Red Green wrote:
"HeyBub" wrote in
m:

aemeijers wrote:

I don't keep house pets. Aside from my allergies, it wouldn't be
fair to them. I'm gone around ten hours a day most days, and asleep
another 7 or 8. And if anything is gonna jump in my lap or rub my
ankles the other
six hours, it better be able to talk. I make do with watching the
birds and squirrels and turkeys and deer and raccoons and such in
the back yard. And if my bird feeder also feeds the occasional cat
or raptor, well, I didn't make the rules of the game. I don't know
what hard science the bird lovers have to offer, but I would wager
the increase in predation from housecats (and their feral offspring
and escapees) helps offset the reduced die-off and increased
population from all the backyard feeders. They can't have it both
ways- if adding predators isn't allowed, feeding stations should
also be banned as interfering with nature. (Note that many condo
communities with ponds, and public parks with water, already ban
duck feeding, just to reduce the amount of crap they have to clean
up. Ducks are lazy- a reliable source of food, and they will hang
around big-time, sometimes all winter in areas that are well north
of where you would expect to find them.)

Allergies are a poor excuse: you can get shots.

How much ever you sleep, I guarantee the cat will sleep more. Having
a cat as a house partner a symbiotic relationship; in return for
food, water, and a litter box, the cat will (usually) keep your
house free of pests like mice and roaches.

Further, countless studies show that people who have an indoor cat or
dog have fewer health problems, live longer, and have a rosier
outlook on life. Moreover, the chicks really dig a guy who has a cat.

Cats can save you money, too. A couple of kittens and a big box of
packing peanuts (a kitty swimming pool) is good for hours and hours
of entertainment (for both of you).

And don't worry that you're interfering with the balance of nature. A
feral cat has a life-expectancy of three to four years. An indoor cat
can easily live into a third decade.

My personal longest living cat was a few months shy of 25 yrs when it
passed.


Into the its third decade. Right.

Towser, the mouser-in-chief at the Glennturrent distillery lived to be 23.
And she was catching mice up to the very end. All told, she caught 28,989
mice during her tenure and earned a place in the Guinness Book of Records.