I thought we already had an explanation, a brain parasite called Toxoplasma gondii (new window).

I thought the "Crazy" part did that?

Ivo Shandor: I thought we already had an explanation, a brain parasite called Toxoplasma gondii (new window).

*Shakes nerd-fist at you.*
Damn you to the blackest pits.

Petit_Merdeux

I thought the "Crazy" part did that?


Apparently at least one "Cat" is also required.

Approves.

Came for the toxo. Leaving satisfied.

My ex-gfriend had a small rescued feline that definitely liked men more than women. She would be skitzo w/ women, not so much with men.

er, pets are often surrogate children? well ya don't say! Knock me over with a feather. My kitty and I are flabbergasted.

Explain that to my cat, who has bonded to me like no cat I have ever met before.

It's borderline creepy.

cats in these relationships only having to use subtle cues, such as a single upright tail move, to signal desire for friendly contact.

My cat learned to ask before jumping on my lap when I'm sitting at my desk. I guess she got tired of jumping up and getting immediately tossed off. Now she scratches my chair and waits expectantly for an invitation.

/there's nothing worse than a cat jumping in your lap when you're trying to fap to internet porn.

Well what do ya know! Cats are only around to eat food replacements for women who are nuts and/or can't have children!

Gawd help you when you are behind the farkING CRAZY CATWOMAN at the grocery store on Sunday with her 143 coupons for her cat food, litter and snacks. She's always OLD, UGLY, ALONE. I hate these people.

CAT FRENZY oh god they're everywhere

Isn't it obvious? Middle-ages Persia learned secrets of cat management from the Egyptians. The Persians took that knowledge and combined it with the art of the assassin. The Ḥashāshīn (pops) perfected the art of killing, combined with their new feline scouts. The crazy cat lady of today is descended directly from the ranks of the Ḥashāshīn. Today, they function as a system of balance against populations and power bases. They dwell in every nation. They do not rest. Their work is relentless. It is THEY who decide who is to live, and who is to die.

So, yeah. Basically it's Deathnote with cats.

Rev. Skarekroe: No it doesn't.
It explains that people, particularly women, bond with individual cats.
It doesn't explain why people, particularly women, sometimes collect dozens of cats to the point of neglect.

I explained that part a few posts up. It's only the semblence of neglect. In actuality, they're a team of highly trained killers. Fark with them at your own peril.

Rev. Skarekroe: No it doesn't.
It explains that people, particularly women, bond with individual cats.
It doesn't explain why people, particularly women, sometimes collect dozens of cats to the point of neglect.

Is the 'Romero institute of obviousness' chopper grounded today or something?

Tatsuhiko: Well what do ya know! Cats are only around to eat food replacements for women who are nuts and/or can't have children!

19yo male I haz a kat

FTA: "Felines bond with females"


+

=

When I think cat ladies I have to think of Farley Mowat and his dog Mutt. Mutt loved to climb ladders, so one day he and a friend propped a ladder up to the roof of a cat ladies house. The cats would hang out on the roof as a safe place. Dog climbs ladder, cats abandon house, Police arrive and thwart "burglary". Neighbors don't see a thing...

"...all the Cat Lady's neighbors having sworn that they had seen nothing that might be of assistance to the police.

I sometimes wondered about that. Only a week after the incident I received a brand-new and expensive .22 rifle as a gift from the man who lived next door to the Cat Lady, and to whom I had never even spoken before."

That's just a so-called "theory". We also have to be open minded and accept the fact that perhaps it is because women are spiritually weaker and more open to temptation (as seen in the Garden of Eden), and that cats, as servants of the Devil, can sense this.

Teach the controversy!

Dammit, 7 pages of Google Image search and not one screen grab of the Simpson's "Homeless Translator" moment. :(

"I have a horrible brain disease; please give me a cat."

Owner and cat personalities were also assessed in a separate test. For the cat assessment, the authors placed a stuffed owl toy with large glass eyes on a floor so the feline would encounter it by surprise.

It doesn't say why they did this, but I'm thinkin' it was for the lulz.

It was for the CRAZY...

HailRobonia: That's just a so-called "theory". We also have to be open minded and accept the fact that perhaps it is because women are spiritually weaker and more open to temptation (as seen in the Garden of Eden), and that cats, as servants of the Devil, can sense this.

Teach the controversy!

What the hell? Are there really this many people that have never been near a woma-- sorry, please don't answer that, for the love of Gawd!

SonOfSpam: Owner and cat personalities were also assessed in a separate test. For the cat assessment, the authors placed a stuffed owl toy with large glass eyes on a floor so the feline would encounter it by surprise.

It doesn't say why they did this, but I'm thinkin' it was for the lulz.

It was "confuse-a-cat"

Monty Python Video (new window)

Simpler answer: Women are nuturers and cats are small and furry and cute and like to be nutured. And it's not just cats. Why do you think those tiny ass-dogs are so popular with chicks? Because they're completely dependent on the woman taking care of their every itty-bitty need.

There's something about small, defenseless animals that just flicks on that 'oh, it's like baby' switch in women.

/preemptive XKCD

Crazy Cat Lady:

ddelorm: Explain that to my cat, who has bonded to me like no cat I have ever met before.

It's borderline creepy.

That's because you're the big monkey that buys it food.

All the credit goes to the women, but not the men.

What can a Cat Man Do?

Dogs still form better bonds with humans. I've never seen a cat attempt to swim a drowning person to shore.

Contents Under Pressure: All the credit goes to the women, but not the men.

What can a Cat Man Do?

Men. So I'm told.

/str8 dood
//

Happy Hours: cats in these relationships only having to use subtle cues, such as a single upright tail move, to signal desire for friendly contact.

My cat learned to ask before jumping on my lap when I'm sitting at my desk. I guess she got tired of jumping up and getting immediately tossed off. Now she scratches my chair and waits expectantly for an invitation.

/there's nothing worse than a cat jumping in your lap when you're trying to fap to internet porn.

My cat took only one trial to learn that, "Cats who demand going outside at 3 am stay outside until morning no matter how cold it is." Well, that and I also installed a cat door.

Note also that I live in a temperate climate and the definition of cold is not very cold. Also note that my cat was a volunteer cat who came with my house and had spent many years living outdoors. He was also a very timid cat who spent all of his outdoor time lounging around the backyard, the roof, and a ledge on the chimney. He might once have killed a baby bird, although, it could also have died of natural causes.

He's gone now after his second bout with cancer. He was the best cat.

//hearts kittehz

SonOfSpam: Owner and cat personalities were also assessed in a separate test. For the cat assessment, the authors placed a stuffed owl toy with large glass eyes on a floor so the feline would encounter it by surprise.

It doesn't say why they did this, but I'm thinkin' it was for the lulz.

I read that part and decided I need an owl like that to try that on my cats. You know, for science.

A Leaf in Fall: I've never seen a cat attempt to swim a drowning person to shore.

How does an 8-pound animal save a drowning human?

I love my cats. We are definitely bonded.

But I still get a "I would kill you if you weren't so big" vibe off them once in a while.

Cats, like dogs, are animals that have "outsmarted" humans in an evolutionary sense, exploiting our instinctive behaviors.

Cuckoos do the same thing to nest-building birds. The cuckoos take advantage of other birds' instinct to incubate eggs and feed chicks. Biologically speaking, if this isn't called parasitism, it must be the next thing to it. You have one organism feeding off another which gains absolutely no survival benefit in return.

Similarly, cats and dogs have evolved to exploit the human nurturing impulse, but to a much greater degree. They have evolved calls and postures exclusively for winning affection from humans. They are so good at hijacking our parental instincts that killing one can often provoke as much fury as infanticide would.

They're cool parasites tho. I'd much rather have a cat on my thigh than a leech or a tick or a crab louse. (I've tried all 4.)

Well, there are "Cat Ladies"

And there are "Cat Women"

Ivo Shandor: I thought we already had an explanation, a brain parasite called Toxoplasma gondii (new window).

Don't ever make the mistake of posting about toxo in a caturday thread. People make death threats.

My wife's not crazy, but if I make a joke about her "bed butting" kitty, I get the evil eye. They're definately her kids, in one sense.

/four cats, love them all

A Leaf in Fall: Dogs still form better bonds with humans. I've never seen a cat attempt to swim a drowning person to shore.

Good point, although, I've never seen a chihuahua do that either.

Let's see.. typical house cat weight: 10 pounds maybe..
average male human weight (US): 190 pounds.

So I guess a cat trying to bring you to shore would be like a man trying to bring something about 3610 pounds to shore. Like say your average car weight.. 4000 pounds.

Now *that's* a sight I'd like to see.

/math fail

dobedobeDUE: Gawd help you when you are behind the farkING CRAZY CATWOMAN at the grocery store on Sunday with her 143 coupons for her cat food, litter and snacks. She's always OLD, UGLY, ALONE. I hate these people.

They hate you too.

/actually not one of them
//just sayin'

"Cats attach to humans, and particularly women, as social partners, [sic] according to the new research, which has been accepted for publication in the journal Behavioural Processes."

I can certainly see that as it being something that would happen - have probably seen it before, in actual fact. What's the news, though?

Pets and other animals are thinking creatures, too. These thinking creatures attach to their owners, who (more often than not) who provide their shelter, sustenance, and health care. Go figure.

I know, it must be something special, to have an official technical report, about it, but geez - what news?

I can't be the only one annoyed at scientific studies of Stuff We All Know Already being presented as a "new" finding.

Women use cats as baby substitutes? WOW THIS IS NEW INFORMATION... not.

I knew a woman with more cats than a Tel Aviv phone book.

A Leaf in Fall: Dogs still form better bonds with humans. I've never seen a cat attempt to swim a drowning person to shore.

Cats are smarter than that (new window)