8 Good Reasons to Love Cats

I thought I hated cats for a long time. Many people don't ever come in close contact with cats, and think they could not own one as a pet. The reasons are many: maybe you had a bad experience with a cat when you were little (we all know cats defend themselves when they are "attacked" by little boys that want to pull their tails), maybe you never even touched one just because all your neighbor's cats were always so elusive, hiding under the furniture or God knows where (you cannot find a cat when she doesn't want to be found). Maybe you grew up with dogs and, to be loyal, you started to hate cats as well (the two just can't get along).Or you just grew up with Tom and Jerry, and were in the Jerry fan club.

Here are 8 good reasons to get a cat, or at least to become a cat lover:

1. Give them a break, they had it rough since the Middle Ages. We still fear black cats for no reason! So get a black cat just to show you are not afraid of superstitions; you can train the cat to walk in a leash, like a dog, and it would be funny to walk it in your neighborhood to see who gets scared. And on Halloween, when you open the door for trick-or-treating, do it with the cat in your arms or in a leash (and put some small red horns on it's head, for the effect);

2. When cats get to know you they will acknowledge you as their owner, and won't be as loyal to possibly anyone else. They are independent, and unlike dogs, don't comply much. A dog might show affection to anyone that gives him a hug, a bone, a treat, a ball...Cats will run away and hide if they don't know you. And even if they do know you, they won't show you the affection they have for their master;

3. Cats are smart and entertaining. You won't get bored, like with a pet fish. Buy them toys and catnip to keep them happy and they'll play until they fall asleep with their favorite toy in their mouth. And you'll be more than welcomed to take part in the game!

4. Cats are so cute! Especially when they are babies, but they stay cute even grown-ups. I like to take pictures of my cat, she takes the cutest pictures, because she makes "faces", looks adorable when she sleeps, when she plays with her toys, and twists her body in the weirdest positions (they are very flexible);

5. If you have a farm, you can depend on cats to do the outside job of catching mice. That is their instinct, and even if you don't feed them a lot or take care of them much, they will be loyal to the farm and do their job. I know my grandfather had a cat that he kept for catching mice; he would hardly ever even take care of it (it was self-sufficient), but still he would find dead mice that it caught in front of the yard; the cat would stay there and "show" him what it caught, he would pet it and say "good job", and I guess that's all the cat wanted. Oh, and some milk;

6. If you're into fashion, you can easily dress up your cat. Or make some clothes for it yourself. Plus you can buy a whole range of accessories for your cat, like collars, bracelets, tiaras, and then walk it outside and parade;

7. Cats are low maintenance: all you need is a littler box (that you can clean every day or so), a food container (you can feed the cat twice or three times a day), and some toys. You don't need to bath a cat very often, some people do only every few months. A dog is a lot more expensive to maintain, requires a lot of attention, walking out a few times a day, regular baths. If you are so busy that you don't even pet your cat for days (but you remember to feed it), it will be just fine;

8. Cats give you love too, despite what they say. A lot, in fact. They like to fall asleep in your lap, to cuddle in bed with you, to be petted, and they show it by purring. The purr of a cat is very relaxing, if you get to keep a cat in your arms and she starts to purr you might think cats are not so bad after all;

I hope you see cats with a little more sympathy now; either way, they are here to stay, and even if you are a dog person, I know a piece of you doesn't want to admit that you might actually enjoy the company of a cat.