EPTCats make fantastic pets for the following reasons:
1) They are cuter than fuck. This is not up for debate. If you punch 'cute' into youtube the plurality of videos are cat videos, proving that cats are the cutest thing known to man. http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=cute&aq=f
2) They are naturally clean and tidy animals. Unlike most pets cats clean themselves and take care of their own 'business' as neatly as they are able to. Some cats even learn how to use human toilets without training. You can find proof of this on youtube. One of my own cats is also teaching himself to use the toilet.
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=cat using toilet&aq=f
3) Cats are playful and companionable. Some people think cats are aloof and unfriendly. This is almost always bullshit and the result of mistakes on the owner's part. If you know how to raise a cat you will have a lifelong companion that loves you just as much as any other pet. My cats greet my wife and I at our door every time we come home, spontaneously jump into our laps for some good old cuddling when we sit or lie down, rub our legs with their head affectionately while we cook, and sleep on our bed cuddled up with us every night.
So, that said,
How can I be a good cat owner?
I will address a few common mistakes that cat owners make here. Of course, don't forget the obvious things like to make sure your cats are immunized, spayed, neutered (unless you are sure you want to breed them and know how to do so properly), buy good food for them, don't leave bones/meat where cats can find them and get at them, etc.
First off, cats are not dogs, they do not think like dogs, they do not have the same needs as dogs, and they will not act like you think a dog should act. So don't expect them to. Most mistakes stem from this misconception. That said, cats DO have needs and they ARE intelligent animals.
1) Cats need stimulation. Like all intelligent animals, cats can get bored, and a bored cat is not a happy cat, and an unhappy cat will not be a kind and loving companion. The misconception that cats are not loving and companionable is partly caused by bored cats. Unlike bored dogs, which only get more and more desperate for attention, bored cats can often be aloof and even seemingly spitefully destructive. This behavior is caused by the cat giving up on getting stimulation from you and doing its best to amuse itself. If feasible, you should let your cat go outside to play and explore and hunt birds and mice and whatnot every day. If it's not feasible to have an outdoor cat, I'd highly recommend getting at least 2 cats so that they can play with each other. Aside from that, you should also make an effort to at least try to play with your cats once every day (if they don't want to play, fine, don't try to force them, but DO let them know that you care and that you will be available to play with them when they want to and you are able to). You can also experiment with giving them different toys. Different cats like different things, just like children, but you don't generally have to buy anything. Simple stuff like a ping pong ball or tennis ball, a bit of coloured paper tied to a string, a drinking straw, a shoebox, a ball of tinfoil... you never know what your cats are going to love playing with.
2) Cats need a clean litter box. As said before, cats are clean animals. They clean themselves because they hate to be dirty. And they don't like doing their business in a messy litter box any more than you enjoy taking a dump in a shit-filled public toilet. Cats figure out that you are responsible for cleaning their litter box pretty quickly and they will get pissed at you if you don't do it regularly. I clean my cats' litter box twice a day. Once a day is ok if you only have 1 cat though; or if you have outdoor cat(s) they may do a lot of their business outdoors and you don't have to clean their litter box that often; but that said even if they are outdoor cats you should have a clean litter box for them to use whenever they feel like when they are indoors, especially at night when you don't want to be getting out of bed to let them in and out all the time.
3) Cats need food and water in their bowl all the time. Unlike dogs, which should be fed on a regular schedule or they will literally eat themselves to death, cats can regulate their own diet. They will graze and nibble on their food whenever they feel like and for the most part they won't overeat. (Though post spay/neutering some cats put on a lot of weight, so exercise judgement here.) Generally speaking, as long as your cats are within a healthy weight range, there should always be food and water out for them to have if they want to. If they want to eat and their bowl is empty they will be bitter and they are smart enough to know who to be bitter at.
4) Cats need to scratch something. They literally do need to scratch something; if you place cats in an environment where they have absolutely nothing to scratch, they develop crippling arthritis. They need to scratch to work their tendons and ligaments. So make sure you provide them with something they can scratch at all times, because they need to scratch something several times a day just to stay healthy.
5) Cats can't be trained like dogs. Cats don't naturally see you as their 'pack leader' in the same way as dogs do. They see you more as a friend and thus attempts to control their behavior (ie train them) are not viewed by them any more favorably than if one of your friends suddenly decided to start 'training' you. Some cats are naturally more receptive to training than others but for the most part even professional trainers have a hard time getting cats to do complex actions on command. It's not because cats are not intelligent--in fact I'd say that most cats can figure out how to do stuff on their own just as well as or better than most dogs can (like the cats that train themselves to use the toilet)--it's just that cats do not have the same ingrained social heirarchy of dogs and thus are not receptive to being trained. That said, you are going to want to stop your cats from chewing on your electrical wires and computer wires and tearing your furniture to shreds.
6) Never strike or raise your voice to your cat, ever. Cats are not like your children and they are not like a dog; they will not be able to both fear and love you at the same time as children and dogs can. Cats are your friends and if you strike or raise your voice to your cat, don't expect them to react any differently than if you did it to one of your friends. They will simply not want to be around you any more. Except that unlike your human friends, cats rely on you for their basic necessities of life, which puts them in an extremely awkward and uncomfortable position if they don't like you, but they still need you. I really pity cats in this situation. So how do you stop cats from chewing electrical wires and destroying your furniture? Use a spray bottle or water gun. Cats will learn to hate the bottle/gun but not you. After you spray them a couple of times, just picking up the tool will let them know to cut it out, and if you are a good owner they will respect you enough to not do things they know you don't want them to do even when you are not around. That means remembering rules number 1 and 4: make sure they have enough stimulation and something to scratch; otherwise they will just wait to destroy things when you're not looking no matter how many times you spray them.
7) Treat your cat age appropriately. When your cat is a kitten it needs extra love and attention; you should play with it and cuddle it as often as you can. When the cat is around 6-12 months old it will start to get much more independent and may even stop being affectionate with you. This is normal as this is the age that the cat would naturally be leaving its mother, so don't take it personally if your cat suddenly stops wanting to cuddle you or play with you that much. Just wait it out, be patient, be there for your cat but not insistent, and when your cat reaches full adulthood it will look at you as its kind and loving friend and once again be as affectionate and cuddly as ever, but more mellowed out.
Those are my 7 main tips to being a happy and successful cat owner with happy and loving cats. Although all cats have their own personalities, just like any intelligent creature, all cats have the capacity to love you just as much as any kind of pet. You just have to raise them right, preferably from kittenhood, and unless there's something really wrong with your cat you shouldn't have any problems at all as far as your cat being warm, affectionate, playful, and loving. Hope you found something useful here, or at least enjoyed it. Thanks for your time!
. I would probably have like 3 or 4 cats for the awesomeness.![[image loading]](http://imgur.com/qcyzi.jpg)
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