A Life

"JHBennett" wrote in message
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"m. L. Briggs" wrote in message
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On Wed, 24 Sep 2003 04:58:08 GMT, John Kimmel
wrote:

[[[[[[[[[snip]]]]]]]]]]

Did you find his remains? if not, he may be hiding somewhere injured.

Good point. --JB

I hate dogs that kill cats. MLB

Not so fast. You know darn well it is the nature of animals to defend
their turf against all intruders, whether they are cats or an endangered
species. It's one thing, if an owner sics his animal on another, but, when
a neighbor's cat feels it can push a German Shepard away from his food dish,
what do you advocate as the approved response? Relax, my dog didn't kill
the cat, although he could have quite easily. What he did do was pick the
cat up and heave it against the fence, a distance of about 15 feet. The cat
never repeated the mistake, or came in the yard again.
There's the dog's viewpoint too, and you don't know what the situation
was.
Regards,
Jack
PS--Incidentally, my dog weighed 140 pounds, stood 30 inches at the withers,
and could carry a football (or imprudent cat) in his mouth.

One of our cats was killed by the neighbors dogs. And while I was upset and sad that
the cat went thru that, I certainly didn't blame the neighbors or the dogs.

Maggie was a dark tortie feral kitten. About 6 months when she found us. There was
no way on earth we could have made her in indoor only cat. She ate here and she
slept here and she sometimes shared her time and affection with us. From the first
it was noticeable that she was clumsy. Very poor balance for a cat. And really bad
for a cat whose favorite pastime was walking the fencetops in he neighborhood. She
delighted in upsetting as many dogs as possible. And did so for many years.

Our backyard neighbors weren't even in the habit of leaving their dogs out in the
yard much, but they were out the fateful day. One small clumsy cat and two oversized
excited pups is not a good combination. She came out of their "play" with a spinal
injury that was too severe for recovery.

They weren't mean. They weren't cat killers, just exuberant dogs playing in their
own yard. There was no reason to hate them.

Jo

On Wed, 24 Sep 2003 20:07:49 -0500, "JHBennett"
wrote:

Not so fast. You know darn well it is the nature of animals to defend
their turf against all intruders, whether they are cats or an endangered
species.

Then there were the two free-roaming neighborhood dogs that jumped
the fence to kill Stephanie's little Tippy in her own backyard. *She*
had no defense.

Jeanne
Jeanne Hajos
spamguard u is i, and not is net)
===
"Anger improves nothing except the arch of a cat's back."
--- Coleman Cox
My SETI team:
http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/s...am_125874.html

Hard to believe that any cat could suffer poor balance, although I did
see that once in one that had been injured as a kitten. Perhaps that was
Maggie's sad problem. I know I take particular delight when they show off
their amazing agility. Perhaps you've heard me mention a friend's cat I
saw--and I'm still not absolutely sure I did see it--jump from the floor to
the top of an open door. If a human could jump like that, the Olmpic
highjump record would be over 100 feet!
Cheers, Jo
Jack


I really believe Maggie's balance problem was the result of some injury, physical or
neurological. She had a home where she was loved and cared for as well as her
freedom. I doubt she would have asked for more.

Our cats often jump from the ground to the top of a six foot fence with no effort at
all. We had one in an apartment in Alaska, who not only went out the kitchen window
if it was left ajar, but came back in that way. And I know that was well over 6 ft
off the ground and nothing to climb.

Jo

JHBennett wrote:
SNIP Yes, life is not always kind or fair. How many incidents of dogs
attacking humans and children would you think we could dig up? I
know three incidents of cougars killing people, and I'm not even
trying. We hear about bears mauling and killing people, but I
recently read that deer actually kill more people than bears.

More people are killed by honey beas than all mamals put together. I also
saw somewhere that there are no authenticated cases of a human being killed
by a wolf inthe last 200 years.

Incidentally, same subject, with a bit of a shift in thinking.
Do you suppose people would dare to have cats in their homes, if they
grew to the size of dogs? Believe I'll post that question ;-)

Some people do, at the moment the police in Northern Ireland are tracking a
Panther that escaped from a private house where it was being kept as a pet.
--
Adrian
A House Is Not A Home, Without A Cat.

"JBHajos" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 25 Sep 2003 11:02:06 -0500, "JHBennett"
wrote:

Sorry, the point I was making was that the dogs were not defending
their turf - *they* were the intruders.
I took it so, hence my observation ;-) --JB

Nope, life is not always kind or fair - - more often it is unkind
and unfair.
Nonconcur. There is beauty and wonder all around us. A puppy getting
smacked by a truck is sad, but how does it compare to looking to the night
sky? How would we know joy, without sorrow? The need for peace, without
the horrors of war? The warmth of love, without something--revulsion, hate,
contempt, etc., take your pick--to measure it against. The good outweighs
the bad, far and away. Be cynical, if you wish, but don't expect me to hang
black crepe with you, I am ever the optomist.
Cheers,
Jack

"John Kimmel" wrote in message
.204...
I spent this evening waiting for Forty-two to come and get his dinner. I
didn't expect him to show up, which is why I was waiting, I guess.
Yesterday morning at 4 am I awoke to a cat screaming as my neighbor's dog
killed it. I think it was Forty-two since the other strays are all
accounted for.



Hobbes and the girls send their purrs and I send hopes that Forty-two has just
been frightened and gone to ground for a short while. We shall light a candle
tonight to guide Forty-two either home or on his journey to the Bridge. The
kitties send you gentle headbutts as well.

Julie, Hobbes, Selena and Lacey