Do cats understand when to retract their claws when interacting with humans?
Allow me to introduce you to Jasper.Jasper is a Tijuana rescue kittie. He is my little meow-migo as I call him.Jasper doesn’t really like anyone other than me. He hasn’t since he was a kitten. For whatever reason this cat adores me.When I come home, he knows the sound my horn makes when I’m locking the car up and he waits for me at the door. Every single day. He likes to hang out on top of our armoire and whenever I walk by he meows loudly so I will reach up and pet him.Jasper also loves to play rough with me. Almost like a dog. I will form my hand into a muppet like snake shape and slither around him slapping my four fingers to my thumb as if you were making a sock puppet talk. Each time my hand closes I make a clicking sound with my mouth so he thinks it’s going to get him.Ok, f*** it. We call it Mr. Lobster fingers. There, I said it. My wife has turned me into a cat person… ugh.Anyway, this drives Jasper crazy (in a good way) and he will play very roughly with me. When he actually catches Mr. Lobster fingers he will use his claws to make sure that I can’t escape and he will bite the shit out of me. He will never break the skin. He will hold me in his mouth and if I move his claws will go a little deeper and his bite just a little bit harder. Then he will do that bunny kick thing cats do to really let me have it except no claws will be used.When I am ready to be done I just put my face down to him and give him a kiss. The second I do his claws retract and he goes into love mode.Now I have had Jasper in my arms when he has gotten scared and didn’t have control of himself. I know those claws can be deadly if he wants them to be. Thankfully, he knows too.
Why does my dog rub his body against me like a cat?
Because you stink. I don’t mean this literally, but the problem with most people is that they apply antiperspirants, deodorants, aftershaves, colognes and perfumes to their bodies and also use scented adjuncts when washing their clothes. They use scented lipsticks, toothpaste, mouthwashes and a host of other smell-masking substances. Your dog never gets to know your true smell because you walk around smelling to high heaven (to the dog’s sensitive nose) of anything and everything that is not you.Your dog rubs himself against you in order to put his smell on you to act as a sort of I.D. tag: something with which he can associate with you.People also use air fresheners, insecticides and other sprays in their homes, so that there is never a general, constant, comforting “house smell”, but a potpourri of disassociated and confusing stinks. Some dogs go as far as to pee or defecate in the home in an effort to combat this mishmash of bewildering olfactory irritants.The long and short of it is that people have come to regard their natural smells as something to be avoided at all costs. Your dog, on the other hand, wants to know you, not some artificial being that emerged from a bottle or spray can.
Do cats get emotionally attached to their owners like dogs?
“Like dogs”? No. They get attached to their owners like cats. They’re fundamentally different creatures. But that doesn’t mean they’re not attached. Cats are socially connected to their environment. It’s why most of them do not enjoy going for long walks on a leash, being transported in the car. It’s why, when you change something in your house substantially, they freak the fuck out. They’re evolutionary adapted to be skittish because they’re typically alone in nature (well, their great-great-great-[bazillion greats]-grandcats were).They also haven’t been selected as specifically as dogs have for traits. Dogs have been selectively bred for thousands of years for a specific type of job: guarding, shepherding, ratting, protecting children, guarding Buddhist temples, confirming to the whole world that France really is gay. Cats, only recently, have undergone significant selective breeding and that’s mostly for shows —which I find appalling. But whatever. Cats had one job on the farm: stop trolls from cutting through the wall and killing children. Wait. I messed that up. Their job is to kill rodents that eat the grain.They retain that wildness because that wildness has been of service to humans. But they are mammals and they are exceptionally intelligent, potentially affectionate creatures (and manipulative little fuckers to boot). Cats have varied personalities. They do become attached to people. Rick and I travel a lot, when we get home, our dominant female —Leela— goes nuts (mostly for Rick, but whatever; she’s his cat). They are attached. Just don’t fuck with their environment.River is a murder-beast.Leela has potential, but she mostly just likes people.We endured River’s throw-back, 80’s bangle phase.Milo is just a lazy shit who wants to lounge around all day soaking up the sun on the Catio.River thinks she can kill brown bears.Leela isn’t having any of her shit.Though sometimes she tolerates her, as long as it’s on a pile of freshly laundered, warm towels.Milo gnaws on his kitty.River doesn’t mind lounging around on the Kitty Savannah.They all rather like climbing the kitty shelves on the walls.