[babalu1997]

i just saw this picture of a bionic cat in the news

http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/slideshow/ph...alhealthoffbeat

[onoway]

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=qniwI2hNhDs

I don't think that dogs come off second best if comparing how useful they are to people compared to cats, as a previous poster suggested.

Cats may (not all will) hunt rats and mice but so do dogs..Jack russell terriers were originally bred to hunt vermin for example. (Besides, dogs don't play with their victims...the main thing I have against cats. I loathe mice but watching a cat torture one is a horrifying experience, the ultimate bully.)

Some of the other roles dogs have had include: they have worked in wars to sniff out landmines and run messages among other things, they are being used to help people with medical problems to live independent lives -warning of imminent epileptic attacks so the person can get somewhere safe or warning deaf owners of the phone or doorbell or boiling kettle or anything else needing attention. There are care dgos for autistic kids so parents don't have to watch them every second. The guide dogs for the blind are well established as enhancing the quality of life and allowing a much greater independance than otherwise would be possible.

Some dogs have been trained to establish the presence of termites and where they are, to act as lifeguards for drowning swimmers, help track and find lost people, herd cattle sheep, horses, ducks and whatever else. They have been used to rescue people from avalanches and snowstorms, and haul people and products where they needed to go. Some dogs are being used to help determine the occurrance of cancer.

They have been used in police work both in active roles such as tracking. attack and other such things but also in rehabilitation programs for prison inmates who take abandoned dogs and train them into roles as therapy animals in nursing homes and so forth.

The dog's role can sometimes encompass a whole lot more beyond having the protector confidant and buddy role that is all most dogs are asked to do.

[cloa513]

As much as dogs can help humans, there are many more dogs that are a nuisance and a danger. How many people take a dog for a walk and the dog walks the human by dropping its poo everywhere, peeing, barking aggressively at human and other animals and insisting on stopping to stiff things. They also can kill and seriously injure human and bark excessively, none of which a cat does.

[NickRW]

Al_U_Card, on Mar 4 2010, 08:27 PM, said:

p.s. Don't forget that, unlike Rotweilers, they don't rip your face off.

You've obviously not had a faceful of claws - nor indeed unstuck a child's lip from a playful kitten.

I am a dog and also guinea pig person. Cats are OK - but I can be as indifferent about them as they are to others. I might have been a rat person too - but when I was a kid and wanted one my mother said they stink so they were not allowed.

Obviously I have a soft spot for squirrels too and was really quite chuffed when I found a squirrell (two Ls) in my family history.

Nick

[NickRW]

cloa513, on Jun 28 2010, 01:19 AM, said:

As much as dogs can help humans, there are many more dogs that are a nuisance and a danger. How many people take a dog for a walk and the dog walks the human by dropping its poo everywhere, peeing, barking aggressively at human and other animals and insisting on stopping to stiff things. They also can kill and seriously injure human and bark excessively, none of which a cat does.

Yeah - well - some people these days, especially now that a great many of us are 2 or more generations removed from any connection with farming and the land, have NO FAINTEST CLUE how to manage a dog.

Nick

[OleBerg]

Fried chicken.

[cloa513]

I have been scratched by a cat (my own- he's a bit crazy), they just can't do the harm that a dog can do- they use half claw length. Cats also don't tend to bite as much as dogs.

[mike777]

DID I SAY SAM THE WONDER DOG!

[Phil]

Good thing Cloa doesn't know about my pet mongoose.

[jjbrr]

wtf is half claw length? your cat must be a bit crazy, because my cat shreds me up pretty good when i pick her up, which she hates. the scars on my arms and shoulders are a good indicator that the entire claw is used.

also, she does this thing where she rolls onto her back with her claws extended, and if you mistakenly interpret her actions as a desire to have her tummy rubbed, the consequences will be bloody.

I have been bitten by a de-clawed cat as well. It wasn't pleasant.

my point is cats have done me much, much more harm than dogs have.

[gwnn]

But that's because cats have an innate ability to spot evil. They scratch good people at half claw length. BTW kittens are not good at differentiating play fighting from real fighting so tread with care.

[jjbrr]

gwnn, on Jun 28 2010, 09:44 AM, said:

But that's because cats have an innate ability to spot evil. They scratch good people at half claw length. BTW kittens are not good at differentiating play fighting from real fighting so tread with care.

you're not the first person to tell me cats have the innate ability to determine good people from bad people.

I think it's an absurd claim.

[gwnn]

you see, you're continually insulting them sorry dude but I must side with your cat on this one

[jjbrr]

gwnn if i told you that you can't walk through walls or jump over tall buildings, is that an insult?

[gwnn]

it would be for Spiderman for example

[NickRW]

Dogs need a pack leader. Some people are not, apparently, capable of being one. If you aren't one, the dog will think it is - with potential rule of the teeth consequences.

Watch the dog whisperer on the tv - he has the right idea. If you don't get it after a few episodes of that, buy a cat instead.

Nick

[bid_em_up]

jjbrr, on Jun 28 2010, 11:39 AM, said:

....... because my cat shreds me up pretty good when i pick her up, which she hates. the scars on my arms and shoulders are a good indicator that the entire claw is used.

Claw me once, shame on you.

Claw me twice, shame on me. (you should've learned what would happen after the first time).

[bid_em_up]

cloa513, on Jun 27 2010, 09:19 PM, said:

the dog walks the human by dropping its poo everywhere, peeing, ....

Dammit, Spot, I told you not to tell about that bush incident.

[jjbrr]

bid_em_up, on Jun 28 2010, 10:22 AM, said:

jjbrr, on Jun 28 2010, 11:39 AM, said:

....... because my cat shreds me up pretty good when i pick her up, which she hates. the scars on my arms and shoulders are a good indicator that the entire claw is used.

Claw me once, shame on you.

Claw me twice, shame on me. (you should've learned what would happen after the first time).

alcohol is a powerful drug (and an effective painkiller ldo)

[gwnn]

you shouldnt drink and pet.