Though I don’t have a fear of dogs, I find it really sad and disgusting the way the phobia is treated at large. Cynophobia is one of the most common and debilitating phobias and it often forms in childhood, especially after a traumatic event. I grew up in the middle of nowhere with a lot of unleashed, untrained and/or stray dogs and I was bitten and knocked down by several dogs as a kid. Your dog might be your best friend, your dog might be a very good dog but that person may look at your dog and only remember being a helpless 6 year old child with a dog’s jaw around their neck. The fear seems irrational and hilarious to you, someone who has had mostly positive interactions with dogs but remember not everyone has lived the life you have.
So many dog owners are practically allergic to doing anything to alleviate human anxiety around their dog, even things that would greatly benefit the dog like keeping it leashed and not bringing it into high stress environments* without cause. If a friend told me they were afraid of cats, I’d tell them it is best we meet outside of my home because that is a completely reasonable accommodation. There are so many horror stories about someone being told another person is afraid of dogs and repeatedly putting them in situations where they have to be in close proximity to a dog without that person’s consent because they think it’s funny or because ‘My dog is such a good dog. It’ll definitely change their mind about dogs. This is like impromptu exposure therapy.’ and it makes everything worse.
Someone being frightened and on the verge of a panic attack at your little Shih Tzu mix may seem like an amusing overreaction to you but those bitches (pun absolutely intended) do bite and the safest thing to do for that person and your dog is to keep them separated. You don’t know what life they’ve lead.
*This post is not about service dog and handler teams. If your dog is a disability aid, it is the responsibility of others to Buck Up and Deal regardless of their opinions on dogs. This is about the epidemic of terrible dog owners taking their poorly trained dogs places and being completely inconsiderate towards others AND their own dog.
RIGHT! Someone saying “Dogs are not my thing. I’m a bit nervous around dogs. I’m not fond of them.” is so different than wishing harm on your dog. I’m a cat owner and I’m very used to people who hate cats saying vile things about them but there really is a stark difference between “I don’t really like cats.” and “I would love to sic my dog on your stupid fucking cat.” but many dog owners see anything other than totally loving dogs as a sign the person is inherently evil.
Cats Copy. Hence the phrase copy cat. And this cat is clearly fond of this dog as a family member, and just now realized by observing:
“OH WAIT Human is making biscuits on this dog brother and it HELPS with his pain??? Hey I can do that!! I can do that too! Look! Biscuits!!”
Veterinarian at the next follow up: “Dog is looking really good! But I’m concerned - with this kind of progress, it looks like Dog is getting HOURS of massage every day. If you work yourself into a repetitive motion injury, you won’t be able to keep up with Dog’s home physical therapy, and, you know, you’ll be hurt, too.”
Human: “I give Dog a massage for about 30 minutes a day. The rest is all Cat.”
This young lady is turning 18 years old! 😾 This makes Naia the oldest living black-footed cat in the U.S. population, and possibly the oldest in the world! She is, however, shy of being the oldest recorded BFC by 6 months. So here is to good health Naia!
Happy Caturday! Meet the margay (Leopardus wiedii). Also known as the long-tailed cat, this critter’s tail can grow up to 20 in (50.8 cm) long. It ranges from parts of Mexico to Argentina and lives in forests, where it spends much of its time in the tree canopy. It’s well-adapted for life above the ground, with flexible toes and wide paws. Joints in its ankle can rotate 180 degrees, making this cat North America’s only feline capable of climbing head first down trees. These traits come in handy when hunting for agile prey like birds, small mammals, and reptiles.
Photo: Supreet Sahoo, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
listen i’m not advocating for exotic animals as pets, but i really just feel like cheetahs are probably different
i feel like we need to give them another shot as housebeasts
this is a critter who wants greenies and then to take a nap on the couch next to me, and i KNOW it
cheetah in House perfec t size for put inside! inside very Soft and Comfort cheetah sleep soundly put cheetah in House. Put Cheetah In House. no problems ever in cheetah in ho use because good Happy and Satisfy for human where sleep. House yes a place for a cheetah put cheetah in house can trust cheetah for giveing good love to humans in house. friend cheetah
This morning my cats were acting super weird. That mix between clinginess and deliberate misbehavior cats do when they want to draw your attention to something. I check the food bowl, I check the water bowl, nobody seems injured in any way, they’re just acting weird. It got to the point Philomena was standing on my lap staring at me intently (rare, she hates prolonged physical contact, she is not a lap cat) and meowing periodically and Odette was sitting next to me and also staring at me with concern. And I started getting paranoid, wondering if they knew something I didn’t and I was about to have a heart attack or pass out or something (important to note: if your pets are acting weird and there is nothing wrong with them or the environment, there may be something wrong with you). Nope. It’s the snow storm. They’re having snow storm sillies.
It’s crazy that cats have such powerful vibe-checkers that they can tell it’s going to snow before you know.
Cats (and other animals but I’ve noticed this behavior most distinctly in cats) are incredibly sensitive creatures and they can sense drastic changes in barometric pressure. They instinctively feel nervous and agitated and may behave strangely before a storm hits. Not only is this true for snowstorms, cats also get really weird right before hurricanes.
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