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Post by pellius on Dec 18, 2023 1:08:09 GMT
Hahahahahaha!!
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Post by RufusScorpius on Dec 19, 2023 19:08:02 GMT
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Post by Lord Newport on Dec 19, 2023 20:11:10 GMT
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mrstabby
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Post by mrstabby on Dec 27, 2023 15:26:56 GMT
The cat will only do what it feels like doing, there are cats who love riding motorbike, most don't. Can't tell a cat to do a jump when it does not want to, gotta find one that does. Mine for example likes to put on helmets.
BTW I doubt humans would react any different to the cats in zeroG if you put them there without warning...
Finally caught him. When he finds one of these packages and is in the mood, he puts it on like a helmed and fears nothing anymore. His gait also changes, walks around like he's 2 tons heavy.
It's not really armour but he seems to feel invincible in it.
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Post by madirish on Jan 23, 2024 18:03:04 GMT
My cat is less likely to accidentally impale itself on my swords than a dog would.
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mrstabby
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Post by mrstabby on Jan 23, 2024 19:44:08 GMT
Accidentally? No. Mine know they are not allowed but get a reaction out of me when they get near the swwords. It's a last ditch effort to get me to do something. It's not nice sharpening claws on leather scabbards.
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Post by simplerman on Jan 23, 2024 20:27:10 GMT
A dog can be the most valuable friend with training. Dogs find avalanche victims, finds explosives, finds people trapped under rubble caused by earthqueakes or terrorism. Dogs can find deceased people so murders can be solved and relatives has something to bury. Guide dogs help blind people. There are also trained diabetes dogs, they can notice low and high blodsugers and warn their owners, they can literally save someones life. With training they are also very efficient rat-killers. Just the other day I saw a clip from someone that had gone through the ice and the rescuers were quite far away, but the person in the water had a dog, that hadnt gone through. So the rescuers called the dog, attached a rescueline to the collar an the owner called it back, thus reaching the rescue line and being pulled up. And mercy dogs, who are we to forget them. Our furry friends. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercy_dogDogs, are awesome.
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mrstabby
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Post by mrstabby on Jan 23, 2024 20:48:16 GMT
Most things a dog can be trained to do, you can also train cats to. You need to be slightly more intelligent than the cat and the cat has to like you. They have a better sense of smell and hearing than most dogs, and many people are more intelligent than cats (yeah, stunning, I know). The problem mostly comes down to the cat just not liking you enough to give paw, roll over or fetch.
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Post by treeslicer on Jan 23, 2024 23:10:20 GMT
Most things a dog can be trained to do, you can also train cats to. You need to be slightly more intelligent than the cat and the cat has to like you. They have a better sense of smell and hearing than most dogs, and many people are more intelligent than cats (yeah, stunning, I know). The problem mostly comes down to the cat just not liking you enough to give paw, roll over or fetch. Actually, the problem comes down to the lack of instinctual pack mentality and hierarchical social behaviors hard-wired into cat brains like they are in dogs. Also, the cerebral cortex is less well developed in domestic cats than it is in dogs. No amount of training will overcome those deficiencies. Dogs are naturally better cooperators with and companions to humans than cats are.
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Post by howler on Jan 23, 2024 23:58:09 GMT
I'm a cat person, but dogs are infinitely more useful, work wise. K-9 units, sled dogs, guard dogs, rescue dogs...the list is endless. The phrase "herding cats" did not come from nowhere. Besides, if cats were big enough to do certain tasks, they would probably eat you.
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mrstabby
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Post by mrstabby on Jan 24, 2024 8:29:10 GMT
I'm a cat person, but dogs are infinitely more useful, work wise. K-9 units, sled dogs, guard dogs, rescue dogs...the list is endless. The phrase "herding cats" did not come from nowhere. Besides, if cats were big enough to do certain tasks, they would probably eat you. Would depend a lot on the specific genus. Pursuit predators like Cheetahs are unlikely to pounce on you, to the point there are no known attacks on humans in history. Ambush predators like Tigers or Leopards on the other hand will use any chance, like you turning your back, to attack you. Even if it is only a play attack, it could really hurt a person, but the same can be said about dogs and there are enough people getting mauled by dogs every year.
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Post by glendon on Jan 24, 2024 15:13:55 GMT
It seems we've devolved into a cat vs. dog thing here. A valid and fun debate, but not quite the OP intent, if I have that right.
Unless, of course, the OP is a canny psychiatrist...
I suggest that what we've encountered here is a Rorschach test, and what it is actually revealing is that there are apparently distinct categories of sword enthusiast. Not that we don't already know that, but it might be fun to see just what possible categories of sword enthusiast might exist, and if there is significant correlation between pet ownership and reason for owning swords.
Are SCA/Cosplay types more likely to have cats? Are historical re-enactors more likely to own dogs? What about serious martial-artists? Are Zombie Apocalypse types more attracted to banana slugs? Are mall-ninjas more attracted to teddy bears?
In the interests of scientific enquiry, I propose that further discussion on this topic be clarified by posters openly declaring their sword-enthusiast classification and pet ownership.
Of course, revelation of drug-of-choice might prove a more significant correlation... ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Me) "Hi, I'm Glendon: I'm a tactically-minded sword owner with an 18th-century pirate kink; I'm non-binary cat/dog, and my favorite turn-on is beer. A lot of beer."
(Room) "Hi, Glendon."
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Post by howler on Jan 24, 2024 17:23:24 GMT
It seems we've devolved into a cat vs. dog thing here. A valid and fun debate, but not quite the OP intent, if I have that right. Unless, of course, the OP is a canny psychiatrist... I suggest that what we've encountered here is a Rorschach test, and what it is actually revealing is that there are apparently distinct categories of sword enthusiast. Not that we don't already know that, but it might be fun to see just what possible categories of sword enthusiast might exist, and if there is significant correlation between pet ownership and reason for owning swords. Are SCA/Cosplay types more likely to have cats? Are historical re-enactors more likely to own dogs? What about serious martial-artists? Are Zombie Apocalypse types more attracted to banana slugs? Are mall-ninjas more attracted to teddy bears? In the interests of scientific enquiry, I propose that further discussion on this topic be clarified by posters openly declaring their sword-enthusiast classification and pet ownership. Of course, revelation of drug-of-choice might prove a more significant correlation... --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (Me) "Hi, I'm Glendon: I'm a tactically-minded sword owner with an 18th-century pirate kink; I'm non-binary cat/dog, and my favorite turn-on is beer. A lot of beer." (Room) "Hi, Glendon." We could dig even further on what type of sword relates to dog/cat preference or ownership. Do cat owners prefer katana and dog owners longsword? And what about all you gerbil lovers out there...maybe smallsword or spadroon?
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Post by howler on Jan 24, 2024 17:31:39 GMT
I'm a cat person, but dogs are infinitely more useful, work wise. K-9 units, sled dogs, guard dogs, rescue dogs...the list is endless. The phrase "herding cats" did not come from nowhere. Besides, if cats were big enough to do certain tasks, they would probably eat you. Would depend a lot on the specific genus. Pursuit predators like Cheetahs are unlikely to pounce on you, to the point there are no known attacks on humans in history. Ambush predators like Tigers or Leopards on the other hand will use any chance, like you turning your back, to attack you. Even if it is only a play attack, it could really hurt a person, but the same can be said about dogs and there are enough people getting mauled by dogs every year.
The Cheetah thing is interesting, a real cool animal. And dog packs share commonality with Lion prides, so (assuming dogs are smarter) wonder if Lions have a higher intellect than other cat types.
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mrstabby
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Post by mrstabby on Jan 24, 2024 19:03:19 GMT
Would depend a lot on the specific genus. Pursuit predators like Cheetahs are unlikely to pounce on you, to the point there are no known attacks on humans in history. Ambush predators like Tigers or Leopards on the other hand will use any chance, like you turning your back, to attack you. Even if it is only a play attack, it could really hurt a person, but the same can be said about dogs and there are enough people getting mauled by dogs every year.
The Cheetah thing is interesting, a real cool animal. And dog packs share commonality with Lion prides, so (assuming dogs are smarter) wonder if Lions have a higher intellect than other cat types. AFIAK cats and dogs are pretty similar in intelligence (with a slight edge to dogs, although there are also relatively dumb dog breeds), it depends a lot how you define intelligence though. Some studies come to different conclusions than others because they study different aspects of intelligence, like learning "tricks" vs problem solving. A cat will always lag behind a dog in learning, because they only do things they want, won't do it because you want it to happen. Problem solving wise they are relatively equal, some dog breeds do better than others of course, the cat breeds aren't genetically as distinctive yet. Lions might be smarter than smaller cats or dogs, but I think this conclusion is mostly done by comparing neuron numbers. Although more social animals are generally more intelligent than solitary ones, bigger brain with more neurons normally means smarter, but that's not guaranteed.
There are videos of people interacting with cheetahs, and they seem to be very calm and nice to be around. Many seem to have issues with constantly getting licked, those tounges seem to be very abrasive (stripping meat from bone abrasive!).
Personally I like cats more, dogs are to hyper for me, but that also has a lot to do with training.
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Post by simplerman on Jan 24, 2024 19:43:16 GMT
Most things a dog can be trained to do, you can also train cats to. You need to be slightly more intelligent than the cat and the cat has to like you. They have a better sense of smell and hearing than most dogs, and many people are more intelligent than cats (yeah, stunning, I know). The problem mostly comes down to the cat just not liking you enough to give paw, roll over or fetch. I am not sure I have ever seen a K9 cat but I guess it could be worth a try. Another aspect is of course the amount of time they have spent with us, cats (domestic, not Lynx etc) are a rather new thing, both in the US and Europe. They are invasive in both places, dogs seem to have been around 9000 years (?) or more so to no surprise we have bonded longer with them. Nepal even has a dog festival which is kind of a cool thing. Called Kukur Tihar.
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Post by glendon on Jan 26, 2024 16:37:41 GMT
AFIAK cats and dogs are pretty similar in intelligence (with a slight edge to dogs, although there are also relatively dumb dog breeds), it depends a lot how you define intelligence though. Some studies come to different conclusions than others because they study different aspects of intelligence, like learning "tricks" vs problem solving. A cat will always lag behind a dog in learning, because they only do things they want, won't do it because you want it to happen. Problem solving wise they are relatively equal, some dog breeds do better than others of course, the cat breeds aren't genetically as distinctive yet. Lions might be smarter than smaller cats or dogs, but I think this conclusion is mostly done by comparing neuron numbers. Although more social animals are generally more intelligent than solitary ones, bigger brain with more neurons normally means smarter, but that's not guaranteed. Be careful extrapolating from one species to another. Humans have a great tendency to asign positive value to behaviors we ourselves engage in, and to define concepts to our benefit. "Intelligence" isn't straightforward, for many a "dumb guy" has had a remarkably successful life as an athlete, and we keep lionizing angry sociopaths who can't cook dinner, or drive a nail straight, as "geniuses" simply because they create computer viruses, or rap music. Perhaps because of our longer history, I hazard that most people, horses and dogs resemble each other more than most people and cats (or cetaceans); we look for signs of our own intellujenz in our animals, but perceive it more clearly in dogs and horses because their behavior more closely resembles ours. Douglas Adams nailed it with So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish. I don't believe, nor is it my experience, that cats "always lag behind a dog in learning". There is a huge distinction to be made between "learning" and "demonstrating knowledge". Cats can learn, and quickly; what they know is, frankly, none of your business.
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Post by mrstabby on Jan 26, 2024 16:59:37 GMT
Be careful extrapolating from one species to another. Humans have a great tendency to asign positive value to behaviors we ourselves engage in, and to define concepts to our benefit. "Intelligence" isn't straightforward, for many a "dumb guy" has had a remarkably successful life as an athlete, and we keep lionizing angry sociopaths who can't cook dinner, or drive a nail straight, as "geniuses" simply because they create computer viruses, or rap music. I believe this is what I said, it depends how you define intelliigence.
And about learning, I was talking about teaching "tricks" to animals because some studies use this as a sign of how intelligent an animal is. And it's generally easier to train a dog to do a specific trick than a cat, never said cats can't learn, far from it. That was my point....
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Post by exeter on Jan 26, 2024 20:07:56 GMT
Be careful extrapolating from one species to another. Humans have a great tendency to asign positive value to behaviors we ourselves engage in, and to define concepts to our benefit. "Intelligence" isn't straightforward, for many a "dumb guy" has had a remarkably successful life as an athlete, and we keep lionizing angry sociopaths who can't cook dinner, or drive a nail straight, as "geniuses" simply because they create computer viruses, or rap music. I believe this is what I said, it depends how you define intelliigence.
And about learning, I was talking about teaching "tricks" to animals because some studies use this as a sign of how intelligent an animal is. And it's generally easier to train a dog to do a specific trick than a cat, never said cats can't learn, far from it. That was my point....
A confusing factor when you look at behavior is cats vs dogs is that the two species have radically different domestication histories. As the linked article explains, cats are different from other domesticated animals. arstechnica.com/science/2017/06/cats-are-an-extreme-outlier-among-domestic-animals/
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Post by nerdthenord on Jan 31, 2024 2:21:35 GMT
Miss Mathilda, very sleepy and quite happy. My new cat. Attachments:
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