Things I despise about cats

Cats have an unfortunate reputation here in Nigeria especially among Christians and some other people who just feel that they deserve no place in their homes for some personal reasons. I love to see cats, I love their innate skills. Imagine a little cat climbing a 6-foot tall concrete wall effortlessly. These guys can jump from a height of 10 feet or more and land without injuries. They will just walk away as if nothing happened.

When I was younger, I dreaded the eyes of this creature. Of course, I am from a Christian home so cats will not get some love from any of my family members. The cats that survived around my environment only show up at night probably to hunt or mate and that is when I get to see them. In fact, the sight of a black cat is a call for prayers because ‘evil’ has just crossed our path.

Of course, you might notice the movement of a black cat at night but might not make out the entire shape except lights shine on the cat. The reflection from the eyes of those black cats usually sent serious shivers through my veins.  The eye pupil is so dilated forming a round black ball and this ball will reflect back the lights shown on it. The picture can be likened to the evil in some horror movies.

Anyway, I am a vet now and I own cats whether out of necessity or out of association with them while studying and treating them, I just own them. These guys, unlike dogs, have their own tricks when they want something from you although they can survive without your help but because you keep them as pets they will make their own demands and succeed.

In my own opinion cats are not compassionate to humans. They kind of just associate, stay around humans, cry when hungry for food and find a place to sleep waiting for the next surge of hunger. Trying to carry your cat, maybe to pet him, will most times be greeted with some resistance. Sometimes they will just wait for you to touch them for a while and soon they want to go somewhere else to stay on their own.

Their sharp retractable claws can become your nightmare. They are so sharp that handling them can result to some unintended scratches or bruises. When they lose balance they try to grab something to regain their balance and this happens when you try to carry them, they might end up giving you some scratches that can even bleed. Although as a vet I have many solutions to handling cats due to my training, reports still come from clients that own them of some injuries from scratches.

Some people will love cats for their independence but it can be bad when you are looking for your cat that has strayed off the house for 2 – 5 days. If they are used to going outside, they can form a habit of going on holidays to meet other cats somewhere for days and return as if they have done nothing. Some of them return with different types of wounds and some will return with other cats who might become a nuisance to you because they want your cat to always come out to follow them to another voyage. The other cats will cry endlessly at your window signaling your cat to come out which can be very annoying sometimes.

Females on heat are the most restless cats you can ever live with. They will cry in different tones of voice calling the males to come for some ‘sex’ or mating. They display different postures for you especially when you attempt to touch them. They will sometimes spray urine around objects in the house to leave traces for males to know that they are on heat and needs to mate.

Regardless of all these stuff, I outlined above that can make you resent cats they make very beautiful pets to have around. And if you have rats disturbing your peace, cats are the best biological control of those rodents. They are very clean animals so the issue of messing up your house may never arise as long as you provided a litter box for them. THEY ARE VERY CUTE TOO!