-Cats-

Do you really love them? There are many ways that will make you change your

mind about cats By Remi Kahn

           

ora Yanai, a sophomore (10th grader) at the American School in Japan (ASIJ) has both a cat and a dog and loves them both

very much. But unlike Nora, lots of people dislike cats, and like dogs much better. Why? I don’t know, but from my survey, I learned that 39 people out of 52 people liked dogs better then cats. I also learned that the most common answers on my survey were, “I don't like cats because I am allergic to cats and not dogs”, “cats scratch”, “cats bite”, “cats are scary over all”, but do you think they never knew cats are good pets too, or do you think they always loved dogs better no matter what cats do. “I don’t think cats are treated equally as dogs because most people choose dogs as pets, more then cats.” Says Sang-Ha Park (a.k.a. SHP). Which is interesting because, cats are easier to take care of. You don't have to walk them, or look after them the whole day (because they are independent) and I mean I get how people love dogs. Licks, snuggles, they also obey you, and they really are cute and loving, you just need to look on the good side of cats, ignoring the scratching, climbing, jumping and

biting, like you look on the good side of dogs. Everybody gets angry sometimes. People, Bees, Chimpanzees, Frogs and even Cats and Dogs! And everybody moves in someway that they can express his or her feelings. People might scrunch up their faces, get really red and maybe even glare! Cats too! Have you ever seen a cat’s spine rise, watch their tails flick, watch them hiss or growl and maybe also come up to you and give you a big or small bite or a scratch? Well, you have to understand that when something happens that you thought would not be annoying, unpleasant, or distracting, but is to the person or animal, you have to give them space until they calm down. So if you are afraid that a cat will scratch you, just take a few steps back, and your body will be completely safe. That is one fact you should remember if you really want to start having a cat loving you. 13/52=1/4 people like cats, is what I learned from my survey that I sent to the entire 5th grade. (Most people didn’t answer it) But you know, that is not a lot.

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And my survey answers aren’t so different then the whole world’s answers either. Take a look at this graph. This pie graph shows the average number of people (I think in America but maybe in the world) like cats or dogs or both or none. Do you see the big difference? Both is 20% None is 3% Dogs are 57% and Cats are only 20%. Now that is a HUGE difference. Have you ever thought or seen a stray cat walking around on the street, trying to look for food? Well, stray cats are bad. First, they walk around in selfish mean kind of way. Then they scare off all the poor little birds. Next, they look around for food in trashcans, in anything they can find. They are really mean looking, with lots of scratches on their face. They are also stinky. And last things, they do very very annoying things to your house. There is one big cat that lives around my neighborhood, which is stray. He is fat, and big, he has a scratch over his eye. Green shiny eyes, dark brown fur with bits of black. And the worst thing of all, he poops in our small garden. He is really bad. But some stray cats are the opposite. They are really small, well cared, clean and not so hungry that it wants to eat your shoe. But do you know why cats turn stray or feral?* Because their owner abandons them, and kicks them out of the house. The poor cat has to learn to survive the wild, and live in the wild. So, stray and feral cats are actually caused by people that really hate their cat.

So next time you see a cat (at a friend’s house or maybe somewhere else) don’t hesitate to pick it up and give it a couple of pats on its head, and maybe stroke the cat’s fur a little because, it won’t mind. As long as you give them lots of care, and a little bit of attention, then they will really love you. But that will only happen, if you love them back.

 

http://www.statcrunch.com/5.0/viewre  

Dictionary:*    Feral:  Feral  cats  are  cats  that  had  been  abandon  cats  or  lost  cats  that  had  been  in  the  wild  for  a  long  time.