in the middle of a one-or-the-other dilemma between your
boyfriend and your cats, continuing the relationship but maintain-
ing separate apartments might be a middle ground.
-Naomi
--
"And of all the sacraments "You are the one who
and of all the sins, the Naomi Rivkis writes and the one
greatest of these is love." na...@panix.com who is written."
- Michael Malone ri...@midway.uchicago.edu - Edmond Jabes
Steve Dyer
along. Frankly, I dislike cats as a general rule, and get asthmatic if
I'm around them and not loaded up with antihistamines, but a few years
ago there was this wonderful dog-like cat which lived next door which
would come to my front door to be fed tuna, knead my stomach and fall
asleep on my lap--go figure. Sometimes it's a behavioral issue on the
part of the owner and the cat; the owner might be a slob, or the cats
might be unruly, jumping on every open surface, horizontal or otherwise.
This might make some people who aren't cat lovers unenthusiastic.
Basically, it might be worth discussing it with him.
--
Steve Dyer
dy...@ursa-major.spdcc.com
John Hein
Cats are like garlic - If your lover doesn't like garlic: find a new
lover!
--
[ John Hein | ]
[ johnd...@drink.demon.co.uk | Phaggots do it on the phone! ]
[ johnd...@cix.compulink.co.uk| ]
[ Telephone: +44 31 558 1279 | Sine Pretio Loquimine Omnibus ]
[ TeleFax: +44 31 558 1262 | ]
[ Lambda BBS: +44 31 556 6316 | 36 B5/6 f+ t- w+ d g++ k- s++! r-- p ]
Henry Mensch
-> I know he's just about to make the ultimatum "I cannot live with these
-> cats." What do I do? The apartment's not large enough to divide into
-> cat and no-cat zones.
boyfriends come and go; pets are around for fifteen years at a
stretch.
anyone who suggests you give up your cats hasn't a clue. i'm not at
all a cat fan (cats have this idea that they own your house, and
that it's ok for you to live there, but only if you shovel out the
litter daily), but i do understand that an attachment to pets is hard
to shake ... you're comparing a comparatively sure thing to a
johnny-come-lately.
when i do get dogs, they will be a required part of my household ...
and not an option that gets discarded when mr right comes along. if
mr right is so hung up over my pets then perhaps he's not always
right.
--
# henry mensch / <h...@netcom.com> / pob 14592; sf, ca 94114-0592; usa
# "on the internet, nobody knows you're a bear." --tovah hollander
a flying squirrel
> I know he's just about to make the ultimatum "I cannot live with these
> cats." What do I do? The apartment's not large enough to divide into
> cat and no-cat zones.
1. Get dogs.
2. Convince lover they are reincarnates of Mary and Joseph; let them have
kittens to prove it.
3. Get dogs.
4. Put a cat door on the microwave.
5. Get dogs.
6. Have them stuffed. You'll still get to pet them, and they'll stop
hissing at your lover.
7. Get dogs.
8. Go the the SPCA and adopt forty more cats. Keep them for a month. Then find homes for the forty, leaving the original two. He'll not notice them for
awhile.
9. Get dogs.
10. Get a large reticulated python.
Seriously, Brad had two cats that were less that social with anyone other
than their chrome-dome owner. He unselfishly found a wonderful home for
both of them (together), and they are very happy. So am I: more so because
I was very touched that he made such a sacrifice for l'il ol' me. I must
tell you that there was a catch: we have agreed to get a pair of golden
retrievers as soon as we have room for them (read: house forthcoming).
We'll not be petless for very long, unless you include keeping Michael
Hennahane on a collar.
--
a flying squirrel (Richard W. Johnson) skw...@netcom.com
Sean Doran
>(cats have this idea that they own your house, and
>that it's ok for you to live there, but only if you shovel out the
>litter daily)
But Henry, think of it this way: who spends more time in the house;
you or the cat? People are out of the house often for half the day,
sometimes for even longer. Cats are there all the time, give or take a
few jaunts around the back garden or your neighbour's flower beds (for
which your neighbour should be grateful; cats are excellent gardeners,
and are good at sorting out and eating weeds and fertilizing things
*just* so). And possession is nine-tenths of the law.
Sean.
A Frank Swilling
>stil...@mitre.org (Ken Stillson) writes:
>-> I know he's just about to make the ultimatum "I cannot live with these
>-> cats." What do I do? The apartment's not large enough to divide into
>-> cat and no-cat zones.
>boyfriends come and go; pets are around for fifteen years at a
>stretch.
I'm with the pro-pet people on this. True story: a friend of mine had
a cat and acquired a boyfriend who hated the cat. Boyfriend and cat
went at it tooth and nail for a while, boyfriend said, "Either the cat
goes or I go." Friend had the cat put to sleep. Six months later,
the boyfriend walked.
Personally, if the guy isn't seriously allergic to cat hair, I think
he's pulling a control game on you, and I'd personally sic the cat on
him and kick his ass out.
>anyone who suggests you give up your cats hasn't a clue. i'm not at
>all a cat fan (cats have this idea that they own your house, and
>that it's ok for you to live there, but only if you shovel out the
>litter daily), but i do understand that an attachment to pets is hard
>to shake ... you're comparing a comparatively sure thing to a
>johnny-come-lately.
I'm primarily a dog person. I have two miniature poodles who are not
at all like people like to pretend poodles are like and are very
much charming little companions. Still, I like cats, too, and I often
visit my friend and his *new* cat, who is a sweetheart, to make sure
that nothing untoward happens to her.
>when i do get dogs, they will be a required part of my household ...
>and not an option that gets discarded when mr right comes along. if
>mr right is so hung up over my pets then perhaps he's not always
>right.
># henry mensch
Anyone evil enough to say "It's either the pet or me" *deserves*
a nice boot-shaped bruise on his ass before he hits the pavement on
his way out of your life.
Baard Kjos
writes something about a lover who doesn't like his cats.
Well, a female friend of mine had a similar problem once; her lover
didn't like her pussy. Perhaps I should make an arrangement so you two
could meet....
--
Baard Kjos | And when you loose control,
| you'll reap the harvest you have sown.
Div. of Comp. Sci. and Telematics | ____ - Roger Waters
The Norwegian Institute of Technology | \ /
N-7034 Trondheim, NORWAY | \/ Baard...@idt.unit.no
Jake Coughlin
> I know he's just about to make the ultimatum "I cannot live with these
> cats." What do I do? The apartment's not large enough to divide into
> cat and no-cat zones.
to have your boyfriend and eat him too, get
a larger apartment.
i guess i just don't understand what the big
deal is here. why does your boyfriend feel
so threatened or controlled by these cats?
if your boyfriend needs to compete against
an animal with a brain the size of a large
walnut, you need a new boyfriend. i could
understand a large, threatening dog, but
cats? maybe you should give a gym
membership for his birthday.
Daniel L Bayer
matter), but I asked a vet friend and a couple other long-time cat owners and
we four are of unanimous opinion. Your friend did something to your cat, or
else the cat would not hiss when he comes near. Cats that are used to being
around people, yours obviously is, generally are ambivalent to human beings
and usually do not exhibit hostility unless they have been threatened before.
Maybe he has just chased it around and scared it out of his way, or perhaps he
has lost his temper and struck the cat (it takes only once for a cat to learn).
Who knows? Ask your partner if he has ever done anything to the cat.
--dB
Melinda Shore
>Your friend did something to your cat, or
>else the cat would not hiss when he comes near.
That was my reaction, too. The only time I've ever seen
domestic cats react like that was when someone had done
something threatening to the cat, more than once.
I couldn't even date someone who didn't like my animals,
let alone live with one. It really sounds like you all need to
talk.
--
Melinda Shore - Cornell Theory Center - sh...@tc.cornell.edu
Dan Ross
>become a lesbian. All lesbians like cats.
>goodness, I am in a smartass mood. [...]
This reminds me of the ad I saw in our local free weekly, under "Roommates":
GF prof. seeks F to share 2 BDR West side townhouse.
Must love cats, but not have any of your own.
Dan
Henry Mensch
->But Henry, think of it this way: who spends more time in the house;
->you or the cat?
i do; there are no cats in my house.
Henry Mensch
->i guess i just don't understand what the big
->deal is here. why does your boyfriend feel
->so threatened or controlled by these cats?
threatened? controlled? i didn't hear any of this in the original
message. i heard that the cats didn't like the boyfriend, and that
the feeling seemed to be mutual.
it *is* ok to not like cats.
David DeLaney
A thought strikes me, having grown up with never less than four cats in the
house: if this proves not to be the case (it's my most likely guess too), maybe
he's wearing far too much cologne, or using an odd soap? Does he own dogs that
the cats can smell on him?
Dave "cats can dislike you for the darndest reasons" DeLaney
--
David DeLaney: dbd@(utkux.utcc | panacea.phys | enigma.phys).utk.edu - collect
them all! Disclaimer: AFAIK, *nobody* speaks for U.T.Knoxville (consistently);
Thinking about this disclaimer (or about high energy theoretical particle __
physics) may cause headaches. .sig virus: Vicki Robinson v2.29; Kibo #: -0 \/
Steve Hill
My roomate hated cats when he decided to move in to this townhouse with me. I
let him know that my little hummer is everything in the world to me, and he
needed to understand that first of all. He got allergy shots, and she looked
at him with her big green eyes, and won his love.
He totally like cats now. He saw a stray off the road, and tried to see if he
could find out if it was lost or somthing. This is all from a man who didn't
used to like them, (although, my cat is so cute noone could resist her) hehehe
Steve
___________________________________________________________
| ______ |
| Silence = \ / From: |
| \ / DEATH |
| \/ Steve M. Hill |
|___________________________________________________________|
Jake Coughlin
>In article <CJ411...@hawnews.watson.ibm.com>
ja...@rtp.vnet.ibm.com writes:
>->i guess i just don't understand what the big
>->deal is here. why does your boyfriend feel
>->so threatened or controlled by these cats?
>
>threatened? controlled? i didn't hear any of this in the original
>message. i heard that the cats didn't like the boyfriend, and that
>the feeling seemed to be mutual.
it seems like a control issue when the boyfriend
reaches the point of "either me or the cats." he
couldn't just ignore them? perhaps the saving
grace to cats is that they are even easier than
human beings to ignore.
Robert Coren
|>
|> it *is* ok to not like cats.
No it isn't.
Clay Colwell
In article <stillson.757621776@sparcle>, stil...@mitre.org (Ken Stillson) writes:
> It might sound silly, but it's proving to be pretty serious. My
> boyfriend and I have been going out for over a year, and have lived
> together now for about 6 months.
>
> He's never really connected with my cats (I have two), and lately it's
> gotten much worse: he doesn't like them, and somehow they can tell, and
> they hiss at him when he comes near.
>
> I know he's just about to make the ultimatum "I cannot live with these
> cats." What do I do? The apartment's not large enough to divide into
> cat and no-cat zones.
>
> I suppose the obvious solution would be to give up the cats. But I've
> raised them since kittens (they've been around longer than he has), and
> I'm very attached to them. But worse than my attachment to _them_ is my
> attachment to pets in general. I've had at least one cat all my life,
> except in college, and I was miserable without one. I felt the dorm was
> cold and unlived in, because there was no cat.
>
> I'm sure I'm not alone with this problem. Does anyone have any advise?
I find it difficult to see how a person might want you to give up what
is effectively a family member (yes, I see pets as family members,
especially when they've been in said family for a significant amount
of time). I've also had cats from the age of 6, and I would find my
life emptier without the companionship of cats (my SO is a dog-cat person,
so we're lucky in *that* respect).
Does he *have* to come near them? Is there any sort of uneasy truce the
cats and he can come to, so that we can just *avoid* each other as necessary?
(The only official "no-cat" zone would be a travelling one, defined by the
presence of your boyfriend with an easement of, let's say, 6 feet.)
Of course, convincing the *cats* may be a problem, but, if they dislike *him*,
they may make the extra effort to stay out of his way.
Seriously, though, be sure to tell him about your dear attachment to your
cats. If, after that, he finds it easy to make such a statement as "It's
your cats or me", I think you'll have discovered something not so pleasant
about your boyfriend.
--
Clay Colwell (aka PlainsSmurf) "Debate on USENET too often is like
cla...@austin.ibm.com shouting at graffiti." -- Me
arch...@vnet.ibm.com Disclaimer: This is *Clay* talkin', not IBM.
S2/6 b+ g/- l-/+ y- z- n o- x- a++ u/- v-/+ j-/++ (mutating)
Nelson Minar
> it *is* ok to not like cats.
To which Robert Coren responds:
>No it isn't.
but what, it's ok if cats don't like people?
Picture this - I go to visit Robert and John last October, a year ago.
Get into their house, sit down, and nice fluffy kitty wanders over to
say hello. I say hello back, pet her some, she enjoys it, I pet her
more enthusiastically, and she gets upset and runs off.
Ever since then, every time I've seen her, she's been afraid and
angry. She glares at me. She avoids me. When I was alone with her in
the house and had to sit near her to use the phone, she growled at me
the entire time.
And I love cats. I feel wronged.
__
nel...@reed.edu \/ But they're not devils, they're Martians!
Michael Bryan
>Sometimes it's a behavioral issue on the
>part of the owner and the cat; the owner might be a slob, or the cats
>might be unruly, jumping on every open surface, horizontal or otherwise.
>This might make some people who aren't cat lovers unenthusiastic.
>Basically, it might be worth discussing it with him.
One of the [many] problems between me and my ex was that he had a much
lower tolerance for "cat behaviour". I had one cat (Basil) before we
moved in together. A few months after that, we got a second cat
(Roxy), primarily to keep Basil company, and give him someone to play
with. As cats sometimes do, Basil had a strong desire to jump up on
the kitchen counters and table, and both liked to play with any little
thing that was left out in the open, particularly in the bedroom while
we slept. I adapted quickly [i.e., my cats trained me quickly], and I
learned to put things out of their reach, usually behind latching
doors, and gently moving them from counters/tables to the floor when
they were being "pests", especially when food was being prepared. As
for sleeping, it became second nature to scan the room for any potential
"midnight toys", and put them out of reach just prior to going to bed.
He, on the other hand, had no patience for their antics, and would
often get angry, and eventually insisted that the cats be shut out of
the bedroom at night, so they wouldn't get into things, and wouldn't
disturb him while we slept. In general, he loved the cats, and would
play with them during the day, and let them sleep on his lap, etc. He
just didn't have patience when they "misbehaved". And he would
occassionally scold them, chase them, or even hit them despite my
requests that he not do so.
It wasn't the prime reason I broke up with him, but it was certainly
one of the reasons. Although we have split up, we still live in the
same apartment (in separate bedrooms, though). The odd thing is that
his behaviour towards the cats is remarkably improved. I think the
biggest single cause for that is that he now has a bedroom to himself
that he can keep the cats out of, and he is much happier. As am I,
and the cats as well.
In any future relationship, though, attitudes towards cats will certainly
be a serious consideration if we ever talk of moving in together. They
are part of my family, and I will not tolerate a spouse who mistreats the
cats any more than I would tolerate a spouse who mistreated any children
I might have. Nor would I live with somebody who said "its them or me".
In that case, there is no real decision --- the cats were here first, and
have proved to be loyal loving members of my family. If he couldn't
handle that, I wouldn't want him in the first place.
--
Michael Bryan mic...@resonex.com +1 510 249 9600 Ext 325
Resonex, Inc. ____ ____
47911 Westinghouse Dr. \ / \ /
Fremont, CA 94539 \/ Time and Tide Melt The Snowman \/
Robert Coren
|> Picture this - I go to visit Robert and John last October, a year ago.
|> Get into their house, sit down, and nice fluffy kitty wanders over to
|> say hello. I say hello back, pet her some, she enjoys it, I pet her
|> more enthusiastically, and she gets upset and runs off.
|>
|> Ever since then, every time I've seen her, she's been afraid and
|> angry. She glares at me. She avoids me. When I was alone with her in
|> the house and had to sit near her to use the phone, she growled at me
|> the entire time.
She *growled* at you? I've never heard her do this. What *were* you
doing?
Maybe it was because you were the only one in the house, and you
weren't either of *us*.
Or maybe she was purring. You do know the difference? :-)
She is a little weird about the telephone, is our Guinevere. She'll
appear out of nowhere to demand attention when I'm on the phone.
David Stevenson
>
I don't know why you'd want to be around a cat that can't get along
with your lover. Toss the damn cats in the river.
David Stevenson
>
>it seems like a control issue when the boyfriend
>reaches the point of "either me or the cats."
Sounds to me like with his hissing the cat had
reached the point of "either me or the boyfriend."
he couldn't just ignore them? perhaps the saving
>grace to cats is that they are even easier than
>human beings to ignore.
That and cats really love to swim in rapids.
David Stevenson
I agree. "not like" is too Milquetoast (but what would one expect
from henry?): "aggressively hate" is more appropriate.
Robert Hansen
"Despise" works for me.
ROBERT HANSEN - Oregon Health Sciences University - Portland, Oregon USA
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"If you don't vote, you don't have the right to complain. And, honey,
I surely do not want to give up my right to complain, no sir."
(Bessie Delany)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Wayne Hughes
>In article <2gcq72$t...@scratchy.reed.edu>, nel...@reed.edu (Nelson Minar) writes:
>|> Ever since then, every time I've seen her, she's been afraid and
>|> angry. She glares at me. She avoids me. When I was alone with her in
>|> the house and had to sit near her to use the phone, she growled at me
>|> the entire time.
>
>She *growled* at you? I've never heard her do this. What *were* you
>doing?
>
>Maybe it was because you were the only one in the house, and you
>weren't either of *us*.
ownership, especially over food. Not that I'd ever suggest
Nelson was that.
>
>Or maybe she was purring. You do know the difference? :-)
>
The growling is a completely different thing. What Nelson
describes is undoubtedly it. Why, I couldn't say, except
that I have one cat (look, I have ten, ok?) that has always
hated me. She growls, for no other reason than that I
probably squeezed her too hard while she was recovering from
a spay infection. What a mess.
Wayne
happy arbitrary designation!
Daniel Gilly
Ooooh! You sure know how to make my pussy wet.
Ob-posting: I wouldn't go to the extreme presented above :-), but
I agree with the general tone of valuing one's rapport with a boyfriend
over one's rapport with pets. If your feelings toward your cats are
that strong, then it sounds to me like you and your boyfriend are
incompatible as a live-in couple. Live separately or go your
separate ways.
--
**************************************************************
Daniel Gilly dgi...@borland.com
Borland International Scotts Valley, California
Jess Anderson
Daniel L Bayer <dba...@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu> wrote:
I just *knew* something would suck me into this frivolousness,
and finally it did. I agree with those who say toss out the
boyfriend, keep the cat.
>Not that I am an expert on cats, although I have one (and two dogs for that
>matter), but I asked a vet friend and a couple other long-time cat owners and
>we four are of unanimous opinion. Your friend did something to your cat, or
>else the cat would not hiss when he comes near. Cats that are used to being
>around people, yours obviously is, generally are ambivalent to human beings
>and usually do not exhibit hostility unless they have been threatened before.
"Usually" is the key word. There are cats (I own one) that from being very
tiny will allow no more than one human being in their territory without
putting up a fuss. When this cat came to live here, she was just past
weaning, and I had a boyfriend who adored her, but she did not return the
favor (quite the contrary). She met us both at exactly the same moment,
so it wasn't like she had imprinted on me or anything. A more totally loving
and committed pet I have never had in my life (she's 18.5 now), but not
*one* other person has ever entered this house that she didn't vociferously
object, and woe to anyone who tries to pick her up, for then all hell will
break loose.
>Maybe he has just chased it around and scared it out of his way, or perhaps he
>has lost his temper and struck the cat (it takes only once for a cat to learn).
> Who knows? Ask your partner if he has ever done anything to the cat.
Nah, just be hard-hearted and throw the bum out. :-)
--
[Jess Anderson <> Division of Information Technology, University of Wisconsin]
[Internet: ande...@macc.wisc.edu {o"o} UUCP:{}!uwvax!macc.wisc.edu!anderson]
[Room 3130 <> 1210 West Dayton Street / Madison WI 53706 <> Phone 608/262-5888]
[---------------------> Inquiry is fatal to certainty. <----------------------]
Jess Anderson
What a Neanderthal! No, that's unfair to Neanderthals, isn't it?
Jess Anderson
<h...@netcom.com> wrote:
>it *is* ok to not like cats.
Like it's OK not to like spiders or snakes, I suppose?
Pretty dumb is what it is.
Jess Anderson
Nelson Minar <nel...@reed.edu> wrote:
>Picture this - I go to visit Robert and John last October, a year ago.
>Get into their house, sit down, and nice fluffy kitty wanders over to
>say hello. I say hello back, pet her some, she enjoys it, I pet her
>more enthusiastically, and she gets upset and runs off.
Must have been too enthusiastic for her, eh?
>Ever since then, every time I've seen her, she's been afraid and
>angry. She glares at me. She avoids me. When I was alone with her in
>the house and had to sit near her to use the phone, she growled at me
>the entire time.
That's what I'd do with people who were too enthusiastic, too,
in fact is *is* what I do in that circumstance. Sounds like a
pretty smart cat.
>And I love cats. I feel wronged.
Feeling wronged by an animal with a brain the size of a walnut
is pretty strange, Nelson.
--
[Jess Anderson <> Division of Information Technology, University of Wisconsin]
[Internet: ande...@macc.wisc.edu {o"o} UUCP:{}!uwvax!macc.wisc.edu!anderson]
[Room 3130 <> 1210 West Dayton Street / Madison WI 53706 <> Phone 608/262-5888]
[-------------> Inside every anarchy lurks an old boy network. <--------------]
Jess Anderson
>In article <stevensoC...@netcom.com> stev...@netcom.com (David Stevenson) writes:
>> I agree. "not like" is too Milquetoast (but what would one expect
>>from henry?): "aggressively hate" is more appropriate.
>"Despise" works for me.
I think you both should enroll in the Melinda Shore School of
Higher Evolution.
Cobra Woman
>She is a little weird about the telephone, is our Guinevere. She'll
>appear out of nowhere to demand attention when I'm on the phone.
Just like my sister's kids.
--
Mara Chibnik
ma...@panix.com Life is too important to be taken seriously.
Laurel Halbany
KS> I know he's just about to make the ultimatum "I cannot live with these
KS> cats." What do I do? The apartment's not large enough to divide into
KS> cat and no-cat zones.
KS> I suppose the obvious solution would be to give up the cats.
IMO, when you get a pet, you have made a committment to taking
care of that pet for its natural life. Which, in the
case of cats, is around 10-15 years.
Since you raised them as kittens, they're attached to *you*.
You're their Parental Unit. If you had kids
and your lover didn't like them, would you put your children
up for adoption?
By the way, I've often noticed that when a cat can't stand
a particular person, there's a good reason. Maybe he's been
giving them grief when you're not paying attention. How do
your cats behave around people other than you? If they only
hiss at your lover, I'd be veeery suspicious.
... Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.
___ Blue Wave/QWK v2.12
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Jess Anderson
Laurel Halbany <laurel....@hal9k.com> wrote:
>IMO, when you get a pet, you have made a committment to taking
>care of that pet for its natural life. Which, in the
>case of cats, is around 10-15 years.
More like 15-22 years.
>Since you raised them as kittens, they're attached to *you*.
>You're their Parental Unit. If you had kids
>and your lover didn't like them, would you put your children
>up for adoption?
Much as I agree with this, I think quite a few people look
at pets as objects, simple possessions, sort of like a living
TV set. Some people look at their children that way too.
--
[Jess Anderson <> Division of Information Technology, University of Wisconsin]
[Internet: ande...@macc.wisc.edu {o"o} UUCP:{}!uwvax!macc.wisc.edu!anderson]
[Room 3130 <> 1210 West Dayton Street / Madison WI 53706 <> Phone 608/262-5888]
[----> Love consists in looking outward together in the same direction. <-----]
Tim Wilson
(Jess Anderson) writes:
Like it's OK not to like spiders or snakes, I suppose?
I'm trying to make this some kind of sixties pop-song reference, but I
can't quite bridge the gap. All I can come up with is
We like bread and butter
We like toast and jam
But I'm sure there's a "I don't like spiders or snakes" song trying to
bubble up to the surface. Help?
To take this a little beyond the particulars of "Spiders or Snakes"
(now I wanna think it's a novelty song by someone like Roger Miller or
Ray Stevens), I'm continually surprised at all the pop-song memories
that clutter up my little brain. It's long been an intention of mine
to write up a list and do a little library work to establish the
dates. Some of the songs I'm stuck with (and these'll all be on the
boundary of pop and country) are:
Wolverton Mountain
Walk Right In, Sit Right Down
Six Days on the Road
Does the Chewing Gum Lose It's Flavor...
Any help on dating these from our pop experts? Are these all '61, '62
kind of dates?
ObMotss: Six Days on the Road, rest areas, truckers, blow jobs
--
Tim Wilson <t...@ear-ache.mit.edu>
ude.nnamenhah.ivc@aivlys
t...@ear-ache.mit.edu (Tim Wilson) writes:
>In article <2gdfno$p...@news.doit.wisc.edu> ande...@macc.wisc.edu
>(Jess Anderson) writes:
>
> Like it's OK not to like spiders or snakes, I suppose?
>
>I'm trying to make this some kind of sixties pop-song reference, but I
>can't quite bridge the gap. All I can come up with is
>
> We like bread and butter
> We like toast and jam
>
>But I'm sure there's a "I don't like spiders or snakes" song trying to
>bubble up to the surface. Help?
It was the 70's, it was on MGM records, and I'll be damned if
I can come up with the guy's name (Jim Stafford comes to
mind?), but:
I don't like spiders and snakes,
and that ain't what it takes to love me, you fool, you fool.
I don't like spiders and snakes,
and that ain't what it takes to love me,
like I wanna be loved by you.
++Sylvia
Robert Coren
|> In article <2gd08n$8...@paperboy.osf.org> co...@speed.osf.org (Robert Coren) writes:
|> >She *growled* at you? I've never heard her do this. What *were* you
|> >doing?
|> >
|> >Maybe it was because you were the only one in the house, and you
|> >weren't either of *us*.
|>
|> You must have only one cat.
That is the case.
|> Cats often growl to establish
|> ownership, especially over food. Not that I'd ever suggest
|> Nelson was that.
Well, not for the cat, anyway.
Mike Reaser
(She-of-many-trivia-facts) writes:
|> In article <TIM.94Ja...@ear-ache.mit.edu>,
|> t...@ear-ache.mit.edu (Tim Wilson) writes:
|> >But I'm sure there's a "I don't like spiders or snakes" song trying to
|> >bubble up to the surface. Help?
|>
|> It was the 70's, it was on MGM records, and I'll be damned if
|> I can come up with the guy's name (Jim Stafford comes to
|> mind?), but:
Jim Stafford is exactly correct. The record come out around 1974 (I may
be off by a year in either direction here...).
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mike Reaser, Hewlett-Packard N. Amer. Response Center - Atlanta
NBCS: B4 f+ t w g+ k s+ l+ #include <standard.disclaimer>
Internet: m...@hpuerca.atl.hp.com
"Ignorance is as much as a method of computer security as Hope is a
method of birth control." -- Lynne Joynes, Kathy Ward
Robert Hansen
>In article <hansen...@ohsu.edu>, Robert Hansen <han...@ohsu.edu> wrote:
>>In article <stevensoC...@netcom.com> stev...@netcom.com (David Stevenson) writes:
>>> I agree. "not like" is too Milquetoast (but what would one expect
>>>from henry?): "aggressively hate" is more appropriate.
>>"Despise" works for me.
>I think you both should enroll in the Melinda Shore School of
>Higher Evolution.
Is this a correspondence school? Does Sally Struthers do commercials for it?
BTW, I thought of Melinda over breakfast this morning. As I ate my
blueberry Pop Tart (tm) [untoasted], I faced Ithaca and saluted.
Thomas Farrell
>Not that I am an expert on cats, although I have one (and two dogs for that
>matter), but I asked a vet friend and a couple other long-time cat owners and
>we four are of unanimous opinion. Your friend did something to your cat, or
>else the cat would not hiss when he comes near. Cats that are used to being
> Who knows? Ask your partner if he has ever done anything to the cat.
Oh, bull. On my way home from New Jersey my friend and I stopped in the
home of his sister, who I'd never met, and encountered her dog and two
cats, who I'd never met. The dog loved me, much to my chagrin as it
spread yellowish hair all over my black outfit. One cat loved me, and
kept rubbing against me and trying to climb onto my lap until someone
else distracted it and it left. The third cat walked into the room,
walked over to me, and started hissing. Some animals just don't like
some people for less than obvious reasons. Perhaps the cats are having
a bad reaction to the man's cologne for all we know. (In my case, I
hissed back and the cat went away. End of problem.)
Besides, do you seriously think anyone would ever answer "yes" to such a
question? "Oh, of course dear, I swing your cat every time you leave the
room, then I feed it catnip and put it on the turntable. Why do you
ask?" Thppt.
Tom
--
Homosexuals make the best friends because they care about you as a woman and
are not jealous. They love you but don't try to screw up your head.
-Bianca Jagger
Melinda Shore
>BTW, I thought of Melinda over breakfast this morning. As I ate my
>blueberry Pop Tart (tm) [untoasted], I faced Ithaca and saluted.
So *that's* what that tear in the space-time continuum was.
--
Melinda Shore - Cornell Theory Center - sh...@tc.cornell.edu
David Stevenson
>
>Since you raised them as kittens, they're attached to *you*.
>You're their Parental Unit. If you had kids
>and your lover didn't like them, would you put your children
>up for adoption?
>
to learn how to behave around adults.
Mike Reaser
|> In article <hansen...@ohsu.edu> han...@ohsu.edu (Robert Hansen) writes:
|> >BTW, I thought of Melinda over breakfast this morning. As I ate my
|> >blueberry Pop Tart (tm) [untoasted], I faced Ithaca and saluted.
|>
|> So *that's* what that tear in the space-time continuum was.
And is the tear in the space-time continuum what's causing all those
fluffy-barfies to beam in from soc.bi?
Nelson Minar
>She *growled* at you? I've never heard her do this. What *were* you doing?
You have too - you heard her growl at me once when you were there. No
doubt I'd tried to sit in her seat. (ObCats - if a cat is in a chair,
does a human have the right to displace him or her to sit in the
chair? I say yes, but this seems weird).
In this case, I came in the room. That was enough. I'd long since
learned not to be friendly.
Even when I fed the damned cat, she still mistrusted me. She watched
me near her food bowl, growled, heard the food going in, looked
unhappy, and when I walked away she darted around me as fast as she
could, no thanks or acknowledgment.
>Or maybe she was purring. You do know the difference? :-)
yes. And I like the cat, would be happy to have her sit in my lap and
purr. Not a chance - I seem to make her miserable.
__
fo...@reed.edu \/ All of the freaks are not inside the tents
Clay Colwell
Jim Stafford it is! Also the singer of "Rub It In",
"Junk Food Junkie", and "Chickaboom".
--
Clay Colwell (aka PlainsSmurf) "Debate on USENET too often is like
cla...@austin.ibm.com shouting at graffiti." -- Me
arch...@vnet.ibm.com Disclaimer: This is *Clay* talkin', not IBM.
S2/6 b+ g/- l-/+ y- z- n o- x- a++ u/- v-/+ j-/++ (mutating)
ude.nnamenhah.ivc@aivlys
> "Chickaboom".
Don't ya love it? Don't ya love it?
Oh yeah, don't you love it?
Don't ya just love it now?
Éamonn McManus
> >She *growled* at you? I've never heard her do this. What *were* you doing?
> In this case, I came in the room. That was enough.
Isn't it extraordinary how transatlantic differences in English usage
can lead to such interesting misinterpretations? Nelson would have had
to come into the room for me to understand him. As it is, the cat's
displeasure at his inconsiderately ejaculating in her presence seems
not at all as mysterious as he makes out. Or am I barking up the
wrong end of the stick?
,
Eamonn
Charlie Fulton
writes:
I always mixed that tune up with "Gimme Dat Ding" by The
Pipkins.
Gimme Dat Ding
Gimme Dat
Gimme Gimme Dat
Gimme Dat Ding
Gimme Dat
Gimme Gimme Dat
etc.
Charlie "I'm sorry, Sylvia, please forgive me" Fulton
ude.nnamenhah.ivc@aivlys
>Jim Stafford it is! Also the singer of "Rub It In",
>"Junk Food Junkie", and "Chickaboom".
Now stop that!!
Jim Stafford was responsible for novely songs that could be
taken seriously if you weren't paying any attention (remember
"My Girl Bill"?)
Isn't "Junk Food Junkie" Ray Stevens?
And it's "Chick-a-Boom", not "Chickaboom"!!
++Sylvia, whose cookie-can, filled with novelty singles like
"Chick-a-Boom", "Spiders and Snakes", and Commander Cody
and the lost Planet Airmen's lone hit single, was lost
in the last move.. :(
Tim Wilson
<cha...@isis.mit.edu> writes:
Charlie "I'm sorry, Sylvia, please forgive me" Fulton
[In best Melmon voice] "Hit him again, Butch! Hit him again!"
--
Tim Wilson <t...@ear-ache.mit.edu>
Tim Wilson
(ude.nnamenhah.ivc@aivlys) writes:
++Sylvia, whose cookie-can, filled with novelty singles like
"Chick-a-Boom", "Spiders and Snakes", and Commander Cody
and the lost Planet Airmen's lone hit single, was lost
in the last move.. :(
Do you refer to their wonderful version of "Hot Rod Lincoln"?
My daddy said son your gonna drive me to drinkin'
If you don't stop drivin' that Hot Rod Lincoln.
tim, who thinks it's only following the chain to go from Commander
Cody to Captain Hook and "Sylvia's Mother".
--
Tim Wilson <t...@ear-ache.mit.edu>
Howard Arthur Faye
>In article <2gd08n$8...@paperboy.osf.org>, Robert Coren <co...@speed.osf.org> wrote about his demon cat:
>>She *growled* at you? I've never heard her do this. What *were* you doing?
>
>You have too - you heard her growl at me once when you were there. No
>doubt I'd tried to sit in her seat. (ObCats - if a cat is in a chair,
>does a human have the right to displace him or her to sit in the
>chair? I say yes, but this seems weird).
>
>In this case, I came in the room. That was enough. I'd long since
Francisco years ago, a friend had a cat that produced a litter, one
of which we adopted. I was in a depressing, failure-ridden period
and I would yell at the cat and shoo it away when things were going
poorly. To this day, that cat (her name is Luna) inexplicably hisses
at strangers and only will allow herself to be held and carressed
by my ex-roommate. I blame myself for her neurosis. Of course, I'm
really more partial to large hunting breeds of dogs, like Akitas
and Retrievers.
>Even when I fed the damned cat, she still mistrusted me. She watched
>me near her food bowl, growled, heard the food going in, looked
>unhappy, and when I walked away she darted around me as fast as she
>could, no thanks or acknowledgment.
>
Same here.
I saw the most beautiful cat this morning on one of the local news
shows, a Florida Panther. What a magnificent creature.
--
HA Faye 'Without love, dying is easy'
Hollywood, CA --an anonymous moment from the Oracle
Ken Stillson
problems. I've gotten dozens of letters.
Over the last few days, It's become evident that I was basically in a
state of shock from the stress of possibly losing the cats (dizzy,
sick, no sleep, burst of crying, etc). Once my boyfriend realized
the depth of my reaction, he re-thought his position.
I think we've isolated two problems he has with them. The first is
cleanliness. Yes, cats are clean, but they do shed, and he considers cat
hair to be "dirt." To solve this problem, we can set up a gate to keep
the cats out of the kitchen, and I can clean more regularly.
The second problem is a "somebody else's baby" sort of thing. They
predate him, and he's somewhat jealous of my attention to them, and of
their constant presence in the house. We're going to try and solve this
by letting him get his own pet; probably a bird. Yes, obviously we have
to be very carefully that the cats don't kill the bird... But I believe
we can arrange that.
Lots of people also wondered why the cats hiss at him. While I'm sure he
doesn't abuse the cats while I'm not there, I know he did work very hard
on "disciplining" them not to go on the kitchen counter. That involved a
lot of yelling and perhaps some slapping. It was a few months ago. I'm
told this delayed negative reaction to him will likely fade with time and
love.
Again, thanks for everyone's ideas (except of course for the "cat
fritters" recommendation!)
- Ken Stillson, stil...@mitre.org
--
______ | The Pledge of Allegiance says
\ / | "Liberty and Justice for All"
stil...@mitre.org | Which part of "All" don't you understand?
\/ | - Rep. Pat Schroeder
Emily Rizzo
>Even when I fed the damned cat, she still mistrusted me. She watched
>me near her food bowl, growled, heard the food going in, looked
>unhappy, and when I walked away she darted around me as fast as she
>could, no thanks or acknowledgment.
I once cat sat for my boss for three weeks. The cat hated me from the
start and used to beat me up regularly; he would walk over and start batting
me with his paw while hissing. He was especially vicious while I was
opening the catfood -- he also refused to eat anything but Fancy Feast
salmon, as I recall. After three weeks, I seriously considered killing the
cat but decided it wasn't worth my job; when I confessed this later to my
boss he told me he would have been thrilled if I had done so -- he would
have been rid of the cat with no guilt. I found out later that the cat
treated everyone this way.
Ironically, it was the only cat I've come into contact with that I was not
allergic to; I think that's because it never cleaned itself; it's fur was
all matted into dreadlocks.
And I grew up with cats so I am fond of them, although less so as my
allergies and asthma got worse.
Emily
Greg Parkinson
> The second problem is a "somebody else's baby" sort of thing. They
> predate him, and he's somewhat jealous of my attention to them, and of
> their constant presence in the house. We're going to try and solve this
> by letting him get his own pet; probably a bird. Yes, obviously we have
> to be very carefully that the cats don't kill the bird... But I believe
> we can arrange that.
I had a cockatiel; it was hateful and shrieked.
I had finches; they were sooo stupid as to be annoying.
I had a canary; it was wonderful.
I had a lovebird; it was sweet but had to be constantly
payed attention to or it would shriek more loudly than
the cockatiel.
I'd say you should stay away from the parrot family.
--
---------------------------------------------------------
Greg Parkinson New York, New York g...@panix.com
...beauty is convulsive or not at all...
Lee Laniear
>In article <CJ30A...@spdcc.com> dy...@spdcc.com (Steve Dyer) writes:
>>Sometimes it's a behavioral issue on the
>>part of the owner and the cat; the owner might be a slob, or the cats
>>might be unruly, jumping on every open surface, horizontal or otherwise.
>>This might make some people who aren't cat lovers unenthusiastic.
>>Basically, it might be worth discussing it with him.
>with. As cats sometimes do, Basil had a strong desire to jump up on
>the kitchen counters and table, and both liked to play with any little
>thing that was left out in the open, particularly in the bedroom while
>we slept. I adapted quickly [i.e., my cats trained me quickly], and I
>learned to put things out of their reach, usually behind latching
>doors, and gently moving them from counters/tables to the floor when
>they were being "pests", especially when food was being prepared. As
To my thinking cats on surfaces used for food preparation is absolutely
unacceptable! If it doesn't bother you fine. Actually they aren't that
hard to train. In undergraduate school I discovered that the best
training device is your run of the mill bottle sprayer. Adjust the
nozzle to spray a stream. You can hit them at fifteen feet. It doesn't
hurt them, but they don't care for it. When tey are young it helps if
you are stealthy and can catch them scratching things, jumping on things,
etc. in the dark a few times; this leaves a big impression on them.
>for sleeping, it became second nature to scan the room for any potential
>"midnight toys", and put them out of reach just prior to going to bed.
I always leave things out for my cats to play with during their nightly
"exercise periods", but they don't come in the bedroom. In the morning
they sit in the doorway and call me if I'm late for breakfats.
Michael Bryan
>
> You must have only one cat. Cats often growl to establish
> ownership, especially over food. Not that I'd ever suggest
> Nelson was that.
Perhaps Nelson was trying to steal her food? ;-)
--
Michael Bryan mic...@resonex.com +1 510 249 9600 Ext 325
Resonex, Inc. ____ ____
47911 Westinghouse Dr. \ / \ /
Fremont, CA 94539 \/ Time and Tide Melt The Snowman \/
Michael Bryan
>I'm trying to make this some kind of sixties pop-song reference, but I
>can't quite bridge the gap. All I can come up with is
>
> We like bread and butter
> We like toast and jam
>
>But I'm sure there's a "I don't like spiders or snakes" song trying to
>bubble up to the surface. Help?
I think the title's "I don't like spiders and snakes", but I might be
wrong. It's a song by Jim Stafford (and I remember that only because
I had a good friend in college by that name), and the (cheesy) lyrics
of the refrain go something like:
I don't like spiders and snakes
And that ain't what it takes
To love me... like I wanna be loved by you.
Sim Aberson
Robert Coren <co...@speed.osf.org> wrote:
>She is a little weird about the telephone, is our Guinevere. She'll
>appear out of nowhere to demand attention when I'm on the phone.
I have one of those, too. It wouldn't be so annoying if he weren't 18
lbs and trying to breastfeed from me. He was never weaned properly as a
youth, apparently, and decided that I could be a surrogate. It begins
slowly, but noises begin after a minute or so, and the person
on the other end eventually asks "What is that slurping noise?"
On the topic of displacing cats from chairs, I try not to do so, except
above cat jealously guards the seat near the phone. They also grab
seats as soon as we get up, so we displace them if we wish to return,
but place them gently on the lap.
That said, we found Guinevere to be polite, friendly, and courteous.
--
Sim Aberson AOML/Hurricane Research Division Miami, FL
I was not born to be forced. I will breathe after my own fashion.
If a plant cannot live according to its nature, it dies; and so a man.
Henry David Thoreau
Sim Aberson
Howard Arthur Faye <fouc...@netcom.com> wrote:
>I saw the most beautiful cat this morning on one of the local news
>shows, a Florida Panther. What a magnificent creature.
...and unfortunately very endangered. I think there are only 100 left.
They are beautiful. I would not move in with a lover who had one as a
pet.
Sim Aberson
>In <stillson.757797598@sparcle> stil...@mitre.org (Ken Stillson) writes:
>> The second problem is a "somebody else's baby" sort of thing. They
>> predate him, and he's somewhat jealous of my attention to them, and of
>> their constant presence in the house. We're going to try and solve this
>> by letting him get his own pet; probably a bird. Yes, obviously we have
>> to be very carefully that the cats don't kill the bird... But I believe
>> we can arrange that.
>
>I had a cockatiel; it was hateful and shrieked.
>I had finches; they were sooo stupid as to be annoying.
>I had a canary; it was wonderful.
>I had a lovebird; it was sweet but had to be constantly
>payed attention to or it would shriek more loudly than
>the cockatiel.
>I'd say you should stay away from the parrot family.
Four doves and three cats in the house, and they all get along. I like
doves because they make very little noise, and the noise they do make is
easy to get used to. Parrots and lovebirds are wonderful pets if you
can handle the noise, but can get expensive. Some parrots will
literally be with you for life (they can live forty or more years).
Good luck in your growing family.
Robert Coren
|> nel...@reed.edu (Nelson Minar) writes:
|> > >She *growled* at you? I've never heard her do this. What *were* you doing?
|> [...]
|> > In this case, I came in the room. That was enough.
|>
|> Isn't it extraordinary how transatlantic differences in English usage
|> can lead to such interesting misinterpretations?
Ins Zimmer? Im Zimmer? <shrug>
To the best of my recollection, Nelson didn't come in that particular
room, at least not when I was there.
Robert Coren
|> In article <2gd08n$8...@paperboy.osf.org>, Robert Coren <co...@speed.osf.org> wrote about his demon cat:
Well, strictly speaking, when she's a demon cat, she's John's, *not* mine.
|> >She *growled* at you? I've never heard her do this. What *were* you doing?
|>
|> You have too - you heard her growl at me once when you were there. No
|> doubt I'd tried to sit in her seat. (ObCats - if a cat is in a chair,
|> does a human have the right to displace him or her to sit in the
|> chair? I say yes, but this seems weird).
Yes, in theory. In practice, you pays your money and you takes your
chances.
In Guinevere's case, there is no knowing whether one has sat in "her"
chair; where she wants to sit varies from moment to moment. The
greatest probability is that her first choice will involve
inconvenience to someone.
|> >Or maybe she was purring. You do know the difference? :-)
|>
|> yes. And I like the cat, would be happy to have her sit in my lap and
|> purr. Not a chance - I seem to make her miserable.
The fact is, she's not generally sociable with non-residents.
Neighbors who feed her when we're absent have often commented that
either they never see her at all or she hisses at them.
Another possibility occurs to me: you live with cats, don't you? Some
odors (undetectable to humans) may persist about you, and maybe she
thinks you're a strange cat invading her territory.
Arne Adolfsen
abe...@ocean.aoml.erl.gov writes:
> In article <foucaultC...@netcom.com>,
> Howard Arthur Faye <fouc...@netcom.com> wrote:
> >I saw the most beautiful cat this morning on one of the local news
> >shows, a Florida Panther. What a magnificent creature.
> ...and unfortunately very endangered. I think there are only 100 left.
> They are beautiful. I would not move in with a lover who had one as a
> pet.
Hell, I'd rather have a Florida panther for a
lover than an e-hugging, crosspost enthusiast
soc.bi maniac.
Arne, doing my best to tie up loose threads
Ned Deily
[Grrh, thanks Tim, now I have these Ohrwuerme crawling around in my head.]
> Wolverton Mountain
> Walk Right In, Sit Right Down
Village Stompers ???? (as in Greenwich V)
must have been early 60's - Peter, Paul, & Mary, etc.
> Six Days on the Road
> Does the Chewing Gum Lose It's Flavor...
Roger Miller?? (My Uncle Used to Love Me til She Died)
>ObMotss: Six Days on the Road, rest areas, truckers, blow jobs
On the Road Again ...
--
---------
Ned Deily
-- n...@holonet.net
David Stevenson
>In undergraduate school I discovered that the best
>training device is your run of the mill bottle sprayer. Adjust the
>nozzle to spray a stream. You can hit them at fifteen feet.
Isn't this what hand guns are for?
Tracey McCartney
riz...@FASECON.ECON.NYU.EDU (Emily Rizzo) writes:
>
>I once cat sat for my boss for three weeks. The cat hated me from the
>start and used to beat me up regularly; he would walk over and start batting
>me with his paw while hissing. He was especially vicious while I was
>opening the catfood -- he also refused to eat anything but Fancy Feast
>salmon, as I recall. After three weeks, I seriously considered killing the
>cat but decided it wasn't worth my job; when I confessed this later to my
>boss he told me he would have been thrilled if I had done so -- he would
>have been rid of the cat with no guilt. I found out later that the cat
>treated everyone this way.
>
boss; the bird died while my friend was traveling with it. Of course, she
was just beside herself wondering how she would tell her boss that her
African Gray had died, especially because the boss had been away tending to
the affairs of her mother, who had just died.
As it turns out, the boss didn't particularly *miss* the bird and
told my friend she was actually glad the damn thing had kicked. But
to top it off, later the *boss'* boss came down to offer his condol-
ences on the death of the mother. The problem was, he didn't remember
details too well, so he just told her he was "sorry about the death
of your parent."
Understanding him to have said "parrot," she replied, "Oh, I'm glad
he's dead. He just squawked and made a big mess anyway. Drove me crazy."
Tracey M.
Melinda Shore
Don't be ridiculous. Handguns are for dealing with
Arne's ehugging, cross-posting soc.bi maniacs.
--
Melinda Shore - Cornell Theory Center - sh...@tc.cornell.edu
Clay Colwell
In article <2geuu3$n...@castor.hahnemann.edu>, syl...@cvi.hahnemann.edu (ude.nnamenhah.ivc@aivlys) writes:
> In article <CJ61t...@austin.ibm.com>, cla...@austin.ibm.com (Clay Colwell) writes:
>
> >Jim Stafford it is! Also the singer of "Rub It In",
> >"Junk Food Junkie", and "Chickaboom".
>
> Now stop that!!
>
> Jim Stafford was responsible for novely songs that could be
> taken seriously if you weren't paying any attention (remember
> "My Girl Bill"?)
Lessee...
"My girl Bill, my my girl Bill,
I can't say enough about the way I feel about my girl
(my girl my girl)
My girl Bill"?
>
> Isn't "Junk Food Junkie" Ray Stevens?
"<something something> I'm a junk food junkie,
Good Lord have pity on me."
I only heard it from Jim Stafford.
>
> And it's "Chick-a-Boom", not "Chickaboom"!!
Hmmph. Looks like a bunch of unnecessary hyphens to me.
William A. Parsons
: Take the cats to a taxidermist and have them stuffed and mounted. That way you
: both will be happy: you'll have your cats and he'll have some peace and quiet.
My cat, "Pookie the Queen of the Universe", has just issued an edict
that requires the decapitation of your head with subsequent
presentation of said head on a silver platter at her feet.
I wouldn't venture outside if I were you.
-Will
David DeLaney
>Robert Coren <co...@speed.osf.org> wrote about his demon cat:
>You have too - you heard her growl at me once when you were there. No
>doubt I'd tried to sit in her seat. (ObCats - if a cat is in a chair,
>does a human have the right to displace him or her to sit in the
>chair? I say yes, but this seems weird).
ObCatContractInfo: You may pick it up and place it in your lap as you sit.
You may *not* simply shoo it off - although it may decide on its own that
your lap is not the Place To Be Right Now. If it's asleep, petting it to get
its attention first is recommended.
Dave "paragraph 74, subclaws B" DeLaney
--
David DeLaney: dbd@(utkux.utcc | panacea.phys | enigma.phys).utk.edu - collect
them all! Disclaimer: AFAIK, *nobody* speaks for U.T.Knoxville (consistently);
Thinking about this disclaimer (or about high energy theoretical particle __
physics) may cause headaches. .sig virus: Vicki Robinson v2.29; Kibo #: -0 \/
Laurel Halbany
DS> So now it's his lover's fault the cat doesn't get along with him!
DS> I don't know why you'd want to be around a cat that can't get along
DS> with your lover. Toss the damn cats in the river.
Right...as soon as living creatures for whom you have taken
responsibility make your love life a little rocky, kill them.
Don't get pets, David.
... You know everybody is ignorant, only on different subjects.
___ Blue Wave/QWK v2.12
----
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| FREE Usenet mail and news for you! | Call +1 313 663 4173 or 663 3959 |
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| "Will you be roadkill on the Information Highway?" -- R. Rashid, Microsoft
Jess Anderson
William A. Parsons <wpa...@emory.edu> wrote:
>stev...@netcom.com (David Stevenson) writes:
>My cat, "Pookie the Queen of the Universe", has just issued an edict
>that requires the decapitation of your head with subsequent
Decapitation of anything else would be capitulating.
>presentation of said head on a silver platter at her feet.
That should give him paws.
>I wouldn't venture outside if I were you.
Nine times nine hunter-killer kitties will arrive at
SFO at 9:09 this evening and begin their inexorable
tracking of Mr. Stevenson. He won't be bothering us
much longer, I'm sure.
--
[Jess Anderson <> Division of Information Technology, University of Wisconsin]
[Internet: ande...@macc.wisc.edu {o"o} UUCP:{}!uwvax!macc.wisc.edu!anderson]
[Room 3130 <> 1210 West Dayton Street / Madison WI 53706 <> Phone 608/262-5888]
[------> Only a monomaniac gets what we commonly refer to as results. <-------]
Ned Deily
: Nine times nine hunter-killer kitties will arrive at
: SFO at 9:09 this evening and begin their inexorable
: tracking of Mr. Stevenson. He won't be bothering us
: much longer, I'm sure.
Sounds like something out of James Bond:
Octa(*10+1)Pussy does (in) David.
Pussies galore.
a flying squirrel
>ObCats - if a cat is in a chair,
>does a human have the right to displace him or her to sit in the
>chair? I say yes, but this seems weird.
Of course. What did you think M-80's were for?
--
a flying squirrel (Richard W. Johnson) skw...@netcom.com
FJ!!
>Nelson Minar:
>>ObCats - if a cat is in a chair, does a human have the right to displace
>>him or her to sit in the chair? I say yes, but this seems weird.
>Of course. What did you think M-80's were for?
What you really need is an ejector-seat like fighter-jet-airplanes are supposed
to have, or James Bond's car.
Hell, they're supposed to be able to land on their feet, aren't they?
FJ!!
Emily Rizzo
We use a water pistol on the neighbor's cat who adopted our garden as a
bathroom. We never actually hit it, but it's been scared enough to stay
away.
Emily
Sammie L. Foss
lan...@netcom.com (Lee Laniear) writes:
>
>To my thinking cats on surfaces used for food preparation is absolutely
>unacceptable! If it doesn't bother you fine. Actually they aren't that
>hard to train. In undergraduate school I discovered that the best
>training device is your run of the mill bottle sprayer. Adjust the
>nozzle to spray a stream. You can hit them at fifteen feet. It doesn't
>hurt them, but they don't care for it. When tey are young it helps if
>you are stealthy and can catch them scratching things, jumping on things,
>etc. in the dark a few times; this leaves a big impression on them.
>
Never, EVER try to use that handy spray bottle flea spray on said cat.
>
It is a very good training device. I don't even have to spray my cat
anymore, I just show her the bottle.
>
Sammie
Jess Anderson
>What you really need is an ejector-seat like fighter-jet-airplanes are supposed
>to have, or James Bond's car.
>Hell, they're supposed to be able to land on their feet, aren't they?
I have the car -- wanna lift, little boy?
--
[Jess Anderson <> Division of Information Technology, University of Wisconsin]
[Internet: ande...@macc.wisc.edu {o"o} UUCP:{}!uwvax!macc.wisc.edu!anderson]
[Room 3130 <> 1210 West Dayton Street / Madison WI 53706 <> Phone 608/262-5888]
[---------------> Scandal is gossip made tedious by morality. <---------------]
Jess Anderson
a flying squirrel <skw...@netcom.com> wrote:
>Nelson Minar:
>>ObCats - if a cat is in a chair,
>>does a human have the right to displace him or her to sit in the
>>chair? I say yes, but this seems weird.
>Of course. What did you think M-80's were for?
Squirrels, other rodents and pests, originally.
FJ!!
>I have the car -- wanna lift, little boy?
Dunno, did you do any drugs recently?
FJ!! (::giggle::)
Tim Wilson
Deily) writes:
t...@ear-ache.mit.edu (Tim Wilson) writes:
[Grrh, thanks Tim, now I have these Ohrwuerme crawling around in my
head.]
> Wolverton Mountain
You're welcome, 'cause I had Wolverton Mountain on the brain
yesterday.
The birds and the bears
On Wolverton Mountain
Tell Clifton Clowers
When a stranger comes
It's a song about an overprotective daddy, his beautiful daughter,
and, I think, a shotgun.
> Walk Right In, Sit Right Down
Village Stompers ???? (as in Greenwich V)
must have been early 60's - Peter, Paul, & Mary, etc.
Well, I have in my hands the only single I know of by the Village
Stompers. It's called "Washington Square" b/w "Turkish Delight" (is
this a hash song?). [Aside on the Joys of Alphabetization:
* Van Halen: (Oh) Pretty Woman
* Billy Vaughn: A Swingin' Safari (Original "Match Game" theme)
* Village Stompers: Washington Square
* Wet Willy: Street Corner Serenade
* Hank Williams, Jr.: OD'd in Denver
* Steve Windwood: While You See a Chance (eee-yew)
]
> Six Days on the Road
I know that Dave Dudley is the artist, but I'd like a date for its
being a hit. The Dead do a cover of it. I have this all too distinct
memory of being in the back of a station wagon on US 231 somewhere in
southern Alabama on the way to Daytona Beach for summer vacation and
hearing that song every twenty minutes. ['Nuther Aside: Chryslers in
the 60s with push-button automatic transmissions and rectangular-ish
steering wheels.]
> Does the Chewing Gum Lose It's Flavor...
Roger Miller?? (My Uncle Used to Love Me til She Died)
Did he really do a song called "My Uncle Used to..." or something?
I've got "Chug-a-lug" and "England Swings" but no "King of the Road".
He also used to be the summer-replacement for Andy Williams (or was
that Flip Wilson)?
>ObMotss: Six Days on the Road, rest areas, truckers, blow jobs
On the Road Again ...
Any motssers along I-81 in Virgina? We're comin' through soon. In a
truck.
--
Tim Wilson <t...@ear-ache.mit.edu>
ude.nnamenhah.ivc@aivlys
t...@ear-ache.mit.edu (Tim Wilson) writes:
>n...@orac.holonet.net (Ned Deily) writes:
> t...@ear-ache.mit.edu (Tim Wilson) writes:
> [Grrh, thanks Tim, now I have these Ohrwuerme crawling around in my
> head.]
>You're welcome, 'cause I had Wolverton Mountain on the brain
>yesterday.
Clay is the most evil of all.
All day yesterday, until I lay my head to rest, and the first thing
when I got up this morning, what is it you think I keep hearing??
What is it that follows me everywhere, dogging my every step,
making my life one long, non-stop nightmare????????
"Chick-a-boom, Chick-a-boom, don't ya just love it?"
etc.
To add insult to injury, I am at a total loss for recalling
the verses, or even the story, which would be a help. (something
about three doors, the top half of some woman's bikini, someone from
Africa "I pray-zoom"?), so it is just the chorus that is available to
me....
++Sylvia, who actually still has "Spiders and Snakes", but not
"Hot Rod Lincoln" or "Ch*ck-a-B**m"
Nelson Minar
>Nine times nine hunter-killer kitties will arrive at SFO at 9:09 this
>evening and begin their inexorable tracking of Mr. Stevenson. He
>won't be bothering us much longer, I'm sure.
For a graphic description of the forces that face Mr. Stevenson, I
refer the interested reader to "The Cats of Ulthar", a short story by
H.P. Lovecraft. "And that is why it is said that a cat is never killed
in Ulthar".
__
nel...@reed.edu \/ D is for lots of things
William A. Parsons
: Picture this - I go to visit Robert and John last October, a year ago.
: Get into their house, sit down, and nice fluffy kitty wanders over to
: say hello. I say hello back, pet her some, she enjoys it, I pet her
: more enthusiastically, and she gets upset and runs off.
: Ever since then, every time I've seen her, she's been afraid and
: angry. She glares at me. She avoids me. When I was alone with her in
: the house and had to sit near her to use the phone, she growled at me
: the entire time.
: And I love cats. I feel wronged.
That is rather strange Nelson. Our cat ("Our" meaning my lover Chip
and I), Pookie Queen of the Universe- Issuer of Edicts and Punisher
of Puppies, was once a six-month old feral kitty with kittens of her
own. Chip took her in after his friends took the kittens and acclimated
her to sharing her world with humans. (It took about 2 months for her
to let a human pet her. Now she is sleeping on top of my computer as
I type this.)
Even though she detested people at one time the still takes lots
of "abuse" from me without getting in the least bit pissed. I should
probably clarify what I mean By "abuse" before I get the "I heart my
cat" people after me. I dance with Pookie, play "catch me if you can",
play roll me over and rub my tummy till I meow, play pose me in
embarrasing ways and photograph me", and assorted other such games.
However no matter how much I pester her she has always been very
affectionate with me. The only time she ever acted aloof was when
I had to put ear-drops in her ears. Even them the worse thing she did
was run away everytime I came in the room.
I can't imagine what it would take to have a cat hiss at you
everytime you were in the room.
-Will (I forgot the "hide my under the bed covers game" which I think
is one of her favorites.)
obmotss:cats
jim_wylde
> I just wanted to say thanks to everyone for your ideas on solving my cat
> problems. I've gotten dozens of letters.
>
> Over the last few days, It's become evident that I was basically in a
> state of shock from the stress of possibly losing the cats (dizzy,
> sick, no sleep, burst of crying, etc). Once my boyfriend realized
> the depth of my reaction, he re-thought his position.
>
> I think we've isolated two problems he has with them. The first is
> cleanliness. Yes, cats are clean, but they do shed, and he considers cat
> hair to be "dirt." To solve this problem, we can set up a gate to keep
> the cats out of the kitchen, and I can clean more regularly.
If shedding is a problem, try brushing once a week with a slicker brush.
You can get them at pet stores if you don't have one already. This will
keep down most of the shedding except in the spring when it's inevitable.
I'd also reccomend using ALLERPET/C on them. It's a liquid rub that
keeps the dander down (less allergic reactions) and acts as a type of
conditioner for the fur (keeps more from shedding).
To get fur off of couches and chairs, I found that taking a regular
scrub-brush, wetting it, and then lightly brushing the furniture will
pick up most of the hair like a slicker brush does on the animal.
Jim
I'd rather be a free man in my grave,
Than living as a puppet or a slave...
*******************************************************************
______________ Jim Nasiatka/Wylde
\ / Nasi...@ANHEP3.HEP.ANL.GOV
\ / Rough Boys!
\ / Wild in the Streets
\ / Rough Boys!
\ / Under the Sheets
\ /
\/ Gonna fight to miss ya... Gonna fight to kiss ya!
PGP Key available on request or by Finger
*******************************************************************
Megan Phillips
> That is rather strange Nelson. Our cat ("Our" meaning my lover Chip
> and I), Pookie Queen of the Universe- Issuer of Edicts and Punisher
> of Puppies,.....[deleted]
...and you should see the size of the puppies she punishes! If I were
David, I'd be barring the doors and boarding up the windows. That is, if
it's not too late already. David? David?
--
Megan - slave to my clowder
megan.p...@business.gatech.edu
Steve Albert
>> I think we've isolated two problems he has with them. The first is
>> cleanliness. Yes, cats are clean, but they do shed, and he considers
cat
>> hair to be "dirt." To solve this problem, we can set up a gate to
keep
>> the cats out of the kitchen, and I can clean more regularly.
>
>If shedding is a problem, try brushing once a week with a slicker brush.
Once a week? One of my cats has a medium-length
but *very* thick coat, and I have to brush him every
other day at a minimum, or he and my apartment
both start to look like hell.
On the other hand, the other cat is a short-hair;
I only brush her in the spring, and then only about
once a week.
In other words, your mileage may vary.
**********************************************************************
Steve Albert (albe...@maroon.tc.umn.edu)
Department of Independent Study, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
"My friends know me as a master of dead air." - Marilyn Quayle
**********************************************************************
Schwark R.
>
>That was my reaction, too. The only time I've ever seen
>domestic cats react like that was when someone had done
>something threatening to the cat, more than once.
Or the cat's neurotic. My dear Milly is exactly this way with strangers,
and I *KNOW* the strangers she hisses at love cats and wouldn't dream
of doing anything. She just likes the house to contain her and I and
no other people, and it upsets her when other people invade the territory.
For all I can tell, the cats are jealous.
Ry
Douglas J. Wyman
than people do.
--
( Doug Wyman - Washington State Patrol ---- Internet dwy...@halcyon.com )
( 206-649-4665 | Compu$erve 76020.3650 | Both numbers are work numbers )
( Any opinions are my own thank you. Thinking is free and encouraged )
Douglas J. Wyman
: A friend of mine reently told me about the time she bird-sat for her
: boss; the bird died while my friend was traveling with it. Of course, she
: was just beside herself wondering how she would tell her boss that her
Ok, true stories time!!!
Many years ago, I was living in a gay commune and my mother asked me to
baby sit her Mynah bird while she went on vacation. This was when
Boys in the Band had just come out on record. The phrase, "Who do you
have to fuck here to get a drink?" was one of many phrases the bird
took home to mom.
She was NOT pleased.