Cats are Better than Kids — Discuss
by Michael
(London, UK)
Family harmony - kids sort out the cats' toys - photo by ex.libris (Flickr)
Time for a bit if fun (and seriousness rolled together). I think cats are better than kids but then I would. Actually, I find kids very noisy and irritating these days especially in supermarkets screaming down the aisles, misbehaving badly while their mother does nothing at all about it. It's just me being a bit grumpy but it wouldn't have happened 40 years ago.
There are a gazillion reasons why cats are better than kids and some reasons why kids are better than cats. Firstly, though adopting a cat is a choice "thing". For many people it is like deciding to have a new kitchen. Whereas deciding to have children is a hard wired survival instinct "thing". There is little choice it seems. People are programmed to just do it. Although I made a choice not to have children on the basis that it would curtail my freedom and drain my finances!
And that is the first reason why cats are better than kids; they are less expensive in all sorts of ways. Here are just a few, there are many more:
-- Cats don't ask for money all the time.
-- Cats don't need to drive the car and then wreck it raising insurance rates.
-- Don't need a a pile of money for college.
-- Don't demand expensive Christmas and birthday presents.
-- Cats don't want expensive electronic gadgets.
Cats just like the simple pleasures of life. Some homemade cat toys are more than enough. I find my cats shun commercially made products. They just take what is there.
But on the matter of health, you have to take a cat to an expensive vet - it is all private health care for cats but in the UK it is free at the point of delivery for humans. That is a plus point for kids, I must admit.
So of all the factors in deciding whether cats are better than kids - on the matter of money, the most important; cats win hands down. Or is that being too commercial?
What next? Companionship. This is going to be a walk over. Cats are:
-- more reliable
-- more predictable
-- less dependent
-- less argumentative (most of the time!)
-- don't scream to get their way (well, my girl cat does sometimes)
-- don't ask for help with homework (but do ask for help sometimes, like asking for the door to be opened because she is too lazy to go through the cat flap)
-- are always pleased to see you
What next? Conversations. Hmmm. Well I can talk to my cats and it is genuinely two way but I'll concede that we speak a different language. There again, kids are not great at conversation all the time. And kids tend to answer back something cats know nothing about whatsoever.
One downside for a cat is the lifespan. We as humans are almost always going to outlive our cats. That means suffering their loss, which for many can be a big impact. And on a practical level cats cannot accompany us on holiday like a person cat but modern pet passports have taken some of the obstacles away.
Here's a fancy philosophical reason why cats are better than kids. Cats are everywhere just waiting to be adopted. They are begging to be adopted with very little or no paperwork. They often just walk into your life, easy peesy lemon squeesy.
Now kids...well I am thinking pregnancy. I can't speak for women but maybe pregnancy is a pleasant experience except for the last bit. I'll leave that to women to comment on but, bottom line, it is a whole lot easier to adopt a cat than produce or adopt a kid.
Conclusion: Gotta say it -- it cats or dogs or anything but kids..:). But the truth is that living with both is the usual and probably the best answer, under the right circumstances.
