Dogs meet cats gains an award

The blog has featured on a furniture website, which also features blogs. See http://homefurnituredepot.net/blog_awards/index.php?id=28100, also http://homefurnituredepot.net/.

More posts to follow, but all animals incredibly chilled so nothing exciting to report (apart from the fact that they are incredibly chilled, which is the whole object of my extensive Retraining and Integration Programme!

Bob

Last weekend, Derek and I took ourselves and our dogs down to Kent, Canterbury to be precise, to visit a friend of his, now mine too I hope, who owns a hotel.

The Thanington Hotel is a real gem. It's on Wincheap, now a busy main road but historically one of the main routes in and out of Canterbury. It's a Georgian double-fronted imposing building, with a pale faschia offset by cowls and wrought iron balconies, finished off by flags set into the walls. Inside it's full of character: the Georgian style is maintained in the form of rich wallpaper separated by moulded wooden friezes, chandeliers, and walls studded with prints. And there's a delightful courtyard garden.

But to me the real star of the place was Bob, who presides regally over proceedings and trains Jenny and Ian in the niceties of service; he has them twisted round his last digit so they spoil not only him, but the guests as well. Nothing is too much trouble.

What's this got to do with dogs and cats? Well, everything, actually. Because Bob is a cat. A devinely elegant, long haired ginger, green-eyed cat.

What's remarkable is that Jenny and Ian (his humans) still manage, with this gloriously spoilt creature, to create a remarkably dog-friendly atmosphere. The bedrooms in the main part of the hotel are off limits, but there is an annex (linked by a conservatory) where dogs are allowed. And they can, once you ask permission of the owners, bring your dogs into the bar, or the courtyard garden.

Poor Bob, who had a bad experience of dogs when young, does not like them, and I am ashamed to say that on jumping out of the car in the car park, our two hounds glimpsed him and were off. Fortunately Bob jumped up on the wall quickly enough before he could come to any harm.

But what I thought was really nice was to find a dog-friendly place where there was a resident cat. Some might say, how unfortunate for the poor cat to have these canine interruptions to his peace. But, dogs are NOT the worst enemy of cats: lots of other things are, such as lack of food, warmth and affection. And Bob has these in abundance.

It all comes down to good management: the owner kindly retrieved Bob from the garden, so that we could enjoy it with our dogs. Bob meanwhile sat in great comfort in his owners' flat. And I'm sure that the upside of sharing his home with so many people was that he got lots more petting. As to the occasional chase by a dog, or stealing of his food, well, into every life a little rain must fall. At least we didn't bring another cat.

Be careful whom you take to your bed

I'm not one for adultery - not just out of loyalty, but it just seems that relationships are complicated enough without having more than one at a time, also, with work, dogs, cat, house and garden ....I mean, who's got time for a bit on the side!

But I must confess to an affair with the cat. No, not kinky, but I DID take her into the bedroom onto the bed and I DID do it behind my husband's back - so, bedroom, deceit, pretty much an affair really. If my husband was out, or if I knew that he was really tied up say with watching the news, or a boxing match, then I'd quietly sneak the cat into the bedroom and just enjoy her presence on the bed, as she purred not so much like a steam engine, but rather like wheezy distant thunder if you see what I mean. Just so much enjoyment it seemed almost illegal...

Then one day, she was sitting on my knee (not in the bedroom this time), and I felt my trousers getting rather damp. On investigation, it appeared that following a visit to her facilities, she had neglected to do the paperwork as it were.

Now the poor cat is some undefinable age over 11 (she was at least 3 when I got her in '02), and arthritic to boot. So I quite understand that she has a problem with personal hygiene, and am prepared to help her (rather to my surprise she appears to accept this). But have her on my bed, noooooo.

So, to my husband's chair, I am now vice chair, secretary and treasurer to the Keep Cats Out of the Bedroom Society. Well, they do say that adultery is a messy business.

Beating Darwin

Now I'm not one of those awful creationist types, but I do think that all this 'nature fighting tooth and claw' stuff is a bit of a stereotype. Yes, life is a struggle for food, but once the basics are in place different creatures can live together quite happily.

I firmly believe that animals have both emotions and a moral sense. I remember reading an article somewhere about a cat who would lead her elderly blind friend, a dog, to his food. Can you beat that?

And I think that's part of the reason why it's important for me to keep dogs and cats, and have them live together in harmony. Things were a bit difficult for a few weeks before Easter; Emily the cat had what turned out to be, £800 of vet fees later, a stomach upset (fortunately bill picked up by insurance, Sainsbury's, causing one to reflect on the politics and economics of healthcare!) There were some rather frantic attempts to separate food from dogs; fortunately now Emily has reverted to being Miss Piggy and eats with gusto, so no problems with unguarded food on the floor.

So, what I'm saying in a rather roundabout way is that having two very different species getting along peaceably together creates a sense of peace in one's house - sort of 'lion lying down with the lamb'. Although I don't think I'll try that particular one...

Are dog owners more moral than cat owners?

Times Higher Education writer Felipe Fernández-Armesto disputes the findings of the so-called research that cat owners are more intelligent than dog owners. Dog owners, he opines, are more moral than cat owners - because dogs are more moral than cats. Their morality is deduced from the fact that they are loyal to their families and don't bring in dead mice or birds. And their ownership brings one into contact with other people, cos you are always talking to other dog owners. The reluctantly single might like to know that 'Many Manhattan romances start at dog-walking hour in Central Park'. Also, you can have fun with chains and leads without being perverse. Dog owners are supposed to like people; actually, I don't, but I suppose that's the cat owner in me.

Anyway, the piece is worth a read, and you can see it at http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=26&storycode=410391&c=1.

Are cat owners more intelligent than dog owners?

It appears, according to research by the Cats' Protection League, that cat owners are more likely to have a university degree than dog owners.

But what about, one might ask, those who (like myself) have both? Well, such people as us, it would appear, are in a minority. Only 7 per cent of the nation's 20.8 million pet owners own both a dog and a cat. Which, according to Matthew Moore of the Daily Telegraph, confirms that the two species are deadly rivals.

And that observation has persuaded me to rouse myself from my Sunday afternoon torpor to add to my blog. Clearly the world needs a blog about how dogs and cats can live together.

Part of the reason why I've not posted anything is because the past few months have been so uneventful in the cat/dog war/peace. Emily (the cat), Paddy (the springer spaniel) and Nelson (golden retriever) all seem to be living together quite harmoniously. Mainly they ignore one another. Emily would be highly put out if another cat strayed into her territory but dogs she considers beneath her notice.

The only problems are that the spaniel, who is a stomach on legs, attempts to steal her food whilst the retriever, a gentleman and new dog who wouldn't dare steal her food, steals her water in stead. That doesn't seem worth writing about.

There is something so satisfying about having dogs and cats together. Different species, with the potential for hostility, agreeably sharing space and just hanging out together, does make for a peaceful environment. And cats offer things that most dogs don't - they purr, for a start, they curl up on your knee and provide you with an excuse to be waited on (darling, I've a cat, can you fetch me my wine glass), they turn up their nose at food. They also look very elegant (ours doesn't, she's only got half a tail and is quite overweight).

So, why don't more people have both?