I seem to have a silly notion.
I’m wondering about where folks are at here in the community.
I think that musicians in general lean towards having cats. Musicians are more cat people than dog people.
I’ve no idea if this is really true.
So.
Do you have a cat(s)?
Or
Do you have dog(s)?
Or
Perhaps ya got both.
Or maybe you have a hamster?
Myself.
I’ve got 2 cats.
Though I did have three. I just lost my oldest cat on Dec. 30 last year. She made it to 20.
A very sad day for sure. Only thing I can think is that’s life. In other words, if your alive, in the end ya die. A sad fact that can’t be overcome.
So, what animals do you have? or maybe ya have none and that’s cool too.
Why do you have one or the other.
Again, myself.
I like the independence of a cat. I relate to how cats behave. I think I think like a cat.
fwiw, I grew up with a dog and a cat. In my adult life I’ve always had cats. I can’t imagine my life w/o a cat in my life. I’m a musician (kinda sorta). My wife likes both but I think she’d prefer a dog. She’s always hounding (pun intended) me about getting one. My wife is not a musician.
have two cats and a dog. I used to be fairly ambivalent about cats. they came with my wife. nowadays, ugh. they’re annoying. they’re a LOT messier than the dog.
yeah, the dog demands more attention throughout the course of the day. but it’s less demanding than the cats if you know what I mean. when the cats want attention, they want it NOW and they don’t GAF if you have any boundaries regarding your own food, beverages, books in your hand, or anything else you’re doing.
litter boxes are FOUL.
yeah I have to take the dog out multiple times per day to do his business and give him exercise and mental stimulation (letting him sniff, watch what’s outside, etc). but that time is actually good for me, too, so I accept it. communicating with him is a lot more similar to communicating with other people (in particular, children) than the cats. the cats are more like aliens or something with how that communication goes. communication with the dog feels much more two-way. it really seems like I understand him better and he understands me better as compared to the cats. especially since he understands my own boundaries better and actually respects them pretty well.
he is his own kind of exhausting, though. we brought him home a few months before the pandemic, and that resulted in him developing “pandemic puppy” type issues because our schedules changed so much. namely separation anxiety. that’s been difficult to manage. especially when it comes to vacations and work trips. he simply cannot go to a boarding kennel. so it’s a lot more expensive for him to stay with another person who can handle his anxiety the whole time instead.
when it comes to music, the dog is a lot more amenable to it. the cats - meh. the dog actually likes to hang out nearby when my wife and I are playing our instruments/singing. more often than not, the cats go farther away because they don’t like the volume levels. the cats are banned from the music room, too. claws on the furniture, tracking litter everywhere, and the vomiting issues.
the dog, he goes camping, mountain biking, hiking, and paddling with us. and he loves it. the cats? hard pass.
We’ve had a succession of cats throughout our married life - 44 years and counting. The cats have had very different personalities and temperaments and have all been fun and challenging in equal measure. They were Brahms, Hummel, Rossini and Haydn - all now miaowing with the angels!? And our current cat, now 17 years old, Mozart. You’d never guess we were interested in music, would you?
Most of my musician friends are dog people, like the outdoors and being around other musicians.
Most of my cat friends are loners, don’t play any musical instruments and spend most of their time indoors.
We had our dog precious for 18 years. I got her as a rescue when I married my wife to kind of help me bridge the gap with my new step kids. It was brilliant and precious grew up with the kids and we had to put her down when she was 18 years old one of the hardest days of my journey. My wife said never again so we haven’t got one yet I’m still hoping
Myself, I had a female duck (an hen?) as a kid, which I cried inconsolably when she passed away, a couple years later. And I had a tarantula for a while, which was intended as a show piece for a biology project, but I grew attached to and kept on a terrarium for a few months, before releasing again on the woods before a vacation she was not allowed to tag along
In my adult life I was “petless” until my kids got a little hamster as a present (the fella in the pic below), who gave us lots of fun for about 2y. After that, kids wanting a dog, we got a puppy, female mini poodle, shown here at age “a few months” and then currently (8yro)
I have never liked dogs. Too many are ill-behaved. Friendly to a fault.
We had a cat for 19 years. The most surly critter I have known, but well loved.
Wife brought home ducklings one day about 20 years ago. Those were very entertaining.
Now, it is just yard critters that visit:
Interesting, so far it’s looking about 50-50, cats vs dogs. Maybe even leaning towards dogs. Interesting. Perhaps my notion is unfounded.
I didn’t think of putting up some pics of my pets (cats). Seems like a great idea.
Everyone has some great looking animals.
A few comments on some of them.
My condolence for sure James. That day is the hardest day of having a pet for sure.
I’ve come to look at it as the hardest to do, but the kindest thing I can do to show love for my loved pet. When it comes to doing that, I think you have to really love your animal to do it. It’s for sure the worst day of having a pet.
That’s great!
This is also Ollie, enjoying a little outside time.
@Mustela
Sounds like your all in with dogs. That’s cool. I’ve nothing against dogs at all. I’ve even had a few that I’ve cared for and liked. I just like cats better. You like dogs better.
fwiw, my cats go outside if they want, under strict supervision.
While they don’t mountain bike, or hike with me, Ollie I think likes to go boating. He’s quite comfortable with it actually.
This would make most cats go freak out.
I’m going 25-30 mph in whitecaps. That boat would rattle the fillings out of your teeth at that speed in whitecaps. Ollie, as ya see is quite content having a mid afternoon nap while at sea, so to speak. My guesstimate is that he’s been boating about 75 times. He’d go with us often. Now adays, he don’t get the excitement. The boat was sold for a guitar 5 or so years ago. Now he just sleeps in ft. of the amp when I’m playing. As long as I don’t turn it up excessively. Which I don’t as I’m not as hip to loud as I used to be either. Ollie is about 15 now. He’s more hip to hanging in the backyard listening to wooden music on my acoustic guitar as he gets older…
I can’t argue with the yakin though. Cat’s are good at that. Which is why I don’t have carpet in my house. Easier to clean up that way…
Great looking hamster Claudio @heckler
I got a whole back yard cemetery of hamsters my boy had when he was a kid. Hamsters are too much fun really.
Thanks for the feed back folks. I’ve had this question in my mind for quite some time now. Seems my notion is off base.
Unless others chime in to change the way the existing outcome of my question is.
My wife is a veterinarian so strict supervision is the only way our cats would ever go outside. We did try to get them accustomed to going out on a leash so they could be “adventure cats”, but that wasn’t going to happen. One was afraid of everything and just wanted to hide. The other just wanted to lay there and watch things. And then, she started bolting out the door anytime we’d open it. So that ended that experiment. We have a screened patio that all the animals enjoy. If it’s not too hot, we can leave the back door open so they can come and go from there.
Which gets us to the other things I like about dogs - our cats just couldn’t handle going anywhere like that. Our older cat years ago, I needed to transport her from Texas to our new home in Indiana. I did all the carrier conditioning and the calming hormones and everything. Put her in my car and she explosive urinated everywhere. EVERYWHERE…it was a small car. So I had to drive 14 hours smelling cat urine and get the car detailed at the destination. Hadn’t even started the car yet. The dog? he’s cool with car rides. He’s not a fan of huge road trips, but we manage. Our dog has been to Canada and got to hang out on a dog-friendly whale-watching tour on a tall ship.
We are definitely ‘dog’ people, although we’ve always had a cat as well.
We currently have 3 dogs, all 8 years old and all 3 have grown up together.
Marley, an Irish Wolfhound ( and my ‘girlfriend’ )
Rocky, an American Staffy
Ally, an English Staffy
And then we have Chloe, our cat, 14 years old. A lovely old girl.
All 4 have wonderful natures.
Our beautiful Sasha, our purebred Golden Labrador, passed away 5 years ago, aged 14. We miss her every day. A true angel she was, in every way.
These beautiful beings are family, plain and simple. Our dogs in particular saved me several years ago after a work injury changed my whole life. They played a massive part in lifting me from the darkest of times. And they continue to inspire and help me. I would do anything in my power for any of them, unconditionally. They are 3 loves of my life, and I spend more time with them than any human being, including my wife.
I luckily now have a dedicated music room ( my sons old bedroom), and the dogs are generally not allowed in there. Marley literally rolls her eyes when I say I’m off to practice, as she doesnt like me disappearing behind a closed door without her; she knows I’m going to be in there a while. She’d much prefer I bring the guitars out to the loungeroom to play, which they seem to enjoy alot.
I’ll let them in every now and then to sniff around and see what I’m up to.
The soul of a loving, loyal family dog is a very special, unique thing. We are all most fortunate that they share their lives with us.
Here’s a beautifully rendered artwork piece my son had done of the 4 of them recently.
I just happen to know someone who has been breeding them for over 30yrs.
I didn’t even know about the breed until I met her. My wife wanted a little dog (our previous dogs were all over 50lbs), but I don’t want a froo-froo dog. I want a dog that can do all the outside things. Enter the border terrier.
I went on vacation to Europe a couple years ago and I actually chased down a couple in Belgium who were out walking 2 border terriers and asked if I could pet their dogs.
I found her when she was only 2 or 3 weeks old under the hood of the car of one of my neighbours
she was crying like crazy
Since then she’s really scared of the outside world , she loves her home !
)
