Words from a Reader

The “Writing Life Stories” e-mails I receive are such treasures. As soon as I see there is one in my inbox, I read it immediately. I look forward to them and never know how they will touch me. They can be interesting, informative, humorous, and/or touching.

Saturday, August 4, 2012

Cats and Dogs Don't Have to Fight


Tiger, the resident cat and my boss, has become quite comfortable with her cousins, Smokie and Sunny.


Smokie, the youngest of this clan, tried to get Tiger to play with her for the longest time, but now she just sniffs Tiger when they meet and then ignores her. Who said dogs and cats can't get along?


Sunny, a rescued three year old, could have been a real thorn in Tiger's side, but she chose to work on getting all the attention offered by the humans in the group. And who could resist that face?
Rocky loved Tiger and gave her big sloppy kisses. She adored him and mourned for him when he died.

One wonders why some dogs and cats don't get along. They are like those humans who become violent with total strangers, shoot into cars of people they don't know, pick a fight because of the color of another's skin, or hair or because he looked a certain way. I think it all has to do with how they are raised. 

I have never had a pet that was vicious or would bite, and I've had big dogs, little dogs and several cats. My dogs and cats loved each other. Why was that? What caused them to change their innate nature?
Maybe it was because we expected more from them, we loved them and did not show violence toward them. We never hit our dogs or cats, and treated them better than some little children I've seen in the grocery store who were slapped or yelled at or yanked up by one arm and swatted on the bottom while the parent screamed dirty words at them. How can a child be expected to learn non-violence when all he sees at home is anger and rage?

3 comments:

  1. Your clan is adorable Glenda. All of my children were four-legged ones and were treated like precious members of the family.

    I totally agree with you about what children learn in their own home about anger and rage and how to interact respectively (or not in some cases) with others in a civilized fashion. Perhaps the medical community should study the consequences of it and maybe they just might come up with some of the reasons behind these tragic shootings that on the surface seem to have no explanation.
    Sam

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  2. They are definitely good friends. I've seen lots of cats and dogs get along just fine. But some don't, and I do wonder if it might have something to do with the expectations of the humans around them.

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  3. Hi Sam and DJan,
    Thanks for stopping by. I enjoy keeping Sunny and Smokie for my sister when she has to leave them.
    They are so sweet and prove that when treated well dogs and cats, like most humans get along well together.

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