I never read that thread as I don’t have any pets. I’m sorry you had to have a peek into someone’s heart via that post. Unfortunately my sons allergies keep my household pet free. I grew up with cats and dogs, it’s too bad they can’t experience that.

I love both dogs and cats. Can't have pets right now because of my living situation, but hopefully in the future. Whenever I visit friends and family with pets, they're always by my side.

Wonderfully expressed.Animals do seem to
pinpoint our emotions and I always see my
emotions in context when around them.
My ex left me with two blue point Persians
that I cared for always;two brothers.A persons
indifference to animals for me is a red flag.Hateing
is scary.-Being haughty around service folks-i never understood(my mom waitressed)I met
millionaires and the only way I could be was honest.-both learn more that way!!!

I was pretty startled by that post too. The cavalier lack of empathy on display in the original post and in the responses to people's comments, really drove home for me how even though we come to this site for similar reasons it doesn't mean we are all anything alike.

Cats are just dogs without the sense of loyalty or kindness or not wanting to kill you.

Forgive me- This cracked me up "We ended up adopting a feral cat and in no time at all, like 10 years , she was domesticated. " ?
10 years....

I've changed over the years. I do not like feral cats, at all, and think they're highly destructive to indigenous fauna. That said, I've been a cat person most of my life and don't trust people who hate them.
Sometimes I miss having a cat and know my daughter would dearly love one, but being that she's ridiculously allergic she'd have to commit to getting shots like religion and cats get gnarly stuff , can be just as expensive to do well by as a dog these days. It's like some evil scientist somewhere has been experimenting on them creating new & horrid diseases.

My last cat, another lifetime ago, was born feral. Trying to round up his litter one of them nailed me good and I had to call AC, I probably should have gotten a rabies shot ?.... later on suspect the one I "kept" , or rather tried to keep, was the one who bit me lol. I tried to make him a housecat but he was having none of it. He was the most beautiful black cat I've ever seen in my life... one day he went missing. I searched for him for weeks. It was only later a neighbor told me one of our other neighbors backed over him ? Often wondered if they thought I was a witch or something, as he would follow me like a dog.
I'll never get over that and from now on will be having dogs to the end of my days, and even then, I may be on my last dogs, time will tell.

But as much as I hate ferals and the impact they have, I'll never trust a cat hater, because humans are so much like them, everything's on their terms.

ETA: I used to love going to cat shows. My "dream cat" is an oriental shorthair, but I doubt I'll ever have one.
My last cat below.

I've had cats all my life. Recently we moved to a new location and our outdoor kitty who was not used to traffic was killed by a car. I haven't been able to get another cat because I still miss him!

I have always preferred dogs to cats. I met someone a few years ago who showed me how cats can really show affection just different from dogs. She has a very close, personal and loving relationship. It was a very special thing to witness.

I definitely prefer dogs to cats, but I do like cats as well. The only time I get annoyed with people with cats is when they let them outside. it is not true that cats are meant to be outdoors. Cats are a very invasive, environmentally destructive animal species. I had an indoor cat named Chelsea who live to be 20 years old who never saw a blade of grass in her entire life. My other cat Paisley quickly learned how to use the dog door and disappeared in about a year.

I'm allergic to cats also. I do prefer dogs over cats though. When I was married to my first husband we adopted the neighbors cat. The poor thing had been de-clawed and left outside to fend for itself. He had this huge cyst on his neck. We took him to the vet and the neighbors told us to keep him because they didn't want to pay the bill. He was the sweetest cat around. He would jump in my lap, hug my neck, and purr in my ear. Only cat I ever owned, his name was Paco. I lived on antihistamines, but he was worth it.

I’m also allergic to cats but I don’t care. They need my help and they get it. Some of my cats would rather be on their own but others crave love and attention. They are like people, all different. All of my 15 cats are strictly indoor cats. If people don’t like that, they don’t need to come to my house.

My late partner did not like dogs but could tolerate cats. She was from Iran where having pets was not a part of the culture. We had a friend with several cats one of which went out of her way to seek human attention. That cat, named Gracie, was loved by everyone even my partner. Cats have personalities so one can't condemn them all.