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[foxe]

The relative painlessness of getting up at 8am this (first weekday of daylight savings) morning makes me wonder why I haven't been getting up at 7am and having an extra productive hour of the day for the past weeks

Comments

[pyrrha17]

I'm not sure of the morals of cat ownership, I'll leave that to you ethicists! In practical terms though, what happens with it when you're away?

[foxe]

Well, this is why I'm not actually getting a cat, just thinking about what would be the case if in theory I did... :)

[foxe]

I do have a housemate, who might well be prepared to look after a cat; but we couldn't guarantee that there'd be one of us there at all times. Hence no actual cat, just thinking about one...

I am inclined to agree, though, that if the cat is happy then it's probably ok; and of course once I got it, I would obviously end up valuing it for itself! This all stemmed from thinking that if I tried getting a live-in partner just for the sake of having one, I probably wouldn't care for him/her the same way and therefore I shouldn't get one. Cats are easier to love than people.*

(* By which of course I don't mean that I don't love some people more than cats; what I mean is that loving people takes more work than loving cats, because of the respective sorts of creatures they are and the kinds of interactions you have and get value from...)

[dolce_cantabile]

Although my opinion may not be as important because i have a rather unusual value system, i don't think it really matters what you 'use' the cat for so long as it is happy do be used as such. For instance, my cat (which, unfortunately, currently lives with my mum, because i live with my grandma and she's allergic to cats) has never stepped foot outside except for the rare occasion when someone has left the front door open, and on those rare occasions he only got halfway across the front yard before a car/dog/person would go down the street and the cat would bolt back inside from terror...so, although many people claim it is cruel for me to keep my cat solely inside, i think he is actually rather happy with it, thus i don't think it's cruel at all. which brings me back to my point... if your cat is happy with you using him/her just for cuddles, which i'm pretty certain he/she will be, then there's nothing wrong with it :)

[vivienne_aster]

many people claim it is cruel for me to keep my cat solely inside

Eek, people actually say this? These people don't live in Australia with the vulnerable native marsupials, right? ;)

[dolce_cantabile]

actually they do, which surprised me too. when i worked a few years ago as a fundraiser for an animal shelter, i used to get angry people arguing that all cats should die because they kill native wildlife, and when i said my cat doesn't because he lives always inside, they either went off in a huff or didn't believe me! people these days...

[vivienne_aster]

Yeah - my Dad used to say that. I pointed out that my cats didn't, even though they wanted to, and he was forced to accept that possibly they didn't need to be wiped out.

Admittedly, they REALLY want to. The looks of longing they direct at the birds outside...

Then you get people complaining about the smell of indoor cats, and when you explain that if you use the correct litter, remove the poo, and change it often enough, there is no problem, they also don't believe you. I'm convinced that too many people with indoor cats just don't know how to maintain a litter tray :P

[vivienne_aster]

I say get the cat. Cats don't care about being used. They care about food and cuddles and occasionally moments of playing. Of course, I don't really know what cats care about; that would involve some serious mind reading and anthropomorphism, but our cats are indoor cats that make do, mostly, with food and cuddles and play. They are healthy and playful and they purr loudly; I assume they're happy ;)

If you have a friendly neighbour who can feed your cats when you're away (preferably someone who will also brush and pat them), and you're not usually away for more than a week at a time, I think you can maintain a happy relationship with a cat.

Our cats get cross when we leave them for a weekend, but they forgive quickly. Short memories?

[vivienne_aster]

The other argument made by a friend of mine who rents and knew she'd probably leave the country was that she was giving a cat (a shelter cat that would otherwise be put down) a happy home, and while she might have to pass it on to someone else eventually, the cat got a few more loving years than he would have otherwise. This upsets me a little, but it's still true.

[foxe]

Waaaah. The reason I'm not getting a cat isn't really because I'm concerned about instrumentalisation; it's because often I am away for more than a week at a time and I'm out all day most days even when I'm here... Not ideal cat-ownership conditions :(

Trying to understand the mental state of animals is an interesting problem (on which I have several books waiting to be read). I'd say, though, that since cats we can reasonably assume to be unhappy don't manifest the kind of behaviours that your cats do, it's not such a stretch to assume that purring and playing = happy!

[dzurlady]

Hmm. I've just been looking after Jules by myself while Mum and Younger Sibling were away and he was really miserable with no-one at home (because I was working). He was really clingy and meowed a lot when he saw me, and it was quite heartbreaking. On the other hand, he's been used to have two to three people around much of the day, so it was a big change for him.

[foxe]

Yeah, that's my real concern (all this instrumentalisation stuff is just something to distract me from my catless reality) -- I'm out of the house all day, and cats get lonely and need cuddles too...