Cats very much do have personalities. Subtle, but they for sure do.
You have to get to know yours better 
[quote=âErmintrudeâ][quote=âsuperkingâ]I donât think cats have personalities. I think they have degrees of training.
I donât think any animal has a personality. But we have argued this begore. Grin.[/quote]
BIT hairsplitty in that whether they do or not has no effect on outcomes.[/quote]
Sure its relevant. If cats have personalities then so do other (all?) creatures.
My birds I had certainly had personalities. My rabbit for sure did. Not sure bout my turtles or my fish though.
[quote=âsuperkingâ][quote=âErmintrudeâ][quote=âsuperkingâ]I donât think cats have personalities. I think they have degrees of training.
I donât think any animal has a personality. But we have argued this begore. Grin.[/quote]
BIT hairsplitty in that whether they do or not has no effect on outcomes.[/quote]
Sure its relevant. If cats have personalities then so do other (all?) creatures.[/quote]
why is that I mportant? Wit humans, itâs just a bunch of data you can use to predict how they will thing. Animal just less/different data.
Does that include humans?
[quote=âtommy525â]Thank you for your well wishes ! Much appreciated. I hope your Christmas was jolly and fun.
Fyi, last nights dinner went very well. My sister in law outdid herself once again with just the right number of dishes. Wellmade roast beef for the beef lovers and salmon (fresh not frozen) for non beef eaters. Some veggies (asparagus and a baked potato dish). The starter was very nice. Individual sized mashed potato dish with scallops and mushrooms (perhaps not the usual combo, but it worked). Similar to au gratin but with mashed rather then sliced potato. Chandon champagne or Gentleman Jack or red or white wine or italian soda as beverages. A super soft chocolate cake and vanilla icecream as a finisher. OF course, coffee or tea. The coffee she got from this well known roaster in Austin , TX. And it was certainly good. Mild, light flavored as opposed to all the mostly heavy stuff from Peetâs or Starbucks. And luckily the portions were all correct and there was NO left-overs. Which is great as who wants leftovers anyway?
Everyone liked her new 8 place table (which was just right for the 9 of usâŚerr not? Well actually one person came late, like after dinner so it worked out) made of solid African Mahogany made nearby in Pescadero . Which was (oddly enough) matched with chairs made by Amish people in Pennsylvania. Made with natural cherry wood. With an inch thick cushion attached of black fine grain leather. Well made and no doubt cost them a month or two of their salaries ! Too bad they didnât get the new set of silverware in time to go with the new table. Next year
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I got a bottle of MOnkey Shoulder scotch. Which apparently is a blend of young scotch from a few well known distilleries. Itâs not bad.
All in all I was glad nobody went extravagant (like my bro did last year) on the gift giving this year. Because honestly we are all adults and this should just be a light gift giving - fun thing. Not wallet busting.
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Spread the love. Try to disregard the minuses, like paying rent⌠ugh. and fending off car scratchers. Still its nicer then what I heard on the radio about people in SAn Francisco who are regularly getting their windows smashed by the homeless (presumably) searching for things to steal from the car. One guy has had his windows smashed numerous times this year alone and he puts nothing in his car. One gal said she put a sign saying there is nothing in the car and the next day her window got smashed. Maybe they should just leave their doors open? I guess I would if my windows were regularly being smashed. Every time I go to my car I have no idea what new scratches I may have gotten. Guess [/quote]
Looks like you are having a good Christmas, if course itâs very short in the US. But in Taiwan we officially get no days off for Xmas (at least got along weekend for New year but had to work a bit yesterdayâŚonly half day with a 5 star lunch thrown inâŚwasnât too bad as a make up day ),
One thing that amazes is your sister in law using African mahogany for the table. African mahogany is not actually mahogany but a marketing name applied to various hard rainforest type woods from Africa. Real mahogany is listed under CITEs, unfortunately these African hardwoods are not.
The US has great sustainable local hard and soft woods for furniture such as beech, walnut and pine. itâs really a shame she had to use mahogany that could be from conflict zones in places like the Congo but worse is the needless destruction of precious environmental resources of poor countries. This is a global problem, my parents did something similar a few years ago. Nobody has made a movie with Leonardo Di Caprio in it yet I guess. I wish people would think more.
As for breaking into cars, seems its getting more common that they steal the contents of cars rather than try to rob them (security features) itâs always been a problem where Im from, canât leave any expensive or important stuff in the car.
Iâve never understood the purpose of keeping outdoor cats as pets. I mean, how is it a pet? Of course I can understand the purpose of a barn cat - pest control. But just having a cat hang around, feeding it twice a day, how do you benefit from that? Isnât the whole idea of having a pet to make it part of the family, to keep you company?
Iâve never understood the purpose of keeping outdoor cats as pets. I mean, how is it a pet? Of course I can understand the purpose of a barn cat - pest control. But just having a cat hang around, feeding it twice a day, how do you benefit from that? Isnât the whole idea of having a pet to make it part of the family, to keep you company?[/quote]
Well, to be honest I think its very selfish to keep cats indoors all the time. They need to go out and explore. A pet, for me, is about experiencing what the life cycle of an animal is. Itâs about learning what the animal does. In a family it is for teaching children responsibility for feeding, cleaning, being comfortable around and respecting animals. And from time to time its about the cat deciding to plop down on your lap and have a purr. I know when my cat dies I will feel sad, but not for me, for him. I took him to give him a better life, not to be my buddy. I have humans for that stuff. And to be honest, I imagine he prefers scratching trees and killing frogs to having his nails clipped and his teeth brushed.
I canât stand how dependent people train their dogs to be and then call that love. At least cats refuse to be love slaves.
People donât have personality either. Itâs just an odd human construction, like adhd or astrology.
There, now thatâs a load of weird stuff for people to get huffy and confused about. Enjoy. 
Iâve never researched cat behavior, but I know that cat experts recommend keeping cats indoors full time from the time theyâre kittens.
That sounds like a scientific experiment. In any case, I take it you must spend a lot of time outdoors, observing your catâŚright? I mean, since thatâs the purpose of having it.
People donât train their dogs to be dependent, itâs in their nature. Dogs are pack animals, selectively bred over thousands of years to accept humans as pack leaders. Itâs a classic example of artificial evolution. No training required; our ancestors took care of that. All dogs want to do is be with their pack. Keeping them outside, alone, away from their pack, is cruelty.
We had a kitten for a week. We couldnât keep her due to my allergies, but she was wonderful. We found her on our doorstep one day, meowing. She was so cute and sweet. We found her a good home. But if I wasnât allergic, she would still be with us today.
Actually my bro and his wife probably know not much about hardwoods. I donât either. Who knows what it is and how it got there? Maybe its Calif redwood, which would probably not be legal to cut down either.
NO idea what it really is. Other then what we were told it was .
If you live in an area where your cat can explore the outdoors that will be great. Sadly most people donât live in a place where your cat can be safe. Therefore it is best to keep him indoors. Or do what I do and give him walks on a leash.
Why should cats be kept indoors? Is that their natural environment?
In the warmer months I watch my cat from the garden, in the winter I watch him from the window. He likes going for wood pigeons even though they are massive and hard to get. Whenever he has caught one in my sight he never seems to know what to do with it next. When he is outdoors he has certain spots he likes. The shed roof is a favoured place. He also likes to hide in the bean poles. I do not look to my cat for happiness, security or love. We co-exist in the same place at the same time. I do love him though, in a way, maybe because he has been alive during moments of stress or happiness so he gets bundled up along with the emotions I have for those experiences. Maybe because he does things which I frame as being silly, like hiding in a box, and remember my own box loving childhood.
Dogs are pack animals, quite right, so the owner is pack leader. The owner can then train this dog to behave in certain ways as a human is much smarter than a dog. Many owners train their dogs to believe they are food gambling machines. Sometimes the leader pays out, sometimes it doesnât. Best to follow the leader around to see if it is going to pay out. Humans mistake this for love. Itâs not, its dependence based on poor training. My dad has two new dogs. Already they go everywhere he goes. He thinks they love him. He has actually just taught them to be completely useless. Now he gets upset when they wonât do what he tells them? " Donât you love me?â No. And they donât understand English either.
I wouldnât keep a dog outside, that would be cruel. I empathised greatly with your heartbreaking decision earlier in the year. It must have been awful and I really felt for you.
I agree that many dog owners mistakenly treat their dogs as humans, which can lead to many different behavioral issues, but the affection that dogs show for their owners and vice versa is love. Thereâs no mistake.
Those who say animals have no emotions have never faced a pissed off cat.
Exactly. Those who say cats have no personality really never got to know theirs. Its like saying your GF has no personality.
Still 2014 here for an hour and a half. Happy New Year to you all !
Wifey has a small tummy upset and has gone to bed. I had to work today and am too tired to really do anything special.
Last year we went out to Walnut Creek for the countdown. A cool town here in the East Bay and it sucked. The streets were completely empty !!
Donât have the energy to take BART to downtown San Francisco to see the fireworks. Its really cold out there and BART sucks and who wants the crowds.
BAh humbug right?
Best have a shot or two of my MONKEY SHOULDERS scotch and enjoy being at home sweet home.
Donât think Gendut knows that he is a CAT. Sheâs got him coming on command. Standing up to ask for food and sitting patiently while waiting for his food.
He is really quite obedient for a CAT.
But then Maine Coons are known to be very dog like.
Happy New Year to you too.
Gosh, must be cold there for such a fluffy thinghie to be wearing a sweater.
We keep the apt at bout 23c to 24c. But early morning and late nitetime temps these days are near zero outside.
So going out on walks gendut wears his sweater a lot.
Tammy got her first first time behind the wheel of a car today. And YES< We survived !!
The other day we tried with my stick shift car. But I knew it was not going to happen because even with the seat set as high as possible and as close as it would go to the dashboard, she was having trouble putting the clutch to the floorboard. NOt a good sign.
So we tried and that ended with her storming out of the car shouting that I am NOT going to be teaching her how to drive.
So today we got her her first hour (65 bucks) behind the wheel of a driving school car , with instructor. I kept my mouth as shut as possible while sitting in the back seat. She is going to get an hour a week for a few months. We decided that I would trail behind her in my car (at a safe non distracting distance) on her next lesson
She actually did pretty well. The area where we live is pretty ideal to learn. Few cars and lots of places to do left turns and right turns and what not.
Its actually amazing. When I first learned I was at a driving school . So we were off the streets and on the course of the driving school itself. Here in the USA, people get right behind the wheel of a car and learn on the city streets.
We took it nice and slow and i think it went quite well. Considering itâs her very first time behind the wheel of a car.
Yes, by learned driver standards, she was terrible and all over the road. But by first time driver standards, I think her last five minutes were a huge improvement over her first five minutes. And she will be a fine driver yet.
The driving school here SAFEST WAY is good. They drive a car over to your place, pick you up for your lesson and deposit you right back home. They arrived early and called an hour before and a day before to confirm your appointment. Real professional.
I think the person most nervous though was the instructor. Tammy was too new at the game to know better, and I already knew better what to expect !! 
Luckily he has brakes on his side of the car too, and sitting up front he can reach over (which he did numerous times) and grab the steering wheel.
For the sake of your marriage, I do commend you on getting her a driving instructor. As a matter of fact, youâd better bail out of the back seat, too! LOL.