Comparing People With Cats

[Mari333]

After 17 years of not having cats due to our son's allergies which he overcame we ended up with 2 awesome cats. I visited cat sites and came up with a lot of people saying time and time again your "furbabies" Cute I thought at first because in a way they are our babies! But I don't have the same bond with them as I do my child, family or friends which folks equate them to. Frankly if I never had a child I still wouldn't. Next, some people talk about dire circumstances concerning their cat and want to rehome them, as a result they're disparaged for even entertaining the idea. Yet there are people who have kids with disabilities who are violent and or destructive, but it seems more acceptable to find them different living arrangement but God forbid your cat! I don't understand this logic, any thoughts on this?

 

[catsknowme]

I suppose it all depends on individual circumstances. I admit that it took me awhile to adjust to terms like "fur babies" and "meowmy". However, with my dad, our pets are part of the family & unlike most children, the pets never mature enough to strike it out on their own.
As for the kids with disabilities, there are quite a few people here at TCS who have/are traveled/traveling that path, myself included. Considering the extraordinarily high sexual abuse rate committed on special needs girls & women, it is often best if extra precautions are taken to protect them. Last summer, a developmentally delayed but high-functioning girl disappeared on the bus route from the community college where she attended living skills classes. Her aunt was there at the bus stop to meet her, her aide had put her on the bus at the campus but she disappeared - the story got some media coverage that afternoon but then nothing. While cat stories often get the same flash pan coverage, the media will give dog stories way more attention and the public just lights up in response....it is still a dogs' world. With the disabled men, it is often different. The influence of testosterone mixed with low impulse control can lead to much more aggression and sexual deviance - it is sometimes that they are a threat to siblings and other children in the family or, as everyone ages, their parent becomes physically unable to handle them. Ideally, facilities would offer more mental stimulation and healthy activities but sadly, that is often not the case. As the states become stricter with improved compliance protocols, more programs are closing up and relocating to Florida which has an abysmal QA. And families are left coping with aberrant behaviors that cause property destruction, noise complaints, sometimes risk to others, annoyed neighbors, angry landlords and various police attitudes.

 

[Mari333]

I suppose it all depends on individual circumstances. I admit that it took me awhile to adjust to terms like "fur babies" and "meowmy". However, with my dad, our pets are part of the family & unlike most children, the pets never mature enough to strike it out on their own.
As for the kids with disabilities, there are quite a few people here at TCS who have/are traveled/traveling that path, myself included. Considering the extraordinarily high sexual abuse rate committed on special needs girls & women, it is often best if extra precautions are taken to protect them. Last summer, a developmentally delayed but high-functioning girl disappeared on the bus route from the community college where she attended living skills classes. Her aunt was there at the bus stop to meet her, her aide had put her on the bus at the campus but she disappeared - the story got some media coverage that afternoon but then nothing. While cat stories often get the same flash pan coverage, the media will give dog stories way more attention and the public just lights up in response....it is still a dogs' world. With the disabled men, it is often different. The influence of testosterone mixed with low impulse control can lead to much more aggression and sexual deviance - it is sometimes that they are a threat to siblings and other children in the family or, as everyone ages, their parent becomes physically unable to handle them. Ideally, facilities would offer more mental stimulation and healthy activities but sadly, that is often not the case. As the states become stricter with improved compliance protocols, more programs are closing up and relocating to Florida which has an abysmal QA. And families are left coping with aberrant behaviors that cause property destruction, noise complaints, sometimes risk to others, annoyed neighbors, angry landlords and various police attitudes.