A guy called Bob Harris living in Albany, USA writes, in a letter to the editor, that he dislikes cats because they are four-legged sociopaths. He says that they prey on the goodwill and emotions of humans. He does not like the fact that no one owns a cat (meaning they are independent-minded). And he also dislikes the fact that cats use humans to provide a safe base from which they prey on other animals.
He also believes that cat keepers are thoughtless and inconsiderate because they let their cats roam in neighbourhoods where they defecate in people’s backyards. This is a major problem for people who do not look after cats. The biggest complaint that you will see on the Internet from people who dislike cats is that they defecate in their backyard. People who don’t like cats do not want to see them on their property. It is as simple as that. Mr Harris also does not like the fact that there are so many cats in America because people do not neuter their cats early enough or at all.
It seems to me that what Bob Harris dislikes most of all is humans who keep cats to a standard which he finds unacceptable. He seems to be putting the blame on cats when everything he writes about cats is really directly connected to human behaviour.
So, in truth, he dislikes people who, by his standards, look after cats irresponsibly rather than cats. This is about people and that assessment is confirmed by the simple fact that the word “sociopath” refers to people. Cats cannot be sociopaths. The word was created to describe a person with a personality disorder manifesting itself in extreme antisocial attitudes and behaviour.
So in discussing whether cats are four-legged sociopaths, I have to arrive at the conclusion that they are not but some cat owners are inconsiderate. They’re not sociopathic, just inconsiderate of their neighbour’s desires and rights.
And I think that if a neighbour really dislikes cats coming onto his property then the people who own those cat should make sure that they do not go on to that person’s property. They should take all measures possible to prevent it happening in the interests of neighbourly harmony and in the interests of the profile of the domestic cat. If, like Bob Harris, people mix up inconsiderate cat owners with sociopathic cats then it is bad the profile of the domestic, stray and feral cat in America or elsewhere.
Link to that Harris letter. The online paper is The Oregonian.
I just sent my neighbors a text that this will not be another summer where the only thing we can hear are their obnoxious dogs barking for hours.
I called dispatch. It looks like we might have a new Animal Control officer and this one might be an enforcer. My opinion is while I don’t care for dogs it is not the fault of the animal. Left to roam and do as it pleases. It’s about baby cat season I’m sure they have a herd of unaltered cats that will start dumping kittens soon. I stopped counting calls last summer after 50.
The real problem with roaming pets are the owners. For some reason though it’s socially acceptable to make crude nasty comments about cats.
Well written and said ME. You summed it up nicely. People do blur the line between cat behavior (natural) and human cat ownership (sometimes irresponsible). The latter needs to make sure the former does not upset neighbors.
I have to lock my gates at all times because the neighbors let their dogs roam. The people next door have a dog that scares the holy heck out of me when I am in my yard (which is totally fenced) when he races to the fence and stands growling and snarling, I go inside so as not to aggravate it. But I have taken to carrying a gun when I’m in my garden or just roaming around my 5 acres to check on the native plants. My dogs were all trained NOT to go near the fences and not to bark. They have all gone over the Bridge. My cats never go outside and I have fed and cared for the ferals and those poor cats who get dumped in the area and gravitate to my yard. I find animals of any species to be more friendly and caring and more company than many humans. The more I know humans, the more I prefer the company of my “animals”.
I wonder how that competes with my narcissist next door who thinks listening to her dogs bark nonstop all night and roam leaving their huge greasy and uncovered stool all over my yard.
Cats here have yet to kill, calves, horses, chickens or other cats like my neighbors dog did when it ripped a little feral sleeping a few feet from me in half.
I don’t leave my cat in the car so when you park and open the door it sticks it’s barred fangs though the cracked window barking like an idiot
I have never carried my cat into the store and put in in a shopping cart where the next unwitting victim will sit their child or food.
Cats in the modern world. At least in the US belong indoors or in a well structured outside enclosure.
When I went to pick up Mercy there was one building for cats and about 10 full of dogs. Of course the dogs had kennels the cats had cages just big enough for a small place to lay, food water and litter box.
Dogs were bred to be subservient working animals. Cats came in and worked for a bit of food, some love and a warm place to sleep.
I promise you the man who wrote that letter has a yard full of dogs.
First_ I am upset that this man is such an idiot and does not consider the source of his discontent with cats lies directly into the laps of their caretakers.
Second: This form of stereotyping adds an extra burden to the cat profile_ a negative assessment that other idiots gravitate towards as another excuse to dishonor the majestic cat kingdom worldwide.
Eva_