7 ms·

Not the original commenter, but I have indoor cats in my apartment who can only go out on to the balcony. They have very animated dreams sometimes. They'll make

Not the original commenter, but I have indoor cats in my apartment who can only go out on to the balcony. They have very animated dreams sometimes. They'll make whimpering sounds that are like muffles versions of the yowls they make when agitated and/or playing. Their feet will kick as of they're playing with a toy, and sometimes they will suddenly awake. Cat 3/3 in particular will awake "confused" and make questioning meows at me and my partner, before running to one of us as if to say "the heck was that?!". It's interesting. Is it dreams? If so, are they dreams unsettling enough that they look to us for reassurance/comfort, or are we just anthropomorphising?

11235813213455 3y ago
imo "pets" shouldn't even exist, same with zoos and similar, we should just try to look at wild animals outside, learn to approach and communicate with them. In captivity we can have plants, that's fine
- runtime_blues 3y ago
  Cats pretty much domesticated themselves for the mutual benefit of both species. There are "captive" pets living in cages or other enclosures that might be a bit more dicey, but cats and dogs are probably a pretty poor example to get upset about.
  - 11235813213455 3y ago
    an apartment or small garden for dogs or cats who usually cover at least 10km daily is captivity another point is also their environmental footprint (20% of meat and fish production, many services and indirect pollution, impact on birds, lezards, etc..)
    - sgu999 3y ago
      20% seems very high. I also thought their food was a byproduct of the meat industry, maybe that's the reason? It's 20% that no one else would eat anyway? (I'm being pedantic but that'd suit my narrative, I'm mostly vegan and I'm easily annoyed by people with pets)
      - 11235813213455 3y ago
        sure but it's still driving the production and pollution up (processing, packaging, transport) and many pet owners also give them their own food
- Stratoscope 3y ago
  I have the privilege of living with two young indoor cats. One of them found me when I was walking in a nearby semi-rural neighborhood. He was about five weeks old, sitting on a fence, scared and hungry, mewing for help. It was around dusk, the time of day when the crows and ravens and owls and other predators start looking for tasty little snacks like him. I brought him home, gave him a bath and got the fleas off him, then took him to the vet where they gave him medication for his ear mites and worms. The other was rescued from a similar situation by someone who brought her to Pets In Need, our local no-kill shelter, where I adopted her. They are very happy here. They have good friends (each other and me) to play with and sleep with, tasty food that they don't have to fight to the death, and no risk of being swept up by a hungry bird. One time as I was walking in the door, a raven started making a loud ruckus outside. Both kitties had a panicked look. They remember what their life was like as wild animals. When they saw me they felt safe and happy again.
  - 11235813213455 3y ago
    > They are very happy here this is a projection of your feelings It's a bit disturbing how pets became sort of toys and fashion objects Let alone, there are many environmental issues (20% of global meat/fish, all services linked to them), a pet owner is rarely using a bicyle, but more a car etc.. For me it's a bit like a beautiful flower outside, should I cut it to bring it home with me? or should I just observe it there and leave it for others durably, for insects mostly?
    - hydrok9 3y ago
      A cat is a domesticated animal and it's obvious that they prefer living in a safe environment, or at least coming home to one, and bonding with their care providers (aka "family").
      - 11235813213455 3y ago
        you forgot the most important point: food, that's why pets stay or regularly come back at that home (after smashing some poor wild creature for fun, it doesn't taste as good as their food made of 20% of worldwide meat&fish, their calories intake is about 20% of human, so that's billions of tons every year, shipping, pollution - pets CO2eq is around 2% of total emissions, concrete is 7%, personal cars are 20%, that give an idea of the importance)

11235813213455 3y ago

imo "pets" shouldn't even exist, same with zoos and similar, we should just try to look at wild animals outside, learn to approach and communicate with them. In captivity we can have plants, that's fine

runtime_blues 3y ago
Cats pretty much domesticated themselves for the mutual benefit of both species. There are "captive" pets living in cages or other enclosures that might be a bit more dicey, but cats and dogs are probably a pretty poor example to get upset about.
- 11235813213455 3y ago
  an apartment or small garden for dogs or cats who usually cover at least 10km daily is captivity another point is also their environmental footprint (20% of meat and fish production, many services and indirect pollution, impact on birds, lezards, etc..)
  - sgu999 3y ago
    20% seems very high. I also thought their food was a byproduct of the meat industry, maybe that's the reason? It's 20% that no one else would eat anyway? (I'm being pedantic but that'd suit my narrative, I'm mostly vegan and I'm easily annoyed by people with pets)
    - 11235813213455 3y ago
      sure but it's still driving the production and pollution up (processing, packaging, transport) and many pet owners also give them their own food
Stratoscope 3y ago
I have the privilege of living with two young indoor cats. One of them found me when I was walking in a nearby semi-rural neighborhood. He was about five weeks old, sitting on a fence, scared and hungry, mewing for help. It was around dusk, the time of day when the crows and ravens and owls and other predators start looking for tasty little snacks like him. I brought him home, gave him a bath and got the fleas off him, then took him to the vet where they gave him medication for his ear mites and worms. The other was rescued from a similar situation by someone who brought her to Pets In Need, our local no-kill shelter, where I adopted her. They are very happy here. They have good friends (each other and me) to play with and sleep with, tasty food that they don't have to fight to the death, and no risk of being swept up by a hungry bird. One time as I was walking in the door, a raven started making a loud ruckus outside. Both kitties had a panicked look. They remember what their life was like as wild animals. When they saw me they felt safe and happy again.
- 11235813213455 3y ago
  > They are very happy here this is a projection of your feelings It's a bit disturbing how pets became sort of toys and fashion objects Let alone, there are many environmental issues (20% of global meat/fish, all services linked to them), a pet owner is rarely using a bicyle, but more a car etc.. For me it's a bit like a beautiful flower outside, should I cut it to bring it home with me? or should I just observe it there and leave it for others durably, for insects mostly?
  - hydrok9 3y ago
    A cat is a domesticated animal and it's obvious that they prefer living in a safe environment, or at least coming home to one, and bonding with their care providers (aka "family").
    - 11235813213455 3y ago
      you forgot the most important point: food, that's why pets stay or regularly come back at that home (after smashing some poor wild creature for fun, it doesn't taste as good as their food made of 20% of worldwide meat&fish, their calories intake is about 20% of human, so that's billions of tons every year, shipping, pollution - pets CO2eq is around 2% of total emissions, concrete is 7%, personal cars are 20%, that give an idea of the importance)