When a cat ignores you, it’s just a cat being stuck up.  When your god ignores you, you’re alone in the universe.

Since one cat year is about five human years, we celebrate Catmas every 73 days.

When a cat ignores you, it’s just a cat being stuck up.  When your god ignores you, you’re alone in the universe.

On the other hand, it’s pretty easy to distinguish between “your cat is ignoring you” and “your cat doesn’t exist”.

I dunno about number 10… I’m betting a good number of cats were deemed “familiars” during witch trials.

Dan, I think the key difference would be that cats were seen as evidence, not the rules-giver. Though I wouldn’t put it past that asshole Garfield.

Also, this post just made me go put some pennies in the collection plate, AKA dipping into the catnip supply.

Cats’ demands on your time are extremely simple: 1) Feed me, 2) Clean my box, 3) Pet me, 4) Give me warm sunny places to curl up, 5) Sit down while I knead you, 6) There’ll be none of this “vet” business and especially no “bath” nonsense while I’m in charge, and 7) Boxes are nice.

When cats want your attention, they don’t make you wonder whether they exist. They make their presence known in very straightforward, concrete ways.

Cat shit is significantly easier to clean up than holy shit.

Cats are the opposite of dogs, and therefore gods.

“Unlike many gods conjured by humans, cats have no opinion on what you wear”

I would say this is debatable. My cats certainly seem to prefer it when I wear hoodies with dangly threads that they can attack.

Cats actually do have magical healing properties from what I’ve read. The low-frequency vibration of a cat purring is actually thought to be an evolutionary trick to help mend bones. I’m not entirely sure how this works, whether it’s by relaxing the muscles around the bones and preventing muscle strain from preventing a bone from repairing, or by actually causing the bone’s cells to respond and mend, and I have to believe that if you have a compound fracture all the purring in the world won’t help, but it’s sort of neat all the same.

I dunno, I really like cats, but have a serious cat allergy, so when it comes to cats I’m forever confronted by something beautiful that I can’t touch, or even really know.  God is nothing like that…oh wait…

I was absolutely no fan of Hitchens, for many reasons that don’t need to be stated here, but among all the quotes from his writing that have appeared recently is one that suggests he might agree with you: 

“Owners of dogs will have noticed that, if you provide them with food and water and shelter and affection, they will think you are god. Whereas owners of cats are compelled to realize that, if you provide them with food and water and shelter and affection, they draw the conclusion that they are gods.”

“Unlike many gods conjured by humans, cats have no opinion on what you wear”
I would say this is debatable. My cats certainly seem to prefer it when I wear hoodies with dangly threads that they can attack.

I too debate this. My cat knows to knead his claws on my leg when I’m wearing pajama pants.

He’s odd, though. He is afraid of bags of all description, though, and doesn’t go in cardboard boxes or small cabinets. I’m assuming kittenhood trauma. We adopted him from some animal rescue who alleged he was trucked in to Michigan from Kentucky. (The lady also alleged the simplex virus he had was a normal reaction to stress. As our vet put it “Translation, all the cats in my animal rescue have this.”) I wasn’t aware we’d exhausted the supply of superior, northern kittens, but what are you going to do?

I suppose Ross Douthat isn’t afraid of bags, but in all other ways advantage:cat.

cats have no opinion on what you wear, and certainly won’t smite you for going about with your hair or your knees uncovered.

On the other hand, when the cat decides to use your leg as a scratching post, you may be better off having your knees, calves, and ankles covered.  With lead. 

Or just accept making the blood sacrifice to the cats paws.

Are we considering Stargate references?

Cats actually do have magical healing properties from what I’ve read. The low-frequency vibration of a cat purring is actually thought to be an evolutionary trick to help mend bones. I’m not entirely sure how this works, whether it’s by relaxing the muscles around the bones and preventing muscle strain from preventing a bone from repairing, or by actually causing the bone’s cells to respond and mend, and I have to believe that if you have a compound fracture all the purring in the world won’t help, but it’s sort of neat all the same.

I could believe this.

I’m currently in physical therapy to prepare for rotator cuff surgery, and a significant part of it is various stimulation to reduce swelling around the tendon tears.  So, I could see the purr having a similar effect as ultrasound in reducing swelling.

(Hmmm…  Might explain why my cat, Gremalkin, has taken to sleeping on my shoulder lately.)

Cats never turned anyone into a pillar of salt.
jp

With cats, you get no DOGma.

But you might have to learn a catechism.

re: #12 Gee I didn’t know that Hitches ripped off “Dogs have owners, Cats have staff.”

Where deities often demand sacrifices of freshly killed livestock, virgins, or a harvest big enough to feed your village for three winters, cats can be appeased with at little as a ribbon or shopping receipt.

Since one cat year is about five human years, we celebrate Catmas every 73 days.

On the downside, Catmas gifts are limited to plastic bags, shiny strings, and dead mice.

I think the important question now is: Ceiling Cat or Basement Cat?

When a cat ignores you, it’s just a cat being stuck up.

Heh.  I have pointed out to my girlfriend that while her cat often ignores her, he always does so within five feet of her.  If she goes out of the room for a few minutes, he casually gets up from his comatose state, walks out to where she is now, and then ignores her there.

Now I’m the poor bastard who gets the job of throwing him out off the bed when we wanna sleep, or has to hold his head and calm him when the vet sticks a thermometer where the sun doesn’t shine(*). While she gets to hand out the squeaky catnip mice that I bought for the little rodent.  How does that work?

(*) And let me tell you, anyone who says cats’ faces are not expressive has never been eye-to-eye with a scared and confused moggy while a stranger sticks a rod up its ass.

George Carlin always said pray to the sun (always there, giving light and life), except that when you really need to get something done, pray to Joe Pesci.

@12, one of my favorite jokes, although I know it a slightly different form.  You beat me to it.

My cat, Felix, also can read thoughts, just like they say God can.

As evidence, he roused himself from a nap on a down comforter not two feet from me, to offer me the comfort of a pet and purr, as I was reading the link aboute th purr’s healing powers.

“And let me tell you, anyone who says cats’ faces are not expressive has never been eye-to-eye with a scared and confused moggy while a stranger sticks a rod up its ass.”

Apparently cat face’s are some of the most human like in the animal kingdom. Of non-apes anyways.

In some ways, my cats would make ideal deities:

Their commandments are few: provide plentiful food and water, give affection on demand, be a patient and unmoving source of body heat when it’s cold.

Their response when I do not follow the commandments is loving rather than punitive (they actually get more affectionate when they’re hungry.)  Compare this to other gods (I will send PLAGUE!  That’ll get them to shape up!)

Their punishments for major transgressions are mild (I shall force open your dresser drawers and dig out your underwear!)  Again, compare this to other gods (plague is just the beginning.)

Other gods do stuff like feed you to a whale when they want to get your attention.  My cats mostly just cry piteously, and occasionally knock something over.

They respond promptly and generously to offerings (e.g. when I finally provided them an acceptable scratching post, they completely stopped scratching the couch.)

They model forgiveness and acceptance, and never hold a grudge for things like trips to the vet or having icky medicine forced down their throats.

They care for their followers and attempt to provide for those unable to care for themselves (e.g. trying to hunt for me, which since they are indoor cats means cat toys and the occasional cockroach.)

Really, I should try to get tax-exempt status.  The Church of My Cats sounds like a much better deal than anyone else is offering.

Actually, my cats do care what I wear: they have a very marked preference for denim laps, and dislike skin.

When I had a kitten, he didn’t have a lot of preferences for how I dressed, just as long as my hands were free so that he could knead my palm and suck on my fingertips during syringe feedings. (He thought my hand was Mama’s Tummy because in a way, it was.) He did, however, enjoy a certain big, comfy dress with deep, cozy hip pockets. Lemme see if I can find the pic…

http://alysonmiers.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/iggypocket.jpg?w=320

Okay, it’s blurry, but he was a sleepy kitty at the time, so it makes sense. Besides, I was twisting around to take a picture of my own hip, so focusing the camera was not quite the priority.

Re:  Cat benefits from purring:

Leslie A. Lyons, an assistant professor at the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of California, Davis, explains.

Over the course of evolution, purring has probably offered some selective advantage to cats. Most felid species produce a “purr-like” vocalization. In domestic cats, purring is most noticeable when an animal is nursing her kittens or when humans provide social contact via petting, stroking or feeding.

Although we assume that a cat’s purr is an expression of pleasure or is a means of communication with its young, perhaps the reasons for purring can be deciphered from the more stressful moments in a cat’s life. Cats often purr while under duress, such as during a visit to the veterinarian or when recovering from injury. Thus, not all purring cats appear to be content or pleased with their current circumstances. This riddle has lead researchers to investigate how cats purr, which is also still under debate.

Scientists have demonstrated that cats produce the purr through intermittent signaling of the laryngeal and diaphragmatic muscles. Cats purr during both inhalation and exhalation with a consistent pattern and frequency between 25 and 150 Hertz. Various investigators have shown that sound frequencies in this range can improve bone density and promote healing.

This association between the frequencies of cats’ purrs and improved healing of bones and muscles may provide help for some humans. Bone density loss and muscle atrophy is a serious concern for astronauts during extended periods at zero gravity. Their musculo-skeletal systems do not experience the normal stresses of physical activity, including routine standing or sitting, which requires strength for posture control.

Because cats have adapted to conserve energy via long periods of rest and sleep, it is possible that purring is a low energy mechanism that stimulates muscles and bones without a lot of energy. The durability of the cat has facilitated the notion that cats have “nine lives” and a common veterinary legend holds that cats are able to reassemble their bones when placed in the same room with all their parts. Purring may provide a basis for this feline mythology. The domestication and breeding of fancy cats occurred relatively recently compared to other pets and domesticated species, thus cats do not display as many muscle and bone abnormalities as their more strongly selected carnivore relative, the domestic dog. Perhaps cats’ purring helps alleviate the dysplasia or osteoporotic conditions that are more common in their canid cousins. Although it is tempting to state that cats purr because they are happy, it is more plausible that cat purring is a means of communication and a potential source of self-healing.

“Their response when I do not follow the commandments is loving rather than punitive (they actually get more affectionate when they’re hungry.)”

This is so true! My cat George is usually a pretty stand-offish cat, but whenever he wants cat treats (which is whenever someone is in the kitchen) he starts purring and being extremely sweet. And then goes back to being stand-offish once he gets his treats/someone leaves the kitchen, until an hour later when he wants them again.

My favorite is whenever a new person enters the house, he immediately starts up the routine, as though he’s trying to fool them into thinking he hasn’t been fed already that day.

When cats produce offspring they don’t knock up married teenagers but they do give birth to little mewling fuzzy balls of joy.

I might disprove the holy war theory by pointing out that of course dogs aren’t God but it’s not just ANY cat you can pray to; it has to be a Maine Coon. They are the gentle giants after all.

Piator, it’s because you’re under the thumb of an oppressive matriarchy.

Dagcm, I was going to post that! It’s so cool that it’s even a theory.

I think this it the point where Amanda says she thinks there isn’t much difference between cat breeds. Then myself and other Maine Coon owners start posting angry comments about how our Maine Coons are really different and better other breeds especially Persians.

My younger cat, Fiona, lived for a year on the streets.  I adore her capacity for expressing gratitude that resulted from her trials: if the wind howls outside, or rain lashes the windows, she expresses her domestic bliss with a deep-throated purr heard through the house.

The worship goes both ways.

Did I mention that Fiona is a Maine Coon? (although, with her tuxedo color scheme, she more closely resembles a Norwegian Forest Cat)

*the last sentence of #34 should read, “better than other breeds”

Ms Kate, even though my 5 month old Maine Coon, Puck, has all the lil bastard deity traits he can also be a real sweetheart even when he doesn’t want something. I choose to believe that some of that is gratitude.

I’ve never seen a black and white in person but they look cool in pics. I’ve heard their black fur can be so dark that the contrast is startling.

I’m currently in physical therapy to prepare for rotator cuff surgery, and a significant part of it is various stimulation to reduce swelling around the tendon tears.  So, I could see the purr having a similar effect as ultrasound in reducing swelling.

More or less the same thing here, I think cats are very in-tune with distress for the huge, bald, insane cats they happen to live with, so I can’t write my cats’ sudden love to lay on me and purr while I was laid up with a broken ankle as “hey, time to be DOCTOR CAT!” any more than it was genuine concern that I might not feed them anymore, but it’s kind of a cool idea. To this day, when I sleep, my cats pretty much crowd up around my foot all night, which is good because I have ongoing issues as a result of that accident.

It helps that I don’t kick.

No one else seems to have mentioned the pleasure of the conversations one can have with a cat.  Though perhaps I have been unduly blessed in this regard, as the two cats I’ve had were both part Siamese.

On the practical side, cats do tend to know when there’s something threatening about people.  If a normally friendly kitteh finds your new friend scary, there may be a reason.

Piator, it’s because you’re under the thumb of an oppressive matriarchy.

I believe the correct term is “gynarchy”, and don’t I know it!

Actually, my cats do care what I wear: they have a very marked preference for denim laps, and dislike skin.

I’ll admit that my cat overlord affects my clothing purchasing choices.  I have not bought pajama short in years because he dislikes bare skin, so I always buy the longer pajamas.  With air conditioning it doesn’t really matter for me.

I can vouch for the unwillingness of dog people to start a holy war.  My fourteen year old boxer Rex was the One True Dog.  He loved cats.  Cat followers are good people, they just don’t have the whole revealed truth.  We must teach them to love the dog, for the dog loves back.  You know that whole Jesus will walk with you line?  Yeah, my dog was always my partner.  Jesus has never kept me safe or calm after a copperhead bite or alerted someone that my old man fell of the roof.  Rex did that.  Fitting that his name means “king,” yeah?

If everyone thought their highest duty was to their cats, instead of their gods, this is how the world would be better:

1) Making sure everyone had a good, stable, comfortable (i.e. warm with lots of soft places to sleep) permanent home would be paramount in importance, because that is what is required by cats.  In short, we would have no homeless, because homeless people might have homeless cats and anyone ever kept by a cat knows that NOT HAVING MY TERRITORY IS UNACCEPTABLE.

2) Once everyone was properly owned by a cat, and society was committed above all to making sure they provided a stable, comfortable, full-of-scratchable-or-sleepable surfaces, the next issue would be to make sure adequate food and water was available every day.  As with the homeless question, the people would benefit from having their cats provided for, but what is so wrong with making sure everyone has a stable comfortable home, adequate food, and a cat?

3) If making cats comfortable was everyone’s highest priority, think about the ramifications:  No war, bombs, or explosives.  Cats don’t like loud noises.  No cars near anyone’s home—suppose the cats got hit by one?  Attention to making sure all birds, mice, and small animals maintained their peak numbers (large animals, which can take cats as prey, might suffer, unless they could be classified as cats themselves.)

Of course, our finest scientific minds would have to devote themselves to the task of creating silent vacuum cleaners, but isn’t that a small price to pay for abolishing war and homelessness?

I’m going to guess that the preference for the goddess stemmed from the Sandman comics. Although personally I’m all for Odin All-Father.

If god has fucked over your life, you can’t do a whole lot about it, but you can spray a cat with a squirt gun when he eats the chicken you were cooling off on the counter.

Within a few meetings, Dusty was sitting with Marc and alternately licking his head and batting it with her paw. I have no idea what she was trying to express with that, but it’s quite possible she knew from day one that he was going to be the ultimate toy, and she just had to convince him of it.

Cats totally care what you wear. Strings on clothing are like the best thing ever for them.

If god has fucked over your life, you can’t do a whole lot about it, but you can spray a cat with a squirt gun when he eats the chicken you were cooling off on the counter.

Before Gremalkin, I had a cat (Leela) that loved shrimp.  One day I was marinating some raw shrimp in vindaloo paste.  Leela decided she wanted some shrimp.  Alas, Leela learned that she did not like vindaloo paste at all…  And ever since then she never tried to take any of my food.

I vote for ceiling cat.  I live with a basement cat, to keep things in balance, but just decorated my christmas tree with a ceiling cat tree topper.  I’m a long time atheist who finds servitude to cats very much in line with my religious non-beliefs.

Instead of drinking wine for Jesus’ blood, we drink milk.  We are “Cat-bowl-licks.”

My cats give this two claws up.

Albert! And another thing!!!

Cats do not lap, or slurp, or apply any sort of suction to drink from their cat bowls. They apply more advanced fluid dynamics to create water columns!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11717510

When I read about that, I was sort of knocked over. Now whenever I see one of my cats go for the water dish I remind them that they are masters of fluid dynamics.

@47: would cats then be partial to orthodox Jews? You know, the tefillim-wearing kind?

although it mixes the christianist with the cat-worship, I can’t help but think of Christopher Smart’s poem “For I Will Consider My Cat Jeffrey”

For I will consider my Cat Jeoffry.
For he is the servant of the Living God, duly and daily serving him.
For at the first glance of the glory of God in the East he worships in his way.
For is this done by wreathing his body seven times round with elegant quickness.
For then he leaps up to catch the musk, which is the blessing of God upon his prayer.
For he rolls upon prank to work it in.
For having done duty and received blessing he begins to consider himself.
For this he performs in ten degrees.
For first he looks upon his forepaws to see if they are clean.
For secondly he kicks up behind to clear away there.
For thirdly he works it upon stretch with the forepaws extended.
For fourthly he sharpens his paws by wood.
For fifthly he washes himself.
For sixthly he rolls upon wash.
For seventhly he fleas himself, that he may not be interrupted upon the beat.
For eighthly he rubs himself against a post.
For ninthly he looks up for his instructions.
For tenthly he goes in quest of food.  etc, etc

http://beandays.deviantart.com/journal/For-I-Will-Consider-My-Cat-Jeffrey-C-Smart-270573994

This was scribbled into a margin of a manuscript by an 8th century Irish monk (original in Irish - this is a translation):

Each of us pursues his trade,
I and Pangur my comrade,
His whole fancy on the hunt,
And mine for learning ardent.
More than fame I love to be
Among my books and study,
Pangur does not grudge me it,
Content with his own merit.

When ­ a heavenly time! ­ we are
In our small room together
Each of us has his own sport
And asks no greater comfort.

While he sets his round sharp eye
On the wall of my study
I turn mine, though lost its edge,
On the great wall of knowledge.

Now a mouse drops in his net
After some mighty onset
While into my bag I cram
Some difficult darksome problem.

When a mouse comes to the kill
Pangur exults, a marvel!
I have when some secret’s won
My hour of exultation.

Though we work for days and years
Neither the other hinders;
Each is competent and hence
Enjoys his skill in silence.

Master of the death of mice,
He keeps in daily practice,
I too, making dark things clear,
Am of my trade a master.

“I think this it the point where Amanda says she thinks there isn’t much difference between cat breeds. Then myself and other Maine Coon owners start posting angry comments about how our Maine Coons are really different and better other breeds especially Persians.”

HOW DARE YOU

In 5th grade (UK equivalent, anyway) a girl in my class and I both brought in our cats. Hers, a Maine Coon, was comfortable in front of 20 “aww-ing” kids and didn’t mind strutting around in front of them. Mine, a persian, froze to the spot and started panting :c

On the other hand, having a really weird cat who is also really cantankerous has its upsides. I don’t know if you’ve seen Winston, the exotic shorthair that belongs to the owners of FourFour, but he’s basically the same as my cat except shorthaired, both in temperament and looks. The weird alien behaviour is mesmerizing.

I get migraines, and about half of the cats I’ve known will make it a point to sit and keep me company while I’m down with the migraine.  It’s a good tonic for the isolation chronic illness brings.

My childhood cat, Christy was the best ever.  She was catching birds twice her size as a kitten.  She once caught a fish, and left half of it by the door for us.  Other cats and dogs in the neighborhood kept out of her way, as she was Queen of All She Surveyed.

The only time I saw her hold back was when a possum came in the yard and ate her food.  She stayed a good 5 feet back watching it, secure in the knowledge we would feed her again. 

She swam across a rain flooded yard to save her kitten.

In the mornings, she would try to talk to me.  She would break up her meow ” me-e-e-ow-ow?” into syllables.

When taking her in the car, she would try to get out of her box.  Her paw came down on my hand once.  She *retracted* the two claws that landed on my thumb while leaving out the ones still on the cardboard.

I loved that cat.  30 years later we still talk about her.  Worshipfully.

Before Gremalkin, I had a cat (Leela) that loved shrimp.  One day I was marinating some raw shrimp in vindaloo paste.  Leela decided she wanted some shrimp.  Alas, Leela learned that she did not like vindaloo paste at all…  And ever since then she never tried to take any of my food.

The spicy thing only works halfway - they won’t eat spicy chicken or shrimp, but they will still pull it off the counter onto the floor, take a few bites, and spit them out in disgust.

Our girlcat is such a scavenger, she has been known to steal anything that falls from the kitchen counter to the floor. Fava beans, spinach, whatever.

My childhood cat was wonderful and loving, but, alas, a complete and utter idiot. Even so I would rather worship him - a cat who broke his leg falling out of a tree, and who never, ever learned that the kitchen floor was slippery when his paws were wet - than a god who would condemn anyone to eternal torment. At least the worst the cat could do was pounce on your head occasionally.

“Unlike many gods conjured by humans, cats have no opinion on what you wear”

Not true.  My BIL’s cat hated, hated, hated loose-legged or swishy pants.  If you wore loose jammy pants, or wide-legged cargos, or velvet party pants, he would hiss and attack your legs. 

I saw a show on one of the nature channels about how cats hunt, and it made the argument that house cats are the cruelest hunters, because they are the only cats that kill for fun rather than food.  Our cat would hunt mice and leave them on the doorstep.  (Our dog then ate the dead mice, which was fun! for all!)  Of course, cats also get their heads stuck in yogurt containers.

A beautiful, cruel, and strange god, indeed.

<blockquote>Not true.<blockquote>

Schism!

Schism, indeed.  Soon we will have rival Cat-echisms and dueling priesthoods.  Shorthair v. longhair.  Purebred v. moggy.  Religious wars are not far off.  Of course, they will consist of licking our paws as we studiously ignore each other, sharpening claws on the new curtains, and peeing in the new shoes.

My childhood cat, Christy was the best ever.  She was catching birds twice her size as a kitten.  She once caught a fish, and left half of it by the door for us.  Other cats and dogs in the neighborhood kept out of her way, as she was Queen of All She Surveyed.

Indeed.  My childhood cat hid in our letterbox and ambushed the local husky, driving it off the property.  She also had the habit of rubbing noses to the point where she got upset if you refused because it meant you didn’t love her anymore.  We kept one of her kittens too, which turned out to have the sweetest disposition of any creature I’ve yet seen - dumb as a sack of hammers, but incredibly loving.

Pussywillow was my childhood cat, who once bested a Doberman that had been brought into the neighborhood by ambushing it out of a tree.

Pussywillow was also fond of critiquing my violin practice, since he didn’t like it when I hit an off note.

Persian Blue - all lean muscle and of grim countenance.

@Ms. Kate (55) - I love the story of that inscription!  Here’s the Irish original:

Messe agus Pangur Bán,
cechtar nathar fria shaindán:
bíth a menmasam fri seilgg,
mu menma céin im shaincheirdd.

Caraimse fos, ferr cach clú
oc mu lebrán, léir ingnu;
ní foirmtech frimm Pangur bán
caraid cesin a maccdán.

One of my favorite USAian composers, Samuel Barber, set W.H. Auden’s translation to music as “The Monk and His Cat.”  Here’s a video of a talented young soprano performing it:

http://youtu.be/RyOEcRKYSA4

And here’s the Auden version:

Pangur, white Pangur,
How happy we are,
Alone together, scholar and cat.
Each has his own work to do daily;
For you it is hunting, for me, study.
Your shining eye watches the wall;
My feeble eye is fixed on a book.
You rejoice when your claws entrap a mouse;
I rejoice when my mind fathoms a problem.
Pleased with his own art, neither hinders the other;
Thus we live ever, without tedium and envy.

cats have no opinion on what you wear

Maybe not, but they sure have opinions on home decor:

So you think those curtains look good?

And then there’s I told you that sofa is hideous!

And after kitty finished the claw job, she was right.

But, yes, luv’em anyway.

Well, Jayne Newell, there must be some adjustment for lactose-consuming households, as mine demand plastic rings from the top of milk bottles.

#52

I knew that and I didn’t say lap, slurp, or suck, I said “lick” which can mean pretty much anything with the tongue.  I also used that for the point of the pun.  And to be technical, cats don’t really drink milk or at least aren’t suppose to.  It’s bad for their stomach cause lots of them are lactose intolerant.

Hmmm ... I wonder if that’s why they stick their noses in the boys’ cereal bowls then and not ours? They like the non-lactose milk?

Ms Kate, like any obligate carnivore, they are probably attracted by the protein in the milk, lactose is something that cats can’t taste,  while dogs luuve the stuff even if they suffer from lactose intolerance like their Felidae cousins.

If you want to give them a special treat, OTOH…............

Mighty Ponygirl,
There was a story recently about a kitty in San Mateo that is such a little scavenging thief that he was regularly stealing from the neighbors. He stole so much stuff that his owners had to have regular neighborhood meetings to return stuff to the neighbors. The example I liked the best was him stealing a neighbor’s bikini that was drying in her in backyard. I can understand the top because of the strings or straps but the fact that he actually went back for the bottoms cracked me up. What a little perv.

Shakahi -  This Cat Burglar?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qSLvkskXFA