BellaOnline Forums Relationships Married No Kids Child substitutes...

My boy cats, three of them over the years, have been my babies. They've all been gentle, sweet, and affectionate but not in an "in your face" kind of way. Whereas the two females I've had have been bold, sassy and outgoing, and frequently holy terrors! Both the females were/are cuddle monsters, but demanding with it.

I actually prefer male cats. I've had one of each for a long time now, but if I could only have one, it would be a boy.

Hi Pikasam:
I do also prefer male cats, but I have heard the even after sterilizing, some adult males will start to spray.
At least mine is spraying inside of the box, although it goes out of the box, but he is not spraying around the house.
I have two friends that have a spraying adult male!
This may cause me to go back to having females!!

Females spray as well. When I got Tipo as a kitten, Pepsi sprayed all over the house for about a week. I had a friend who adopted a female stray, and both the stray and her female sprayed everywhere.

Guess dominant females are territorial as well!

I have been watching this thread for the last few days, and it's amazing how many kindred spirits I have among you who post on this forum! I just wanted to quickly chime in and say that I do not consider our 6 cats to be our "child substitutes," but instead, they're the superior option in a life full of options! I definitely look at them sometimes and think that some animals are indeed superior life forms, and then at other times, when they're acting particularly crazy, chasing their tails, or running all the way through our house over and over again, I'm not so sure.

We have 4 males and 2 females. We have found that most males are friendlier than females. In the case of our 2 females, well they are very different from each other. Neither seems to do much more than "put up with" the other, though I think they should stick together b/c of their gender. However, one of them (our second adoptee and second oldest) is so mean if you approach her when it's not on her terms, yet she can be so loving if she decides to sit with you and enjoy affection. She seems to go to DH more, so she's more "his" cat. The other female we have, a year younger, is just the sweetest little thing, following me around all the time, and curling up on each of our laps and sleeping with us. She demands attention, but in the cutest way. Both females have a habit of sleeping with us, too. As for our males, we have found that they are generally more outgoing with strangers or family/friends that visit than our females are, and they are sillier and more playful than the females at times. They all have their moments, though.

As a child, I too preferred playing with stuffed animals to dolls, and I had a beautiful collie as a pet until 2000. She was great - we would run and play outside together growing up. I love dogs too, but DH would rather not have to do all of the work that dogs require, so we have cats. I think we put a lot of effort into our cats' well-being that others don't always do, so there's quite a bit of responsibility there as well - no late night or early morning walks to go to the bathroom, though. Cats are definitely the way to go for us!

LSU:

I have a Signature on my e-mail:

"If man were to be crossed with a cat, it would improve the man but deteriorate the cat" - Mark Twain.

I love that and I do believe it.

I wish I could have a cat, but I am so deathly allergic. The longer I've been away from them, the worse my allergic reactions have been.

I do have my two dogs, two finches and horse. My horse I have had for almost 14 years so he's definitely my child substitute. I devote my life to him- he always gets new shoes before me! But he does give me a lot of pleasure being able to fulfill my childhood dream of riding in the forest or galloping in the wind.

My dog is almost a year old now and is such a ham. He's kind of been a lesson in "childrearing" for me (also teaching me the limitations in my patience, LOL!), but its been great watching him grow up. He's doing wonderful in agility and I think he'll be a great competitor in a few years.

LastingOne, what agility association do you run your dog in? I thaught agility in New Zealand for four years, but I didn't get into it here because my older border developed arthritis just as I was moving to Canada. But I'm thinking of starting my younger one (he'll be five next Easter).

I am totally against animal testing for anything that isn't medical. As far as medical, I'm not sure how I feel. I guess as long as the animals are treated well. My BIL is a scientist who was studying vaccinations on rare diseases - they used animals. He is an animal lover, so it was hard on him, but the animals were treated very well. I think he's relieved that he is now pursuing his Ph.D. and doesn't have to do that anymore.

I totally agree with you Ingilbert. I think medical purposes are the only time it makes it ok. For most medical drugs/procedures there just doesn't seem to be a way around animal testing yet.

I didn't realize that the FDA actually requires that all drugs/medical treatments undergo animal testing. This makes since I suppose. Cosmetics and cleaning products though aren't required to be tested on animals.

I looked it up since everyone kind of got into this discussion and I found it interesting. I guess most companies that make beauty/cleaning products just test on animals since it's easier. I read that they have things they can do to simulate human allergy responses without even using actual people 100% of the time. That is what the companies that don't test on animals use besides actual tests on people.

I didn't realize all of this before this discussion. I just knew I didn't agree with animal testing of beauty products. I just wanted to share because I've found the info very informative whether you're for or against animal testing. I also discovered that I have a few products that were tested on animals. Guess I'll have to rethink some of my shopping list.

I just met the most adorable Pug on a walk tonight. I prefer big dogs, but this little guy had the cutest face and the most soulful eyes and was just happy to meet a stranger (or at least sniff him out). I never get like that (i.e. a mush) when I meet a child. Call me crazy or uncaring or whatever.....but has anyone else felt this? I just relate to the four legged creatures ....."And God made them all, great and small."