Thursday, September 4, 2014

Dogs Have Masters, Cats have servants. Do you agree?

Yesterday, while perusing the Pet aisle at Walmart, a sign above a shelf caught my eye. "Dog Training Aids and Supplies." I thought, "I wonder if..." then scanned the cat supplies across the aisle. Guess what. No "Cat Training  Aids and Supplies"sign in sight.

Does this strike you as funny? It did me. When has a cat submitted to training? Yeah, they are intelligent creatures, but...submissive? I pointed this sign out to others skimming the pet items. Soon, everyone was  laughing.

As an example, I have a year-old black cat we call Tux. Tux has a mind of his own. He usually gets what he wants, when he wants it. We also own two lab-mix dogs, Yipper and Riley. (Notice I didn't connect the word "Own" to the cat.) The golden lab, Riley, weighs in at 92 lbs.  Well, Riley claimed a certain rug I placed on the porch, months before we adopted Tux.

About a month ago, after I let Tux out, I heard a  noise. When I opened the door I found Tux, at a stance, in the center of the rug while Riley tried to close in to reclaim a piece of it. When Riley got too close, Tux hissed, swatted at him, then ran him at him.

Poor, sweet Riley. Tux intimidated him. Size had nothing to do with it. This 5-lb. ball of fur got his bluff in. This scuffle continued, while I laughed until tears ran down my face.  Finally, Riley gave up, walked to a far corner of the porch, and plopped down, sulking.

Today, all Tux has to do is walk out on the porch, sit down and give Riley the evil eye, to make him surrender his rug.

So, what do you think? Should there be a section for Cat Training Aids and Supplies? Maybe there's a reason Walmart doesn't have that sign displayed.

Ha! Go figure.  Cats Rule.

If you agree...or disagree, I'd love to hear your comments.

15 comments:

Gail Pallotta said...

Hi Laurean,

An interesting post. When I was growing up we had a cat and a dog, but they were both so young when we got them, I don't think they knew it. From what I've seen training a cat works, but they have their limits. I've seen them trained as far as eating from a certain bowl, going out when the door opens, that sort of thing. I suppose they are either obstinate, or a free spirit, depending on how one views them, or their own personal experience with cats.

Laurean Brooks said...

Gail, you hit the nail on the head. A cat will do what a cat wants to do. LOL. Okay, so I did train to rub his face against my cheek when I say, "Kiss?"

Miss Mae said...

Aw, I feel sorry for the poor dog. He was there FIRST (as kids always say in their defense). LOL

I've heard some people on TV claim that you CAN train cats and walk them on a leash, etc. And my vet says they're intelligent... why does he think that? Because they ignore humans? LOL

Anyway, I think they can be just as wonderful pets for those who understand them - and are willing to be trained BY them. hee hee

Beth Carpenter said...

Cats I've known have too much dignity to be "trained." I remember seeing my cat sleeping on a wall when two catbirds decided to dive-bomb him. He made a big show of getting up slowly and stretching, as if moving on was entirely his own idea.

Great post, Laurean. I look forward to reading more.

Laurean Brooks said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Laurean Brooks said...

Thanks for dropping by, Beth.

As you can see, until lately, my blog has been in RIP mode. But, I'm revving it up again.

I should be thanking "you" for giving me the idea for this post. LOL.

Also, if that had been my cat, those birds would be captured. LOL.

Laurean Brooks said...

Miss Mae, that is the "working" phrase, "willing to be trained by them."

I do run interference between Riley and Tux when Tux gets too overbearing. But Tux does love Riley most of the time.

You should see this: Riley rolls in the grass on his back, twisting to scratch an itch. Tux watches a few seconds then lies down beside Riley and does the same. Cute.

DanielleThorne said...

Oh goodness! This is so true! My cat thinks he owns us! He's so beautiful he's hard to resist, even if we can only pet him with permission!

Laurean Brooks said...

Thanks for dropping in, Danielle.

Tux is so sweet with us, but with the dogs, it's a split personality. He rubs up against their legs, then stops and swats them in the face, right before he dashes off.

He acts like his feelings are hurt when they dodge his rubs. Like, "Hey, why'd ya'll run away?"

Linda Swift said...

Love your new blog "look", Laurie. Miss Mae is a great designer. I'm a dog person and have never owned a cat. Ooops, never had a cat, but I enjoyed all the cat stories here.131

Laurean Brooks said...

Linda, I was the same way until three years ago when during a morning jog down the road, a long haired gray and black kitten climbed out of a culvert and walked straight toward me. I fully intended to take the cat home and ask hubby to help me find it a home.

The plan backfired. Terry took one look at the kitten and fell in love. We had Sassy 18 months. When he disappeared, he left an empty spot in my heart.

We waited a year then adopted Tux last December. Someone had dropped him in front of a veterinarian clinic. It was love at first sight.

Tux is very loving toward us. With the dogs, well...he loves on them a bit, then as oft as not swats them afterwards. LOL.

Diane Craver said...

We never had cats and dogs at the same time. Well, I did while growing up on the farm but cats were usually in the barn or on back porch. We don't have any pets now but my children have dogs and they are fun to play with. Great post and amusing how the cat intimidated your dog.

Laurean Brooks said...

Diane, thanks for dropping by. Yes, until three years ago, I didn't want a cat.
For one thing, I thought the dogs would eat it for lunch. And, it did take a couple months before I could leave them alone with the kitten.

Now our female lab has become protective over the cat, even if he does aggravate her. LOL.

Larry Hammersley said...

Laurie: Enjoyed the post and it brought to mind our dog and cat, I'm sorry to say late dog and cat, as they're gone now. Pickles lived to be 19 and Roscoe 14. They were outside pets. Pickles our cat and Roscoe our dog got along great although when Pickles decided to take residence in Roscoe's house he might crowd past her to get in and maybe not. Anyway, Pickles never objected. No one else could pet Pickles, only me as I recall. That made me feel special. When I would go outside with a lawn chair to write, (what else?), Roscoe and Pickles would soon get as close to me as they could, Pickles under my chair and Roscoe, in his pen would get next to the fence closest to me. Made me feel special again. Roscoe was an Australian Sheep Dog and Pickles was one of those tailess cats, orange. I've got Roscoe in my new science fiction novel only named him Spike.

Laurean Brooks said...

This is a touching story, Larry. I could visualize everything as I read.

Pickles and Roscoe made your life more special just by being in it. Animals have a way of doing that without trying.

I've used Riley (my yellow lab) in two stories, to date. I should include Yipper in one of them. She's been with us 12 years.