Conference misery::feline_v1

Well I guess that you are at that!

If I were you I would find another file, like maybe one for heartless types!

Later, gailann

There is a clinical term for people who hate cats; however, that thids person
has taken the trouble to enter a message rather than just exiting speaks
volumes.  To respond to this person (I'm really responding to gailann's
response) is to fall into the set trap.

People who hate cats should know better than to access a notefile on cats.

Steve

In all fairness, response 1 was kind enough to send me mail and explain his 
entry in this file.  I will not go into his explanation but it was clear 
that he really did not set out to upset me or anyone else.

If I the owner of three lovely felines (one of which just gave birth to four of 
the cutest kittens I have ever seen!!!  3 days old today!), can forgive him 
then take my word for it, he is forgivable!

I DO hope however, that this won't become a habbit!!

Later, gailann

Now if 82.0 was dated 1-apr I could understand it.......

 People who hate cats are typically looking for some living being that they
 can *dominate* and control.

 People who send messages to cat lovers saying they hate cats want to draw
 attention to their frustration at being unable to dominate some living thing.
 Give such people simpathy but be careful not to fall into the trap of letting
 them take control. :-)

 NS

    
    People who hate cats don't deserve to live.
    
    Lorna
    

    I'm glad you smiled when you said that.
    
    Jim

    
    
      .0  sounds like something I would do.
    
               8^)
    
    
           It's called "sarcasim".  But I only do that in other notes
    files.
    
                       PC

    re: 82.0
    
    You are an idiot ....
    

Hmmm.  Is this the "cat lovers" conference or the "cats" conference ?

If the latter, then "hate" messages are as appropriate as "love" messages.

But on the topic itself, I personally love cats.  But here are reasons I
can think of that people might hate cats:

o	They are allergic and hence miserable around cats

o	Their college roommate forced a cat and a not-cleaned-for-too-long
	litter box in the bathroom on them, and they've subsequently been
	turned off.

o	They are from one of those countries that:  a) butchers dinner
	moments before cooking, as a way to keep meat fresh without
	a refrigerator, and b) considers cat like we consider chicken,
	namely as food.  Such a one might hate cats, particularly if they
	are vegetarian.

But hey, rather than guessing, perhaps .0 could tell *us* why she hates
cats !

/Eric

    When I was young, my mother hated cats -- SO much to the fact that
    she would tell me HORROR stories! Such as: cats are dirty; they
    carry diseases; they'll give you ringworm; if they scratch you,
    you could end up in the hospital with infections!
    
    Now, being around 4 yrs old and told this could really turn a person
    off cats! Anytime I would pick one up, my mother would make me
    THOROUGHLY wash my hands, as to not spread germs!
    
    You may say, "You're mother's a loony". Not exactly. HER mother
    told her the SAME EXACT THING! My mother was also from a small town
    in Texas, and it seems that she was quite isolated from the "big
    cities", and the cats that ran "wild", were really just Tom cats!
    
    As I got older, I could "tolerate" cats, meaning, I'd pick them
    up, pet them, and that's about the extent of it! Then, when I met
    my fiance, he had a cat -- which I tolerated -- UNTIL I got to know
    the cat, and personality, and enjoyed playing with her! When the
    cat ran away (or stolen, or worse) I felt really bad! So, I went
    out and got Perry another cat! 
    
    I liked that cat SO much, that I've been begging Perry for another
    cat! Low and behold, I got Shanti about 2 months ago!
    
    What does my mother think about all this???? When we go to visit
    her, we had to bring Charlie. The first time, she wasn't real happy.
    Now, she even TALKS to him! When she came to visit us last month,
    I hadn't told her about Shanti. She wasn't real happy -- still don't
    think she is -- but she's letting me bring BOTH of them this weekend!
    (I think I've ALMOST got her convinced!)
    
    But even with all her "warnings" regarding cats, it didn't last
    forever -- and BOY, AM I EVER GLAD!!!!
    

    I grew up in a house that always had cats (mainly because my Mom
    hated the idea of mice) so I've never had any problem loving cats.
    
    But I can think of reasons why they might not be liked (I can't
    think of any reasons why you might "hate" them...but then there
    are very few creatures that I "hate" - other then mosquitoes and
    gnats!)
    
    	- smelly litter box
    		I recently went into a house that could be used on that
    commercial where everyone is wearing clothspins because of the stink!
    
	 - cat attacks 
    		If you had had a run-in with a cat and was
    scratched/bitten so that it got very infected, it could put you off the
    animal. Though I have had both done to me (many times at different
    severity levels, once bad enough to make my arm swell like a balloon
    for a week,) and I still love the guys! 

    Other reasons:
    	- allergies
    	- fear of an unborn baby catching something 
	- fear of a young child around a cat getting injured

    But as I said, I put up with a lot from my guys (even having them
    piddle on the stove if we get home late and dinner isn't served
    on time....yuck!) and still love 'em. So it's had to figure out
    how anyone could hate them!
    
    janet b. (very prejudice when it comes to kitties!)
    

    It's interesting that you found it necessary to let us cat lovers
    know how much you HATE cats.  No doubt, they don't like you very
    much either.  
    
    Maybe you, along with others who hate cats, should get a job in a 
    laboratory where they perform cruel, inhuman tests on animals.  You 
    could perform tests like the one where they use electric shock on a
    cat.  Wouldn't that be EXCITING!!
    
    Whatever your reason, though I can't see how it could be good enough,
    why don't you tell us why you Hate cats?
    
    P.S.  Sometimes it's better to stay quiet if you can't say
          something good! 
    

    re: 82.14  He probably hasn't read the file in a long time, 
               but why not help others understand that these type of 
               comments are unnecessary!
                               

    HATE is usually based on FEAR so the person who originally put this
    note in is probably afraid of cats.  Too bad, cats are wonderful,
    loving, and entertaining pets!
    

    why doesn't this whole note just get deleted?
    

I think this note can serve one purpose....this is what can happen if a
child is isolated from cats, rather than taught how to handle cats and
when to leave a cat alone..as was said, hate comes from fear, and fear
comes from not understanding or knowing something.  I think too many
parents, out of fear for child or pet, teach their children that cats
are "bad" and should be avoided.  I suspect that cat and/or dog hatred
comes when this message is passed on to a child too emphatically.  The
most damaging message I hear parents give their children is that the
animal is "dirty" and should not be touched.  This can become an active
and hostile aversion to the type of animal in an adult...

   .17 -- Karen, Sweetie, Holly; in Calif. -- I was feeling very dejected
    at your suggestion that a reply of mine be deleted from another
    topic. Now I see that the suggestion is a hobby of yours, and I feel like
    just another low-life, simpleton who got in the way of a great 
    benevolent who knows that nobody really has anything important to
    say. Yes.
    

    RE: .19
    
    WOAH!  Wait a minute!  Please, no criticism here!  I believe that
    Karen is just trying to keep peace in this conference.  We really
    don't need to hear about cats being abused so badly.  All of us
    in this file love any feline friend, and to hear of one of our furry
    friends being abused, breaks all of our hearts.
    
    Holly
    

    
    RE.19
    
          I am very very sorry to hear you feel this way.  I saw the
    other note and saw your reply to third the motion to delete it but
    I just knew down deep inside that you were well maybe a little
    surprised that your entry was replied to in that matter.  Keep in
    mind that this conference is full of all types of people with all
    types of different attitudes and opinions.  I can honestly say that
    I really like Karen Kolling.  She is a very very sweet person. 
    However of course that doesn't mean I'll always agree with her.
    I read your note my skin crawled my stomach felt nauseous but by
    the time I got to the end of your note and saw it's intent and saw
    how it fit into the topic I understood and would not have asked
    you to delete it.  On the other hand I understand why Karen would
    want it deleted but we are two different people.  In a conference
    like this I feel that everyone has something to say.  Whether it's
    too graphic for me is not a problem to me.  If there is a messaage
    there then it's served it's purpose.  So my plea to you is please
    don't judge this file or the noters in it.  We're all different
    and some of us look to this file for different things.
    
           I'll be the first to come out and say it.  I do not think
    that just because a note describes bad abuse of a cat it should
    be deleted out of this conference for all noters not to see.  I
    and I am talking personally (but that's what we should be doing
    anyways) think that the abuse of cats, the hate toward cats, etc....
    stuff we don't like to read is a major part of the world out there
    and of our lives seeing we all love our felines so so much.  Some
    people look to this file as a shelter.  No flames please but I know
    there are some that look to this file to let them feel everything
    is right in the world so they can forget well maybe just for a little
    while how mean people and society can be.  And that's fine but there
    are some (well maybe I'm the only one?) who welcomes reality to
    make its appearance just to shock me back into the way things are.
    
    I know this is long-winded but....  seeing I did not object to the
    author's entry and now that I know how the author feels well I thought
    it was time.
    
                I really don't want to see the fur flying I see enought
                of that at home.
    
                                                                kim

   .21 -- thanks for your support. 
    .20  -- I was defending myself in my reply (.19). Being dismissed as
    trivial in thought and prose rankles the soul out of me. In the
    absence  of soul, I become nasty. 

    I think that this whole thing has gotten of the subject.  If someone
    hates cats that's their business.  The guy probably hasn't even read
    all of these replies and I think that energy is being wasted in getting
    upset about someone wanting to gain negative attention.  Believe me,
    everybody has given the person the attention they were craving!  Let's
    discuss people who love cats instead!  Just remember, everyone is
    entitled to their opinion no matter how tactless they are at expressing
    it.
    
    Joelle  

    .23�                           -< Can we go on please? >-
    
    Erm, I think they did...
     Check the timestamp on the message prior to yours. :-)
     ('they' as I wasn't in DEC at the time!)

    
    If anyone hates cats, they deserve pity. It's better to have loved a
    cat and lost than ne'er to have loved [a cat] at all. Cats are amazing
    creatures, as said by William Blake of a larger variety than most of
    us keep as pets
    
                   Tyger Tyger burning bright
                   In the forests of the night
                   What immortal hand or eye
                   dare frame thy fearful symmetry
    
    I feel only sadness for those that have never stood in awe of a cat.
    

    I feel bad that anyone could "hate" any living creature,
    especially to go as far to harm them, under the excuse
    that they "hate" them....
    

    Usually I've found people who say they "hate" cats really don't
    understand them to the point of even fearing them.  Some folks would
    rather say they "hate" than "I don't understand" or "I'm afraid" of
    cats.
    

    Some folks just say they hate cats to get cat-lovers going.  (I've even
    known some people who were neutral or even somewhat liked cats to say
    they hate cats for the benefit of one of their friends who insisted
    that cats were better than people--they thought he was irrational.)
    
    If the base noter's sole purpose was to get a rise out of some noters,
    he certainly succeeded.
    
    Lisa Dean and Snoopy 

    My next door neighbor is a retired school teacher of around 90 years
    old. When we moved in we had two cats, and she was quick to tell us she
    hated cats. She did clarify that as being really afraid of them, and
    that she thought it may have stemmed back to her childhood, and that
    she doesn't even remember what may have happened to cause the fear.
    
    Of course you can guess where my kitties hang out most of the time when
    they are outside! ;-) She doesn't do them any harm, just avoids them. I
    try to keep them away from her steps, but she only lives about 20 feet
    from me! She's very nice about it though!
    
    So, the theory of "the cat will go to the person in the room that seems
    to want it to come to them the least" seems to be upheld in this
    situation. ;-)
    
    Thought it might be an interesting story.
    
    Y

    Curious, but any idea why people would be afraid of cats? I had a
    prospective tenant all ready to take an apartment until she found out I
    had a cat.  She loves dogs, but is terrified of cats. She said "if he
    was out in the yard, I wouldn't be able to leave the house". What's to
    be afraid of? I've heard of lots of people afraid of being bitten by a
    dog, but attacked by a cat???  I'm wondering if it's a common problem,
    and if I"ll have a hard time renting this place because of the cat
    (I'll leave the place completely empty forever rather than restrict
    Spike's movements in his own home!). 

    My neighbor thinks she may have been badly scratched or frightened by a
    cat when she was very young, and has been afraid of them ever since.
    She never really had contact with them for her whole life! I can't even
    imagine not having a furface or two or three or .... around the house.
    
    I found out a singing friend of mine has 10 indoor only spayed/neutered
    cats at his house! I told him I want rehearsal at his house next time!
    ;-)
    
    I was bit by a dog once in the face. It was not a strange dog either.
    It was one I had known for a long time. I had to go to the hospital for
    a tetanus shot, and was VERY afraid of dogs for a long time. After my
    daughter bought and bred two big dobermans, I became less afraid, as I
    got to know them better. She still has the female, and she's a love!
    
    Y

    
    In some cases, the fear of cats is similar to the fear of snakes,
    spiders, etc. that some folks have.  A phobia.  There are other cases
    where a person either as a child or an adult has had a bad experience
    with a cat (or a dog) that may stay with them forever unless they can 
    somehow overcome it by seeking professional help or by overcoming their
    fear by going to a friend's home who may have a quiet, gentle cat or
    dog they can become friends with.  
      

	Yah, what Pat said.  Specifically, it's called ailurophobia.  Most
	phobias are usually displaced fears, meaning that your subconscious
	can't or won't accept what you're really afraid of, so it transfers
	it onto something relatively innocuous.  Sometimes phobias are based
	on early traumatic experiences, though.  I had a cousin who would
	have an absolute panic attack if confronted even by a tiny kitten.
	This used to amaze me as a child, as I could never have enough of
	'em around me.  Haven't changed, either :^}

	Sandy, the erstwhile psych major . . .

      Gosh, these stories remind me way back 11 years ago I was dating
    someone I thought I was going to marry.  One day we purchased a tiny,
    very cute little black kitten for his sister who really wanted a
    kitten quite badly.  We proudly brought it to his home and the little
    girl was ecstatic!  She cuddled the kitten and started for her room 
    when the mother came screaming out of the kitchen.  She grabbed the 
    poor kitten from the girls hands and literally threw it a good 20 feet
    through the air across the room.  "Get that evil thing out of here"
    she screamed.  "Black cats are evil, evil!!!!!  I won't have this in
    my house!!!  Get it out of here now!!!!!"  Needless to say I was
    shocked beyond belief!  We grabbed the poor kitten and got out.  The
    kitten luckily was not hurt.  She was still in there screaming and
    followed us to the door screaming her head off. The poor little girl
    was in hysterics!   My opinion of her was badly colored after that
    and she knew it.  I truly believe she was fully behind the breakup
    of her son and me.  I just couldn't forgive her for that incident.
    Sorry, but how the kitten felt was more important to me than her
    irrational fears.   The kitten was placed in a loving home.  As far
    as her actions,  it seems they were truly irrational, there was no
    basis for it, no bad experience or anything like that.  I guess she
    couldn't get over it when I told her she needed help.  
    Well,  who cares,  I have a perfect hubby now and 11 cats!
    
            Denise and the gang of 11

    My grandmother always said she did not like cats.  she grew up on 
    a farm, and her father forced her as a child to drown the barncats
    kittens whenever they had them.  They only kept a few cats to keep
    down the  mouse population. I think that must have been a very
    traumatic experience for a little girl.
    
    I had a cat named Snoopy when I was about 12, and she would babysit us
    once in a while, shake her finger at him and call him a "little son of
    a bee", but she always let him sleep in my bed.  Then one time, we all
    had to go on a trip, and Snoopy needed a caretaker.  Guess who
    volunteered? 
    
    "Well, I guess *I'll* have to you can't afford to board him out, the
    little son of a bee" she said gruffly.  
    
    She loved him, and missed him as much as me when he disappeared.
    
    Now that I think of it, I really miss that little son of a bee myself,
    and can still remember walking in from school, hearing his little
    "Mrrr?", shake of a collar bell as he stood up on my bed where he 
    had been sunning himself, then the thump as he jumped to the floor, and
    the jingle-jingle-jingle as he ran to greet me.
    
    I really miss her too.
    
    Kim

    
    Not that long ago I was one of those people that said "I HATE CATS".
    I had a bad experience as a child with a feline, we always had dogs,
    and my mum always said they were sneaky and devious.  THEN--I fell in
    love with Exotics, got sucked into the show circuit and are planning to
    breed.  People from my past that hear what I am doing cannot believe
    it.  Their repsonse is "but she HATES cats!!!"
    
    PEOPLE CHANGE...
    
    
    
    

    Yes, the dog bite thing happened to me, but luckily not
    in the face.  It was on my leg.  Nice puncture wound from
    the canine tooth, and I had to have a tetanus shot.
    I'm not afraid, but I am wary of dogs ever since that happened
    to me at the age of about 12....
    
    

	My nextdoor neighbour was afraid of cats to the extent she would 
	litterally shake with fear. She couldn't walk past them, or have them
	anywhere near the house.

	When I got my first cat, her sons were about 12 and 14 and loved my 
	moggy.
	They use to leave their windows open so he would jump in an sleep 
	with them on their beds.

	Cider is very placid, when he sits on your lap, he never kneeds or puts
 	out his claws. I have never known him to hiss or scratch - even the 
	other nieghbours grandchildren who pick him up and play roughly with 
	him have never even managed to get him to walk away, let alone hiss.
	    
	Anyway, gradually she became use to him, and now encourages him in.

	She still won't let other cats near her, but she can walk down the 
	street past cats without any fear, and is a lot happier person for it.
    
	So, with time, these fears can be seen to be illfounded, I hope others
	will be able to loose their fear too.

	Heather