Animals

[Cats]

You have a very valid point in that pets shouldn't be treated as if they were human when they are not. You are also not "weird" for not liking animals, that is your preferences. I love cats but am not fond of dogs. However, whats wrong with giving respect, love and care to a pet as IF it was family? Owners have a responsibility to their pets to fulfill those needs. A pet isn't for showing off, so if you're not going to respect it as even a quasi-member of the household, why have it in the first place?

You can still treat an animal as family while still recognizing that yes, they are a completely different species with their own needs. Isn't part of the bond of family (and friendship too) fulfilling the needs of others sometimes? Humans are not the only creatues who have beneficial relationships with each other. Happens in nature all the time! Just because they come from a different branch of biology doesn't mean it can't be made to work.


I have 2 cats, but one is older and I share sort of a spiritual connection with her, so to speak. To me, she is family. I talk to her as if she were human (my whole family does that with our pets), but I do realize, that yes, she is a cat. She has different needs, wants, and attention spans than humans. However, in my mind, she is no less a family member to me. I know she's a cat, she knows I'm a human. That doesn't get in our way of having a healthy relationship with each other.

[Flyndaran]

Weird is usually used to mean not like the average.
Since most people like pets, I would say that not liking them at all is a bit unusual.. Then again I understand how labels of an absolute nature, such as weird, can be hurtful and rarely convey what the speaker means.
I would consider the opposite extreme often attributed to Peta as unusual more for its internal inconsistancies than its rarity anyway.

I may be an atheist but I feel wonder at the sheer variety of feelings, thoughts, and life itself.
Treating any lifeform as something other than what they are is a gross disservice and often comes dangerously close to animal abuse.

As to family, my cat Cerberus was family. I would feel strong anger at anyone that claimed to dictate who I am allowed to call my family.
When he went blind, I would have literally given up one of my own eyes to let him see again. Many of my human relatives I would tell to go take a flying leap instead.

[pile of monkeys]

When I worked at Wal-Mart, I worked in the pet department. I thought some of the pet accessories we had were kind of silly, like the clothing. We carried these little raincoats for dogs, and I think we even had black leather jackets for dogs, too. Someone once asked if we carried boots for dogs, which we didn't.

Boots are actually kind of useful. Especially in the wintertime, animals can get all sorts of stuff caught in their paws, like salt, and they're pretty sensitive to the cold ground, which can lead to pretty nasty injuries. So boots are pretty functional. Leather jackets? Not so much, unless you have a small dog in a very cold climate. Sometimes it does get too cold to go outside to do their business without a little extra protection from the elements.