Althouse: "These people are idiots!"

December 4, 2008

"These people are idiots!"

Second -- and entirely apt -- comment on an article the Houston Chronicle obviously meant as a heart-warming, triumph-of-the-feline-spirit, little-girl-cuddly tale of fuzzy-wuzzy love and indomitable outdoorsiness.

25 comments:

George M. Spencer said...: Drudge will post this story shortly.; 12/4/08, 9:38 AM
Meade said...: Stealing from Twain: "Reader, suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were [an editor for the Houston Chronicle]. But I repeat myself."; 12/4/08, 9:49 AM
spool32 said...: Caption for the photo:

I TRIEZ TO ESSKAPE...

..ON NOES THEY FINDED ME!; 12/4/08, 10:04 AM
themightypuck said...: I have some sympathy for these people. When I was a child of 6 my family packed up in a station wagon and moved across the country. Somewhere in the Rockies we stopped and let the very annoyed cat out of its box (on a leash). It escaped but we were able to retrieve it after some significant effort.

I have less sympathy for my friends who put their theretofore indoor cat outside (living in the San Diego wilds) because they didn't like the way it was looking at their newborn. Needless to say it was food for the coyotes.; 12/4/08, 10:06 AM
DaLawGiver said...: The cat was the idiot for not coming back. Dumb animals deserve to be eaten by smarter animals, it was just lucky it survived as long as it did. The Whataburger family saved the stupid thing from the pound and it repays them by running away. What a loser cat.; 12/4/08, 10:16 AM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: You people obviously aren't cat lovers.; 12/4/08, 10:26 AM
Rockport Conservative said...: YesAnd they plan to keep doing the same idiotic thing. Crazy, but do we need to be worrying (commenting) about it? Guess so.; 12/4/08, 10:32 AM
Expat(ish) said...: Cat gets eaten by wild animal - what is the downside?

-XC; 12/4/08, 10:33 AM
Joan said...: Apt is right.

I am a cat lover (as numerous near-maudlin posts on my blog prove). That's why we never let our cats go outside.

We used to let our last cat sun herself in the backyard when she was old and unwell. We only let her out because we knew she couldn't jump the walls, and she was rather too large for a hawk to eat. Our cats now are younger and much more athletic, so they are strictly indoor.

The few times my cats have escaped I have always found them wandering the neighborhood, several houses away from home. Once my old cat was missing overnight and I was pretty sure a coyote or something had got her, but she turned up across the street. Cats apparently lack the directional/homing sense that dogs have.

Spool32: thanks for the LOL.; 12/4/08, 10:37 AM
themightypuck said...: Hey, I'm a cat lover. I go to nakedcapitalism just for the pic du jour.; 12/4/08, 10:46 AM
Anonymous said...: "We searched for her for a lot of minutes," said 6-year-old Tamara. "I was like, 'Where's my Fluffy?' "

oh noes.; 12/4/08, 10:52 AM
Henry said...: "These people are idiots!"

I dunno. Cats are pretty replaceable. The article does say the family is pragmatic.

Since the cat came from a pound, it may have had feral instincts -- the article is unclear about whether the cat was an outdoor cat at home (the reporter was too busy writing up the cuddly stuff).

The last cat I owned (I'm not that anti-cat) insisted on being an outdoor cat. Kept inside, it constantly yowled and bolted for any open door or window.

There is an interesting comment after the "idiots" one (by fish2) that it is against the law to let your cat roam around outside in state and national parks. So there's the law blog angle.; 12/4/08, 11:00 AM
Shanna said...: I can’t believe that cat was still wearing its collar 3 months later!; 12/4/08, 11:07 AM
Shanna said...: That's why we never let our cats go outside.

I let me cat outside in the front yard when I'm out there too and that's not a problem but letting a young cat out into the wild while traispsing around the country camping? That's just idiotic. Cats get freaked out when you move them. If they are outdoor cats, you have to keep them inside for a few weeks or a month before you let them out.; 12/4/08, 11:10 AM
themightypuck said...: Hmmmm. I hadn't thought of "feline" play. Someone is out hiking and sees a half eaten decomposing cat. The notice a tag. They call the number on the tag and cleverly allow the other party to describe the situation and the cat. They then go and find a rescue cat that matches the description of the lost cat and put the collar on it and send it home.; 12/4/08, 11:15 AM
KCFleming said...: My parents 'forgot' me in a gas station in South Dakota on a family trip once.

I found my way back, too. Fluffy better keep her eyes open around those girls next time.

Read Edward Gorey's The Beastly Baby for my parent's view.; 12/4/08, 11:15 AM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: I'm a cat person, and I agree these people are idiots. Cats are territorial and mostly don't like changes of any kind. If we have moved furniture in the house or closed a door that should be open our cat has a melt down.

Taking your cat on extended camping trips, besides being stupid, is cruel.

Living in the country, we do let our cat outside during the day, but I have trained her to expect a "treat", one tablespoon of canned cat food, at 4pm daily. She turns up like clockwork and then stays in for the rest of the evening. At night we have Great Horned Owls, Bobcats, Cougars, Coyotes, Foxes, Skunks, Raccoons and other feral cats prowling our property, probably during the day also, but at least we can keep the cat(s) safe at night.

If we go away for a few days the cat just stays in the house, looking longingly out the window. More than 3 days, we put her into a kennel/pet resort.

I dunno. Cats are pretty replaceable.

Obviously not a cat owner or cat person. Each cat has its own personality and unique characteristics. Cats are replaceable, so are dogs and husbands for that matter of fact.; 12/4/08, 11:16 AM
Henry said...: Obviously not a cat owner or cat person.

I was a cat owner, as I wrote, but I am not a cat person. Nevertheless, as a former cat owner I am well aware that cats have distinct personalities. The one that I mention hated being indoors.; 12/4/08, 11:24 AM
rcocean said...: A silly question.

My Cats (current and former) hated car travel. But do cats adjust to RV travel better? I'm assuming the bigger space, smoother ride, and existence of a couch or bed might calm them down.; 12/4/08, 12:09 PM
Shanna said...: I drove my cat from DC to Arkansas (I think we took 2 days) and he was ok with it, but he spent most of the time in the cat carrier in the backseat, even when I left the door open so he could wander around the car. He doesn’t mind driving short distances now, but he would get VERY freaked out when you take him out of the car and it was loud and unfamiliar.; 12/4/08, 12:29 PM
Ralph L said...: One of our cute little warehouse kittens bit the crap out of my thumb this morning. We were trying to put two in a box for some Mexicans, and they went berserk.
Our old family cat howled bloody murder across the country. The only place in the car he liked was behind the brake pedal.; 12/4/08, 12:41 PM
Joe said...: Out of curiosity, if the family goes to a lake, do they take their pet fish with them?

(For the record, I'm anti-pet. Can't stand the buggers. Don't even like plants, the needy bastards.); 12/4/08, 1:05 PM
Beth said...: They took their CAT camping?

spool32 wins the thread.; 12/4/08, 4:04 PM
save_the_rustbelt said...: I told my wife it was me or the cat, and she dragged my suitcases out of the attic.

The cat is ok, except he has taken over my basement recliner, and being that he is 25 lbs of solid muscle I generally do not argue withhim.

I hope to get my revenge by out living him.; 12/4/08, 9:36 PM
Synova said...: Come on now...

Does anyone doubt that had these people gone on long RV vacations and left their cats at a kennel that the "you evil idiot" folks would be talking animal cruelty for that, too?; 12/5/08, 8:51 PM