Whirlwind, I feel your pain. We have 5 cats, 4 inside, 1 outside. Once, we had none. My wife said she wanted a kitten. I finally broke down(cause I live her) and we eventually found one from an ad at Petsmart. Then two small kittens showed up in our back yard, one came one day, and the other one a couple of days later. Then one just a day old or so showed up under a bush at the vet's office my wife used to work at. We bottle fed that kitten, raised her by hand. Then, my wife saw a stray kitten at the gas station close to our house, and he now has regular meals and water,outside. We asked for one, and God blessed us with 5. Anybody want a couple(seriously)? Kiited are a blast. Cats,welll, not so much. The inside cats have become a handful. we now have a new baby, and our cats are being themselves(they're still fairly young-the oldest is 2) getting into everything, making messes, and sometimes a couple decide that they are too good for the litter box
. We cannot send them out, though
because they were raised around dogs, and do not fear them. There is no leash law in my county, so some people in the neighorhods around us just let their dogs run loose. I may not like em so much, but I definately don't want them getting killed.
Cat's definately do not show any desire to please their owners, as dogs do. They have no masters, only serveants. I do not believe they love- they codepend. Yes they fear our discipline, but onlyl when it threatens their interest, not because they wan't to please us. I agree with you Whirlwind. Our repsonsibilities torwards our human brothers and sisters do not extend entirely to the animals. Animals are part of God's creation, and as such, we are to be good stewards over them by making sure we give them care enough to live healthily and securely,when they are entrusted to us. They reward us with degrees of appreciation, depending on the species, but we are not to put them first over our own needs or those of any other person.