Can cats be wicked?

[drbobcat]

This thread is mostly for fun, but I've thought about it for awhile now.  I know cats can be seemingly naughty, but I have never thought they could be evil--intending to do harm to people, deceiving them, punishing them for affronts--that sort of thing.  Any thoughts?

 

[tammyp]

I think this question may lead me into philosophy!  Wickedness is evil, so we presume there is good and bad, right and wrong in this world.  Who sets the rules of what this is?  If it is society, then what is good and bad will change over time as popular opinion and 'standards' change, and cats will also be 'good' or 'bad' as this definition is based on popular opinion (unfortunately, too many people do think cats are evil).  If we take another view and say God sets the definition of 'good' and 'bad' and this is for PEOPLE, then no, I cats are not evil.  They are simply cats and doing as designed to do.

Personally I don't believe cats are evil.  I do think people attribute a whole host of malice based motives to the cat, simply through misunderstanding of the cat.  'Bad' behaviours are about fear and survival, not vendettas. A cat can be 'rehabituated' by attending to their needs and soothing their fears, and not being a monster to them thereby creating new ones.  A person on the otherhand, can not be 'rehabituated' other than through the hand of God plus their own free choice to accept.  Declining is what evil is.  There are many human case examples to attest to a choice for evil.

 

[fhicat]

 
 I do think people attribute a whole host of malice based motives to the cat, simply through misunderstanding of the cat. 

Anthropomorphism - the tendency to assign human attributes and emotions to animals. We all do this to some extent (feeling bad for a cat meowing for food, thinking that our cats "look happy", etc) - our empathy is what makes us loving parents. But when taken towards the more extreme spectrum ("cat is getting back at me", making cats vegan, etc), that's when problems arise.