But enough about the Obama Cabinet.

Sorry...I couldn´t help it.

In some ancient cultures, cats were worshiped as gods. They have never forgotten this.

#1, no, those are ´Rats...not cats. Cats will hopefully run the ´rats out of Washington DC. I already think my kitties have been making a plan to eliminate the ´rats. Even my big fat Whitey-cat has learned to master some stealth moves to protect his territory. He even surprised big macho Stranger and showed his dominance (neck hold) in a stealth pounce that made the big macho cat cry!!

I love it, #1!

When I lived in Rome, stray cats were everywhere, and I mean everywhere. They inhabited the Colosseum (famous for its cat population) and the streets. I did have a couple of cats in Rome, both rescued. But my favorite feline was one that my boyfriend and I rescued from the U.S. Embassy parking lot. She was about ten days old, barely having opened her eyes. We heard her mewing from our open window; her mother had been hit by a car. We brought her to work in a shoe box and fed with an ear cleaner (!). She learned to hold her "bottle" with her front paws. She was a pretty little tiger whom we named Charlie and nicknamed "Chuck". As Charlie grew older she had a habit of stealing loose change and bills lying around and stashing them under the couch. We joked that she was just saving for a rainy day. Once I took a picture of her walking out onto my terrace with my checkbook in her mouth; she was smaller than the checkbook, still being a kitten!

Fond memories!!

The article is quite a nice confection. Perfect for a Sunday. The writer´s take, his viewpoint, his gentle [and appreciative] wryness, and his writing talent are all appreciated and necessary in making this piece.

There are some wonderful lines in it. Examples include "a small, fur-coated, heat-seeking digestive tract that sleeps 16 hours a day" and "furred Reich." Discover more on reading.

But it led me to think the old observation, that "dogs have owners, cats have staff," could be wrong. Certainly, those roles appear to be operative. But dogs must have "owner"-provided support activities daily. Period. Cats one can leave to themselves for a day or two. Well, as long as you don´t mind the possibility of coming home to a surprise from time to time.

Read and enjoy.

No offense #4, but it sounds like Chuck was a budding Democrat, Italian style. Did she have any American cousins in the Bay area with the last name Pelosi?
Actually, she sounds pretty charming.

My kingdom for a cat that sleeps only 18 hours a day.
Have heard them described as movable potted plants.

Cats are mankinds´ Tribbles. Anyone who doesn´t like cats are you know what.

This dolt doesn´t understand the primal significance of cats to human civilization itself.

Cats were what made Sumeria´s ancient civilization possible for one. The kitties ate the rats that ate the grain supplies, allowing human beings to stock piles of grain to get through the winter and beyond instead of spending all their time hitting rats with brooms and shovels. With the cats taking care of that vital job - cripes, it was the food supply! - human beings had lots of extra leisure time to build walled cities and trade with each other. They weren´t spending all their time swatting rats. The surplus grain saved by the cats allowed the creation of more than just bread from the grain too - beermaking was the other thing Sumerians learned to make with their excess grain stocks, and a fine thing that is. Without the cats, the beer would not have been possible.

Cats have been present in every single great civilization in the ancient world because they played a VITAL role in protecting the grain supplies from mice and rats. They were there and revered in Sumeria, in ancient Persia, among the Assyrians, the Hittites, the Inca, even Mohammad just loved cats. They all understood the vital role cats played in enabling civilization to flourish. For that, human beings own kitties a debt of gratitude and should be happy to pamper them as beloved pets forever more.

Cats made civilization possible.

When cats disappeared (not always through their own choice) the Black Plague of Death showed up. Can you do better?

We thought our lovable fuzzballs were rather ornamental--until we had a mouse in the house. No way could we track the mouse as deftly, or run so fast!

Cats are wonderful!

#10, speaking of diseases...

Recall a few months ago an interesting article linking domestication of cats
to the spread of schizophrenia.

There was a very extensive study by a university researcher who could link
the increase in cat popularity in modern times to the emergence of schizophenria.

Cats carry certain viruses and pathogens, and the parasites can get into humans and
greatly alter brain function.
Wish I could recall more of the details.
It´s a major big deal in research.

You know cats transmit toxoplasmosis, right?
Google it all, and you can find the rest of the story...

#12 Yes, I read those stories. And when I was pregnant my husband didn´t let me near the litter box. Besides, I have had cats (I have six now) ever since I can remember. I dare say more people died from the Black Death than from cats infecting us. I´ll take my chances.

FTA: ´´The times we live in are less sociable, more self-fixated than most of us have known before, but cats have known little else, and now we may have to look to them for guidance.´´

Apocalypse aside, I agree with above posters´ mouse observations. Few folks get to see how naturally useful cats are as perfectly-engineered mousers. Last year, through a sloppily drawn-out remodeling project, we found our crawl space populated by field mice. Our normally-somnolent furball assumed the role of mouse eradicator as if she had been training for it her entire life - with a combination of patience, persistence and ruthlessness I have never seen displayed in canines.

#12--toxoplasmosis only exists (and rarely, at that) in cats that go outside. My mother is in her 90s and has had cats her whole life, so they must not be that deadly.

Thank God for cats. My 18 year-old brown tabby died recently, and a more regal, unflappable and loving pet there never was. She would sit by your side, as wise as a sphinx and hold your hand in her paw and pet you by flexing her paw and unflexing it. No one believed it until they experienced it. All the time, she would purr her great and jolly purr. Here´s to you, Tippy, and to all God´s creatures, great and small.

Another cat story....

The house catches fire at night. The family dog barks and awakens the family so they can escape.

Another house catches fire at night. The family cat sneaks out the back door.

They are taking over;)

I´ve had cats since I was a toddler and that´s getting on for 70 years now. Until I was around 20, those cats were outdoor/indoor cats. Since then they´ve all been indoors and it´s better that way--for the cat and his or her staff.

The toxoplasmosis scare is overblown. To contract the disease you have to eat infected meat or touch an infected cats feces and then put your fingers to your mouth, is the way I understand it.

The ASPCA has good information:

http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/cat-care/toxoplasmosis.aspx

I have a relative who is schizophrenic. She has lived her life in NYC and has never, to my knowledge, touched any animal. Her mother was afraid of animals and passed that fear on to her daughter.

On the other hand, I can´t remember a time when I didn´t have multiple indoor/outdoor cats and, to the best of our knowledge, we are not schizophrenic.

( The first paragraph is true )

Beautiful, #8. We love our babies.

PS: I don´t trust people who don´t like cats.

I think the way tennis great Martina Navratilova got infected with
toxoplasmosis from her cat was that the pet was indoors and walked anywhere it wished.

If the animal is infected, it´s pretty easy for the virus to be passed on.
Luckily I haven´t gotten anything that I know of.
When we were kids, it was suggested that a dog´s lick was safer than a human´s germs.
"Ya can´t get dog diseases. They don´t have human diseases."

I haven´t heard anything like that lately.

Agree, #9. A relative of mine keeps miniature donkeys and some goats. He went to the barn one evening to care for his animals, and was horrified to see dozens of mice running all over. They were attracted to the animal feed.

The next morning, he visited a neighboring farm and adopted some barn kittens. He took them home, fed them, and gave them a nice bunk in the barn. Inside of a week, the rodent population was gone.

Forgot to mention, kitties are well worth their keep, even without the mouse-chasing skills.

I have my 3 cats for 12 years. They´re all loveable and intelligent. They each know their names and certain human words like "food" and "chick-chick" (chicken, a special food for one).

A friend of mine once stated that cats have great basic programming (he was an engineer) and I couldn´t agree more.

Cats are vertical and dogs are horizontal --meaning where they get to. My cats can get on top of the doors, the refrigerator, the closet, etc. They also can open drawers and kitchen cabinet doors to explore inside (looking for mice, no doubt).

In the winter, they sleep with me on top of the covers and electric blanket. My cats can always find the most comfortable spot in the house at any given time.

I have nothing against dogs, it´s just that cats are that much better, especially if they´re 100% indoor felines.

It depends on the pet, #17 - dogs as well as cats. Many cats are heroes:

http://www.wftv.com/videos/news/cat-wakes-family-during-house-fire/vCCrm/

http://www.wbtv.com/story/9174071/concord-house-fire-family-cat-wakes-up-family?redirected=true

http://www.mlive.com/news/jackson/index.ssf/2012/11/smelling_smoke_9-year-old_wake.html

Whoops, that last link was an error, meant to post this one: http://canine-chat.com/community/index.php?threads/news-ny-cat-wakes-up-couple-when-fire-breaks-out.821/

#7 my daughter´s cat woke up the neighbor during a fire the article says it was the woman´s but it was my Corie´s the cat had free roam of the whole building
http://www1.whdh.com/news/articles/local/metro-west/12008744831494/woman-credits-cat-for-saving-her-from-house-fire/
Love that cat!!

Oops apologies to #7! Meant 17

To #25 and others: If you sit in a chair in my house and stand up for about 1/10 second, my Himalayan will dive into that warm seat faster than you can reclaim it.

One would think her coat would be enough but apparently not.

The other one reclines in front of the heat vent with his paws ON the vent. I don´t know why he doesn´t get scorched.

My cat alerted me one night when I put the tea kettle on & forgot about it - it´s not the whistling kind & the cat came to the room where I was & wouldn´t leave me alone until I followed her to the kitchen. She knew something was amiss & she "told"me. Also, in the hours before we had an earthquake in this area, she kept going into the basement & hiding in the corners. Very unusual behavior. I tried to coax her out, but she kept hiding. Again, she knew something was about to go wrong. I also remember a cat my brother had in his awful college apartment. His cat would chase & EAT cockroaches. They earn their keep. Here´s a good joke - if you provide a dog with food, a soft bed & a home, he thinks you are God - if you do the same for a cat, he thinks he´s God!

Getting rid of stray cats is easy. We just have to be willing to do it. That´s what the problem really is.

As I write this, a small companion sits perched on my stomach. He doesn´t read or post on this site, preferring to leave the staff work to me; however, I´m sure he would want me to thank the OP, article author, and other posters for helping to improve my understanding of his needs. I see no Heinlein on this thread yet, so perhaps this:

"Anyone who thinks protocol unimportant has never dealt with a cat." -- Robert A. Heinlein

Cats are beguiling. But like everything in nature, they require checks and balances to keep them from overpopulation at which point they would no longer beguile. My method is to keep them in the barn where they can find all they need to sustain them so long as they self limit their population. They keep the rodents from destroying the horse feed and gnawing on the leather tack. Oh, they can leave the barn alright, but if they do so they are likely to be nipped up by a passing coyote. My population control seems to be working. I´ll leave it to others to find their own. And #9, I do appreciate your point about the beer.

#17: In such a case, perhaps the cat presumes the family smart enough to notice a house fire and leave?

#19: Didn´t "your mother have you tested," like Sheldon? Mine probably regrets her oversight....

Yeah, well, if you croak in your abode with noone around, a cat will eat your corpse while a dog will not.