I would speculate that having a dog would be a better after the fact indicator of mental illness considering their more frequent use in animal assisted therapy.
I feel people who own pets don't see things from a pet's perspective. But that's probably just me. Having someone love you based on sort of sort weird stockholm-syndrome based relationship is weird. The cat comment, as much as it's a joke I have seen most folks around me who own cats have this need for constant drama. And Goodness, no matter how much the cats randomly lashes out at these owners, the owners still love em, where's the bloody logic in that? I guess everyone on here is a S&M lover. But anecdotal evidence doesn't count for much haha
I found my cat outside in the dead of winter, she came inside voluntarily, I got her fixed, and I keep her fed. I nursed her back to health when something bit open her leg while she was outside. She goes out pretty much every day and is waiting for me at the door when I get home. I mean, the alternative is the cat being a stray or being put down in a shelter, are either of those better?
I don't have to go home every day to my wife, but I still choose to. I don't think that's "Stockholm Syndrome", just a good situation that I want to continue.
If a cat is "randomly lashing out" at their owners, then yeah, that's a pretty good sign that the owners don't see things from the cat's perspective.
Cat social behavior has its own internal consistency though. Usually the problem starts when people expect cats to behave like dogs. They don't have the same motivations as dogs at all.
Learn cat body language, and understand that cats see us as big, weird, slightly dumb, hairless cats that belong to the same "cat colony" as them, and nothing a cat does will seem "random" anymore.
With all due respect, I will never understand how that statement differs from trying to understand the ways of an abusive ex and trying to thread carefully based on it? pretty sure the abusive nature comes from somewhere and then for some darn reason I'm walking on egg shells when I could pretty much invest my time in a more nicer manner. Unless you think that putting up with complete crap is something people ought to aspire to do (don't mean to come up as an asshole, but seriously mate?)
Well now I'm confused. My cats have never done anything that could be likened to an abusive partner.
I respect my cats as individuals with their own needs and desires and they respect me back. We're like roommates.
If you had a roommate that didn't speak English as their first language, would you make an effort to understand them so you could get along? Or would you scream or try to hit them or spray water in their face (as a lot of people do to cats) anytime he did something you didn't like? And if you did, and he reacted violently in turn, would you really be surprised?
The question is why would you want to be stuck with someone who doesn't speak your language and gets pissed off at everything you do because they see you as dumb by default and their culture is the stark opposite of yours?
I don't have a pet precisely because I try to see things from its (theoretic) perspective. I love cats, and would have one in an instant if I were home more. But as it stands, the poor thing would just be locked in a boring house by itself all day. Still occasionally thinking of getting a young sibling-pair; I used to have a couple who annoyed the crap out of each other all day, which seemed to work well for keeping them entertained.
My experience with cat people is that they are all over the map in terms of personality. Given that >30% of households have one[1], that's what one would expect, I think.
And if your cat genuinely randomly attacks people, that's likely a sign that something is very wrong. The cat likely was abused when young, is currently abused/neglected, or is in pain. There are some breeds that are moodier than others, and if they aren't taught that human skin doesn't resist claws as well as their fur, they'll scratch when telling you they don't want attention. But that's different.
> I have seen most folks around me who own cats have this need for constant drama
I actually consider cat owners as the inverse; they want the love and attention and cuddles and purrs, when it's convenient for them ( after a hard day at work etc ) but otherwise they can chuck the cat outside and foist the 'dramas' onto their neighbours.
It's possibly the lowest-responsibilty-for-owner pet possible but does require a total indifference to one's neighbours.
I would speculate that having a dog would be a better after the fact indicator of mental illness considering their more frequent use in animal assisted therapy.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal-assisted_therapy#Types