Boomer: Cats are a blight! A disease! Well, lemme show you what we dogs do with cats. Woof woof! Bark woof bark! Woof!
Poncho: And then what?
Boomer: That's pretty much all of it.
JOLLY - I agree with you. Cats are very much maligned and this sort of script perpetuates not only that, but the horrendous cruelty to which cats are subjected. And those individuals have likely never owned one … they have no idea what they’ve missed. Pity.
Jolly, Paula, it’s a strip about dogs, showing the world from a dog’s perspective. Are you surprised that cats are painted in the worst possible light, or just complaining?
Many of the pro-cat comments on this strip (and others) can’t seem to stand up for the virtues of cats without simultaneously slamming dogs. There are dog people and there are cat people, we all know this. (There are also, of course, “both/neither”.) I’m a dog person, and even though I’ve coexisted peacably with a number of cats in my life, I still don’t care for them, often for exactly the same qualities that cat fanciers extol: their “independence” (indifference), their “mystery” (vacuity), and and their “disinclination” (inability) to learn tricks.
If you want to see dogs and cats getting along in peace and harmony, there’s always “Mutts.”
On my farm I have several dogs and, of course, many cats. One of my dogs is a small Shepherd-Terrier Mix That looks like a miniature Husky.
Every time she gets some freedom her ancient programming kicks in and she tries to HERD the cats. Cutest thing you have ever seen. The amazing thing (for me) is the fantastic speed and turning ability she has. Hard to believe an animal can move so fast.
On the other hand, she shares her food, and her doghouse on cold nights with the cats who love her dearly.
(And so do I…)
Do I sense the idea of the Cat Catapult is about to born?
And regarding this whole Dog v Cat thing, I’m a Dog/Cat person but I don’t see cats as maligned in this strip. Nothing bad ever happens to the cats - even the whole Boomer/Poncho Cat Catapult to the Sun has a basic design flaw, how do you herd the cats onto the catapult? In fact, the dogs end up looking kind of foolish while the cats saunter around like they own the place. I wish opposing groups in world politics got along as these two do in the strip. Plus in current day events [the Sunday strips] Poncho has been domesticated with the cats to say the least, kind of like the Klingons on Star Trek the Next Genereation!
The fun part is when the owner comes home, spends hours scouring the neighborhood looking for the cat, and then has to get the fire dept to rescue Kitty.
Cats CAN learn tricks, they just don’t WANT to. Some of them are smart. Our two generally get to the door to the screened porch first when I ask the two dogs if they are ready to go out and tinkle. They also beat me to the door when I have garbage bags or recycle stuff in my hands.
I’ve heard that a million times, but I don’t buy it. Canines as a class have a greater capacity for learned behavior than cats, simply as part of their nature. There’s a reason you don’t see many Seeing-Eye Cats around.
Dogs, being a highly social species, are tremendously aware of and responsive to cues given by their pack members, and the hierarchal nature of a dog/wolf pack makes them predisposed to follow orders. If you’ve ever seen Border Collie field trials, with the dogs responding precisely and efficiently to subtle and intricate signs given by their handlers, it’s impossible to imagine cats doing anything even remotely comparable. Cats are solitary hunters; they can learn pattern recognition to an extent, but cooperative behavior simply isn’t in their wiring.
The question of whether dogs or cats are “smarter” is probably unanswerable, because most of the criteria that researchers used are adapted from standards of human intelligence. But what dogs and cats require of their brains are very different (not only from each other but from humans), and each is suited to those requirements.
Neither dogs nor cats are capable of “thinking they’re people”, because neither is remotely capable of comprehending what a human being is. Dogs think their humans are other dogs, and cats think their humans are other cats, and respond to them accordingly.
COWBOY7 almost 14 years ago
Kind of anti-climatic!
Kosher71 almost 14 years ago
Kinda like the whole deal with chasing cars , what happens when you actually catch one ?
Howdy Lonewolf . Haven’t seen you in awhile .
McGehee almost 14 years ago
I watched a dog chase a cat up the tree – and keep chasing.
The look on the cat’s face was priceless, but I’ll bet so was the look on mine. That was one nimble St. Bernard.
Jolly1995 almost 14 years ago
How sad that people do not know how wonderful cats really are……..
twj0729 almost 14 years ago
My Westie won’t chase a cat unless the cat runs. Then, all bets are off! Squirrels are different, the get no quarter whatsoever!
cleokaya almost 14 years ago
The excitement of the chase, but the payoff…so,so!
Paula almost 14 years ago
JOLLY - I agree with you. Cats are very much maligned and this sort of script perpetuates not only that, but the horrendous cruelty to which cats are subjected. And those individuals have likely never owned one … they have no idea what they’ve missed. Pity.
fritzoid Premium Member almost 14 years ago
Jolly, Paula, it’s a strip about dogs, showing the world from a dog’s perspective. Are you surprised that cats are painted in the worst possible light, or just complaining?
Many of the pro-cat comments on this strip (and others) can’t seem to stand up for the virtues of cats without simultaneously slamming dogs. There are dog people and there are cat people, we all know this. (There are also, of course, “both/neither”.) I’m a dog person, and even though I’ve coexisted peacably with a number of cats in my life, I still don’t care for them, often for exactly the same qualities that cat fanciers extol: their “independence” (indifference), their “mystery” (vacuity), and and their “disinclination” (inability) to learn tricks.
If you want to see dogs and cats getting along in peace and harmony, there’s always “Mutts.”
craigwestlake almost 14 years ago
On my farm I have several dogs and, of course, many cats. One of my dogs is a small Shepherd-Terrier Mix That looks like a miniature Husky. Every time she gets some freedom her ancient programming kicks in and she tries to HERD the cats. Cutest thing you have ever seen. The amazing thing (for me) is the fantastic speed and turning ability she has. Hard to believe an animal can move so fast. On the other hand, she shares her food, and her doghouse on cold nights with the cats who love her dearly. (And so do I…)
dre7861 almost 14 years ago
Do I sense the idea of the Cat Catapult is about to born?
And regarding this whole Dog v Cat thing, I’m a Dog/Cat person but I don’t see cats as maligned in this strip. Nothing bad ever happens to the cats - even the whole Boomer/Poncho Cat Catapult to the Sun has a basic design flaw, how do you herd the cats onto the catapult? In fact, the dogs end up looking kind of foolish while the cats saunter around like they own the place. I wish opposing groups in world politics got along as these two do in the strip. Plus in current day events [the Sunday strips] Poncho has been domesticated with the cats to say the least, kind of like the Klingons on Star Trek the Next Genereation!
alan.gurka almost 14 years ago
The fun part is when the owner comes home, spends hours scouring the neighborhood looking for the cat, and then has to get the fire dept to rescue Kitty.
cdward almost 14 years ago
And then what?! We do it again! And again! And again! Can life get any better?
gofinsc almost 14 years ago
Cats CAN learn tricks, they just don’t WANT to. Some of them are smart. Our two generally get to the door to the screened porch first when I ask the two dogs if they are ready to go out and tinkle. They also beat me to the door when I have garbage bags or recycle stuff in my hands.
fritzoid Premium Member almost 14 years ago
“Cats CAN learn tricks, they just don’t WANT to.”
I’ve heard that a million times, but I don’t buy it. Canines as a class have a greater capacity for learned behavior than cats, simply as part of their nature. There’s a reason you don’t see many Seeing-Eye Cats around.
Dogs, being a highly social species, are tremendously aware of and responsive to cues given by their pack members, and the hierarchal nature of a dog/wolf pack makes them predisposed to follow orders. If you’ve ever seen Border Collie field trials, with the dogs responding precisely and efficiently to subtle and intricate signs given by their handlers, it’s impossible to imagine cats doing anything even remotely comparable. Cats are solitary hunters; they can learn pattern recognition to an extent, but cooperative behavior simply isn’t in their wiring.
The question of whether dogs or cats are “smarter” is probably unanswerable, because most of the criteria that researchers used are adapted from standards of human intelligence. But what dogs and cats require of their brains are very different (not only from each other but from humans), and each is suited to those requirements.
Neither dogs nor cats are capable of “thinking they’re people”, because neither is remotely capable of comprehending what a human being is. Dogs think their humans are other dogs, and cats think their humans are other cats, and respond to them accordingly.