Northeast Gardening: Cats vs. Dogs, 1 by Sofonisba

Sofonisba wrote:
We've always had cats and dogs when I grew up. My mother didn't want to take care of either, so they were my responsibility. I'd walk the dog. She couldn't handle having litter boxes in the house, so the cats were always outdoor cats and, sadly, inevitably, they would get squished in the road. I will never have outdoor cats unless I live where there's no traffic. Of course, then I worry about predatory animals.

I have two cats (Catawampus and Cleopatra) and one dog (Shadow) and it's a difficult toss up to choose one over the other. There's plenty of dogs I don't like and it's almost always because they're poorly trained or neglected. Dogs definitely take more effort, but I think they're more rewarding when you do. I have a fenced in backyard for Shadow to run and chase the squirrels. He also is trained to do his business near the fence. We go for walks when we want. He's a lot of fun and so loyal when we go hiking. He'll forage ahead 50 feet, then come back to make sure I'm coming. He is my constant companion and my number one admirer. He smells good most of the time. He's small enough so that I bring him into the shower with me every six weeks or so. The rolling in dead things, though, is enough to make me ban him from the house. When he does that, I make sure I shampoo him with the sweet smelling perfume. I'm sure that really ticks him off.

The cats can be a lot of trouble sometimes. They knock things over and get inside cabinets... I've had to child-proof my house over the last year because of the cats. I'll get the hang of it. Cleaning their litter is probably the least pleasant aspect of having cats. Even still, cats are wonderful. They're so beautiful. I love them for their funny antics. They're constant entertainment (when they're not climbing the curtains). A plastic bag will keep them going for hours and keep us amused too. They have yet to catch one rat from the garage, although they want to go out and in and out and in to the garage every ten minutes. Well, once they caught a mouse. It was probably Wompers. He left it under the couch, decapitated.

Victor, the George Carlin had me cracking up and the surfing dog had me crying. Two great videos. Thanks.

BTW Shadow is on my lap now. Photo: Cleo in sun.