A SECOND OPINION: Dogs, cats think differently

I have always enjoyed animals of all kinds and don’t really understand people who limit themselves to being “cat persons” or “dog persons.”

But there are some big differences between the way dogs and cats think and it never ceases to amaze me.

My children have a Chihuahua that lives in the house and three cats that are allowed in occasionally on cold nights.

The Chihuahua is considerably smaller than the cats and they all get along very well. Although the cats were very suspicious of her at first, she quickly won them over with her big heart. In fact the dog seems to think of the cats as her big brothers and loves playing and sleeping with them.

One night last week after the kids were in bed I was sitting on the couch in my pajamas reading a book. The dog and one of the cats were sleeping on my lap.

My son’s balloon was beside me and for some reason the cat slowly and sedately reached out his paw and stuck the balloon with his claws.

The balloon popped with a loud bang. The cat ran one way and the dog ran the other way as if they were under attack. I jumped about three feet in the air with a loud "EEEK!"

The dog assumed it was her fault that I screeched and immediately ran back to me and started licking my hands to beg for forgiveness.

The cat assumed that the big bang was a result of my failed assassination attempt on him.

At first he crouched in the shadows with his tail puffed out, scurrying from corner to corner when I gently tried to call him out. Then later in the evening, when he calmed down a bit, he still wouldn’t let me touch him. He would approach me, but when I tried to pet him - all the while begging for forgiveness in my gentlest voice - he ducked his back down in a wave to avoid my hand.

When he got in our bed later in the night he walked carefully around me and then jumped over my feet to avoid touching me! He refused to forgive me until his hunger got the best of him at breakfast time the next morning.

That’s not to say my cats are not faithful and loving. They voluntarily follow us on walks - even in the cold and wet - which is more than I can say for the dog, who has to be dragged around the block on a leash. And they put up with an awful lot of mauling from the children and the Chihuahua. In fact, I don’t think I could ever have imagined three cats so patient with small children and an even smaller dog.

Janelle Jessen is a reporter for the Westside Eagle Observer and a longtime resident of the Decatur area. She may be contacted by email at [email protected].

Opinion, Pages 4 on 03/06/2013