Are Your Cats Humans Or Animals?

How do you treat them? Are they another member of the family, treated equal to humans, or do you treat them as animals only?

I'm more likely to treat them like humans myself. They don't get every perk of humanity, but they get quite a few! I'm pretty sure Sibyl thinks she's a baby human now...

 

I've always treated my pets as furry members of the family. Like you my pets don't get every perk of humanity but all my pets have doted on and fussed over.

 

I think they're a combination of both.

They're definitely treated as part of the family, no doubt about it. They're not "just" animals, by any means. At the same time, we don't tend to treat the cats like babies all the time. They still eat only cat food...not human food, etc, for example.

 

I'll let photos speak for themselves.



Ha!

I'm only kidding. In all honesty, I think there is a healthy combination of both. My cats are still treated as cats, but they do have certain privileges. We let them sit on the couches and beds, for example.

 

Like family!! They are taken care of and we don't force them to be outside or just let whatever happen to them. They go to the vet and get their shots and are taken care of when they're sick. They sleep whenever and wherever and get the good cat food(s). They get lots of love and attention, too. Dusty acts like a little baby sometimes when he lays on his back in my lap and purrs for attention, which is freaking adorable when I'm not trying to work on something.
Some of my extended family do not treat their pets like family and I feel horrible for their pets. They lose pets more often than not because they're careless and I would guess they rarely if ever love on them or take them to the vet.

 

Oh no! What's the point in even having pets if you're going to do that?! Pets are made to be loved, not treated like a piece of furniture. Those poor kitties!

 

I don't know why have them and treat them so badly, and I feel its unfair to own a pet if you're not going to love them. My aunt (I have two aunts, not to be confused with my aunt who had a cat named DC) hates cats so I think they've only had one or two for the purpose of hunting mice and varmints. They mostly have dogs and they just do the basics of feeding them. They say outside to the elements and only when it's really cold will they let the stay in the garage.

 

Oh! I've had family members keep cats around to kill mice. We had a stray my parents let stick around for that reason. But even she gets attention from my family members! My mother spends a lot of time outside, so she pets her and gives her affection a ton. My parents have an outside dog, too, that never comes in the house. But they have a garage the dog and cat have access to and there are two dog houses full of hay and blankets too.

 

The only extras I've seen are when they throw out turkey bones from Thanksgiving and Christmas. Their pets stay out on the cold hard ground with the only good thing being access to food and water. I think they have a decrepit old wooden dog house at the tree-line of their house but it's empty of nice things. They have more than one dog, but the dog house is small even for one dog. Your parents sound like good people, kind enough to do nice things for their pets. It's not always feasible to keep pets inside, but your mom and dad are still being good to their pets and seeing they are cared for.

 

What?! You shouldn't give your animals bird bones.. they fracture easily and it could puncture the poor animal's throats. -shakes head- I feel terrible for those poor animals. They shouldn't be having them if that's how they treat them, geez.

 

I know, it's awful. It only happens twice a year but they really shouldn't do it at all. They do the bare minimum so it's not considered neglect, but that doesn't mean they're giving their pets safe things.

 

I treat my cat Delores like a member of the family and she acts like a spoiled ,surly teenager. Sometimes she gives me a look like "When I turn 18, I am so out of here."
But seriously, pets are animal friends that we have a bond with and they definitely shouldn't be treated as
"just dumb animals". They have feelings and in their own ways, they love their owners back.

 

Hah, Sibyl is like that too! She's very expressive with her face, I call her sassy all of the time. She likes to pretend she'll leave in a heartbeat, no matter how loyal she actually is.