But first, a little background. I grew up in the country with lots of acreage and horses. Naturally, we had dogs - German shepherds - who were indoor pets but also went along on the trail with us when we were horseback riding. To keep mice and other rodents out of the horse's grain, we had a barn cat.
So, in essence, at the Bernier Ranch -
- dog's job = be a companion for humans
- cat's job = keep mice/rodents out of horse feed
Since I grew up that way, I'm a firm believer in the same now (i.e., cats were never made to be indoor pets; dogs have evolved to be man's companion). Since I exist in the 'dog-lover' faction, I find it fascinating some people insist on keeping cats as pets. One familiar argument against cats is they can't be trained*, so what's the point of having one?
Here's the ironic/weird occurrence, though:
Have you ever noticed that, while many dog owners struggle to train a dog to come (their own lovable companions, no less), you can pretty much get ANY cat in the entire world to come to you merely by using a high-pitched voice and saying "here, kitty kitty kitty kitty!"
Think about it. What cat DOESN'T come to you when you call like that??? I've done it in México, Spain, Italy and possibly some other European country. Still works. Inherent training which transcends all languages. Now THAT'S fascinating. I betcha there's at least 90% of the dog-owning population out there wishes it were THAT easy to train recall in their dog :)
*Keep in mind, I certainly don't feel that way; I've just heard other fellow dog-lovers say that. I actually believe ANY animal can be trained. I actually trained my goldfish. Yup. Pretty simple. He used to freak out whenever I'd turn on his tank light. Just zip all over, then skulk in the back corner and not come out. Now, when I turn on the light, he rises to the top of the tank to greet me. Who knew?
Wanna know how I did it????
Too bad. That's my business.
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