Cats versus Dogs (plus Tweets)

by | May 28, 2018 | Entertainment, Simon's Cat, Tweets | 25 comments

Well, it’s been a while, and this still isn’t a Proper Post. However, you deserve for me to make an effort. There have been multiple prompts in social media today (even more than usual) relating to cats and dogs, so, Cats vs Dogs it is. I’m hoping to get a decent post out shortly. There is stuff I’m working on, but I’m struggling at the moment.

There are several reasons it’s been a while since I’ve written anything, but the main one is lack of motivation. The advice to (real) writers who hit patches like this is always to just keep writing anyway. I have done a little of that, but you don’t deserve to have those efforts inflicted upon you! I will keep trying.

As time goes on, I feel more and more guilty about not writing. I feel I have a responsibility to those who make the effort to subscribe and read my posts. It’s pretty rude to stick myself out there, ask for donations to help me keep going, and then just not write for a couple of weeks.

Of course, the more guilty I feel, the harder it becomes to think about anything else, and the harder it gets to write. I promise I am doing my best.

Ann German sent me this tweet today, which became one of the prompts for today’s post. As it says, make sure you watch right to the end.

 

Ann also sent this wonderful one:

 

And I found these ones:

 

(No, not a cat, but it’s so cute I couldn’t resist!)

 

Simon’s Cat: ‘Crow’

On top of that, there’s a new short film from Simon’s Cat out today. Enjoy!

 

 

‘Dogs vs Cats – Which One Is The Superior Species?’

And, Infographics put out a new video today: ‘Dogs vs Cats – Which One Is The Superior Species?’. They answer the question, but they don’t get the correct answer (which is cat of course!). As you would expect, they avoid The Truth for the sake of avoiding controversy!

 

 

Cats vs Dogs cartoonCats versus Dogs

When it comes to getting a pet though, it’s not really about which is the superior species. Most people are either Cat People or Dog People. That doesn’t have to mean you don’t like the other species.

I’m a cat person, but like dogs too. I adored the Golden Labrador (Hiram) we had when I was a teenager. We always had at least one cat too, from before I can remember. Some of my favourite memories involve our cat having four kittens, which was pretty cool as I had three siblings. Thus we got a kitten each to name and look after.

Anyway, even when I was still a Christian, I had an extremely strong streak of independence which my father told me from an early age was quite unattractive in a woman. So perhaps that’s why I’ve always been a cat person.

Cats vs Dogs cartoonCats are the Pets of Atheists

Cats are known as the pet of atheists, though I know several atheists with dogs, including readers of this site. (One in particular has a lovely Labrador who makes many appearances on Facebook!) You can’t herd cats and, as Richard Dawkins pointed out in The God Delusion, you can’t herd atheists either. Maybe that’s why we like cats – their independence reminds us of ourselves.

Unlike us, animals don’t feel guilt, though we’re pretty good at anthropomorphizing their emotions. Dogs in particular know when we’re upset with them though, and sure as hell look guilty at appropriate moments. Cats handle such situations quite differently.

There are quite a few pics on the internet memorializing the differences between cats and dogs, as you would expect. One I found purports to describe the differences between people who like cats and those who like dogs. I don’t know where they got their data, but it’s fairly accurate when it comes to me anyway:

(If you can’t read the image, right-click on it and click “Open image in new tab”. That will display the original size, which is much bigger.)

 

Cat people vs Dog people graphic

 

Here’s a slideshow of some of the other graphics I found relating to the Cats vs Dogs question:

I hope you enjoyed that!

Tweets

I know some of you, like me, are political animals, so here are some of the tweets I’ve posted in the last few days to show you what’s been on my mind the most. Before we get started though, here’s my new Pinned Tweet (I change it periodically):

And I can’t let this one from Ann German pass without mention:

 

Political Tweets

(Via Ann German.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mueller-Time Tweets

 

 

Gun Safety Tweets

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Racism Tweets

 

 

 

 

 

Religion Tweets

 

 

If you enjoyed reading this, please consider donating a dollar or two to help keep the site going. Thank you.




 

 

25 Comments

  1. John Switzer
    John Switzer on 29th May 2018 at 12:51 am

    Thank you for posting. I’ve missed you and worried a little.
    John

    Reply
      • Mark R.
        Mark R. on 29th May 2018 at 1:08 pm

        I wasn’t worried of your absence because of WEIT. I never care if you don’t/can’t/aren’t in the middle of it. You’re well respected and followed by those who know it’s worth it…so there. We know you’re not a daily poster…that’s what I mean to say. Don’t feel bad. This could have been a post instead of a reply, but first comes first serves.

        Reply
        • Jenny Haniver
          Jenny Haniver on 29th May 2018 at 3:38 pm

          I second Mark R’s comment, and am likewise glad that you’re back. The “vagina envy” tweet is great, and the tweet of the tuxedo cat and the shepherd is so sweet. The little donkey, and the beautiful lynx. I didn’t know that lynxes meowed.

          Reply
  2. Lee Knuth
    Lee Knuth on 29th May 2018 at 4:23 am

    Thanks for the post. Was worried about you and glad you’re back.

    Reply
    • Heather Hastie
      Heather Hastie on 29th May 2018 at 5:04 am

      Thanks Lee. Maybe it’s just the change in the weather. It’s 5am and I’m naturally still in bed, but I can hear the predicted polar blasts ripping past outside. It’s been much colder the last couple of weeks. It’s one of the few times it’s better to be one of those who can’t work, though it also increases the guilt at being supported by the taxpayer.

      Reply
  3. nicky
    nicky on 29th May 2018 at 5:32 am

    Too much to comment, but I’ll start with the Cats v Dogs. Note, I’m a cat person who loves dogs. Although when the three huskies next door murdered my most extraordinary kitten (definitely the most extraordinary ever, that is a whole story , maybe I’ll tell that later), I was not very pro-dog for quite a while.
    The best book about cats as pets I know is by a Dutch writer (deceased in 2010), Rudy Kousbroek, “de Aaibaarheidsfactor”, which can loosly be translated by “The Strokability factor” or “The Pettability Factor”.
    He starts from negative pettability, such as electric eels, and proceeds to neutral pettability, such as tortoises. You can stroke a tortoise for hours on it’s shield, but nothing comes from it, a kind of useless exercise. Birds and mammals come higher up the scale, but the crown of creation (no he wasn’t a creationist or even theist, just as a matter of speaking) is the cat. They often even seek stroking. Dogs are a rank lower, although they love to be stroked, they invite patting even more. He gives mch more , often funny details, but you get the gist: Cat is King (or Queen) probasbly the reason fore the existencew of the universe.
    He also addresses why we (or at least I) find long haired breeds of a lesser specification: cats are -especially tabby’s- Miniature Tigers (he didn’t say Bonsai), and the hairs in long-haired breeds are out of tune. Sloppy.
    On the other hand, cats are perfect murderers, they kill millions of birds per year, in Cape Town alone, and many of them threatened species (and they kill my beloved chameleons too).
    To be fair, dogs can be just as murderous, I’m reminded of the story about ‘the Dog from Hell’ , a German Shepard gone feral (as recounted by SJ Gould), who killed about 80% of all kiwi’s in a NZ forest in just under 2 years.

    Reply
    • nicky
      nicky on 29th May 2018 at 5:37 am

      Those petting charts are appropriate.

      Reply
    • Heather Hastie
      Heather Hastie on 29th May 2018 at 8:43 am

      What a cool word: strokeability. It definitely needs to be added to the dictionary.

      As far as killing Kiwis, dogs are more dangerous than cats. As I’m sure you know, many (?most) of the flightless birds in NZ are really big. They can fight back against cats, though they are a problem with eggs if they get a taste for them, and chicks. Cats usually go against smaller birds. Dogs are bigger and omnivorous. Introduced possums and ferrets are a much bigger problem. There are very, very few feral cats and dogs here. Owners are mostly responsible. They spey/neuter their cats. There are strict rules about dogs roaming, and unidentified roamers are likely to be euthanized.

      Reply
      • nicky
        nicky on 30th May 2018 at 7:14 am

        For all clarity, my reference to the ‘dog from hell’ was not a swipe at NZ efforts to preserve indigenous fauna. I’m convinced NZ puts in a greater, and probably more effective, effort than most.
        It was just an illustration of how murderous our pets can be (especially when going feral, but not exclusively so).

        Reply
        • Heather Hastie
          Heather Hastie on 31st May 2018 at 7:31 am

          Don’t worry – I didn’t take it that way.

          I’m quite proud of the lengths our government goes to in order to protect native flora and fauna, so I go on about it a bit. Even in such a small country there are literally thousands of private organisations that raise money and do stuff too. Yesterday the province of Taranaki (which borders my own to the west) announced it was going to (try and) wipe out introduced predators that prey on native species by an earlier date than the countrywide goal of 2050. (They did say a date but I can’t remember.)

          Reply
    • Niloufar Ataie
      Niloufar Ataie on 1st June 2018 at 6:44 am

      Very nice post, thanks!

      Reply
  4. nicky
    nicky on 29th May 2018 at 6:14 am

    Most of these cartoons are awesome. If you have a series like that, one tends to ponder: which is the best?
    I tend to go with the “Republican Values” and the president of the UnlesS, doesn’t it say it all? But it unfairly targets Mr Trump (IMMO), the rot has spread much wider.
    The box of T&P “on the House” is also particularly sharp.
    ‘The very definition of a mental health issue ‘ is pure Einstein: “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”

    Reply
    • Heather Hastie
      Heather Hastie on 29th May 2018 at 8:50 am

      Yes, we focus on Trump, but he is enabled by the Republican party. I’ve got several cartoons of Pence portrayed as chief enabler.

      I don’t want to start comparing Trump with Hitler, but the basic situation is the same. Hitler couldn’t have done what he did without support. Though personally evil, he was little more than a useful idiot with a talent for swaying crowds imo. Which is how I feel about Trump.

      Reply
  5. Linda Calhoun
    Linda Calhoun on 29th May 2018 at 11:36 pm

    “Hitler couldn’t have done what he did without support.”

    That’s it in a nutshell, no?

    I have said that Trump doesn’t scare me nearly as much as the fact that he has the kind of support he has. I live in a country where almost half the population thinks that killing bear cubs in their dens is an “increased opportunity for recreation”, where people seeking asylum from dangerous situations in their home countries have their children taken away without allowing communication, where “making the libtards cry” is the primary reason for supporting those types of policies, and where “I’m not a racist, but…” is the most common prelude to expressing one’s vile bigotry.

    I keep hoping we’ll wake up and see what’s really going on, but I have to say, I’m not optimistic. The few electoral victories in special elections and the few progressive victories in primaries are a glimmer, but in November, we will still have the Russians, voter suppression, and gerrymandering to contend with. And, it’s very possible that the Supreme Court will give its blessing to gerrymandering forever.

    And, with all this, Mother Nature is poised to take her revenge soon, too.

    I take comfort in my animals, and in my customers who tell me I bake the best brownies they’ve ever had in their lives, but in reality, I’d rather see a real future for the young people I love.

    L

    Reply
    • nicky
      nicky on 31st May 2018 at 4:31 am

      I share your fears, that the “blue Tsunami” will turn out to be a “Blue Ripple”.
      Indeed, how much has ‘Cross-Check’ been checked? Is there impartial or bi-partisan overseeing of the counting? Has the Russian trolling or botting, been suppressed? Has the Gerrymandering* been undone?
      No, no, no and no.
      *Note, the Gerrymandering might, just might, result in the opposite of the intended goal. Smearing Rep voters out over several districts with a small majority margin, carries the risk of them losing most of them, when even they are fed up with the situation or the Dems show up in greater numbers. All those ‘gerrymandered’ districts with a relatively small margin are vulnerable, in other words. But I fear I’m clawing at straws.

      Reply
      • Heather Hastie
        Heather Hastie on 31st May 2018 at 7:41 am

        The gerrymandering thing really, really, really bugs me. Corruption is built into the system, and no one does anything about it once they get power. Those of us in other countries can’t even imagine such a situation because we have truly independent electoral commissions setting boundaries using non-partisan criteria. The idea that the Supreme Court should even have to get involved is a disgrace because it means nothing would change without a very expensive and time-cconsuming effort.

        Reply
      • Heather Hastie
        Heather Hastie on 31st May 2018 at 7:45 am

        And, with the partisan nature of SCOTUS, there’s still the possibility that trying to introduce fairness into the system will come to nought!

        Reply
    • Heather Hastie
      Heather Hastie on 31st May 2018 at 7:09 am

      People talk about how people feel emboldened to express vile opinions like Roseanne did yesterday. However, those opinions must always have been there, and having a bi-racial president and first lady, acting with grace and dignity for eight years (whether you agreed with their policies or not), seems only to have made things worse for those with “deplorable” attitudes. If those opinions didn’t still run deep in parts of US society, Trump wouldn’t be emboldening anyone.

      I worried about the racism I saw in US society. When Obama was elected, I had hope that things had changed. It seems they haven’t for millions.

      Reply
      • I agree completely that
        I agree completely that on 31st May 2018 at 8:02 am

        I agree completely that those attitudes have always been there. It is, frankly,, revolting.

        I’m glad that there has been a positive response from organizations like Starbucks and ABC/Disney, but I keep wondering why more “just citizens” aren’t speaking out.

        L

        Reply
  6. Randall Schenck
    Randall Schenck on 30th May 2018 at 12:52 am

    One can never go wrong with a good Simon flick. Some very good toons (that’s short for cartoons). The Hometown High School is excellent. One of the biggest differences I see between the cat and dog people – we see the dog owners every time we go out for a walk. We never see the cat owners, it’s a secret. And if you do know another one, the first question is, how many do you have?

    I would not worry at all about how often you post. If you got 2 or 4 out a month, that would be much more than most. There just are not that many subjects to talk about. How PCC does it is crazy and at the very least, it is not normal. Even a retired person such as myself does not have time to read all of it. Another measurement might be – If you have time to read all of this, you just might be spending too much time on line. Just a thought.

    Reply
    • nicky
      nicky on 30th May 2018 at 7:35 am

      PCC is indeed ‘not normal’. He must be a very disciplined, if not obsessed, worker: a workoholic. In this respect he reminds us of the late SJ Gould, who was always up at 5 am to start writing (I’m sure PCC does not take exception to the comparison, it is about working, not ideas).
      His website as a whole maybe considered a kind of ‘Magnum Opus’, in several ways (in sheer volume to start with) surpassing his three outstanding books, a great legacy.
      Note, when in Mafikeng, I had a cat that liked to be taken out for walks. Just like a dog, but without the leash, he used to keep quite close nevertheless. He was not a fearful cat at all, just liked the ‘out together, back together’ thing.

      Reply
      • Randall Schenck
        Randall Schenck on 30th May 2018 at 9:18 am

        Wow, that is some cat. One of our cats wants out real bad because he use to get out when we lived in the country but not here in urban land. If he got out we would never see him again. I do not know from Mafikeng but will look it up.

        Reply
        • nicky
          nicky on 31st May 2018 at 4:55 am

          I found him as a baby cat in the Hospital grounds, he was wildly fighting me when I put him in the pocket of my jacket, and once in the house he fled under the sink. Stayed there for about 48 hours, and after that, when he came out, we suddenly were great buddies, The food I gave him under the sink broke the ice, I think. He was kinda voracious.
          When I left Mafikeng, early 2002, I left him with a Cuban surgeon (who went to live in my house), who was also a cat lover, his wife and 2 children even more. The children took him out for walks too.

          Reply
    • Heather Hastie
      Heather Hastie on 31st May 2018 at 7:21 am

      I suspect part of the problem is comparing myself to Jerry. (And it doesn’t help that due to the time difference with the US, the most suitable time to Skype is the same time I usually write. I was writing yesterday when he called, and once you lose your flow that’s it for the day. Not that I’m complaining of course! Friends are ALWAYS more important.)

      Reply

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