Hi PatrickLondon
>Most cats simply hypnotise their humans into opening doors for them.<

That's because they have excellent powers of telepathy.

I recall one cat we had who could sit outside the door and think at me until I opened it.

((I))

French cats don't get fat because they can walk to the Metro and ride trains to see their country cousines.

StCirq - that 'stray' cat is fat because he is getting fed by <i>all</i> the neighbors (each one thinking they are the only ones!)

Six-dinner Cid - I love it!

But this has got me thinking - do French people have cats as pets? The only people in France I know who have pet cats are farmers who keep them to control mice in their outbuildings - they're not really pets.

And I've never seen a cat on a French train or in a French restaurant or supermarket - though I've seen dogs in all those places many times.

I guess the French just aren't cat people.

YES!!!! All my French friends throughout France have both cats and dogs and love them. I have many photos I take to send them.

Our friends in Provence have a cat, Bilbo, who enjoys the run of the place. Their friends have cats.

One thing I especially like about driving in France is that we seldom see dead animals along the road, unlike here, where it's an all-too-common sight.

St-Cirq,

One time in Paris we saw a man on the m&eacute;tro with a leashed Siamese cat perched atop his shoulder.

The fact that French people don't take their cats around with them doesn't mean they don't like or own cats. I read and hear about French people who have pet cats. Cats appear in French art.

Cats just aren't as portable as dogs. Either they're confined indoors, or if they can go outdoors, they choose to stay in their own territory. I think cats that follow their owners around are the exception. Dogs, on the other hand, want to go where we go and are less attached to their place. I never take my cat out anywhere except to the vet, though I keep meaning to leash train her one of these days. I've taken my dogs anywhere I could possibly get away with taking them--street fairs, parks, shops, law school, a psych. hospital where I used to work, banks, post offices--just about any place except food stores.

If my cat ever escaped, i'd have no idea how to get her back. Any time any dog of mine has escaped, I've been terrified, but the technique that has always worked to get them back is for me to lie down on the ground and whimper. I don't want to have to test whether that tactic would work with the cat.

&gt;...the technique that has always worked to get [dogs] back is for me to lie down on the ground and whimper...&lt;

Cat 1: Isn't that the human you live with lying on the ground and whimpering?

Cat 2: Yes

Cat 1: Are you going to see what's wrong?

Cat 2: Not until she offers me some cat treats.

((I))

I'd better not let her slip out. That would be SO insulting if my little act didn't work on her.

My white Cornish Rex, so that's English ancestry and not French, is so skinny that you can see her ribs. I hate her.
:)

My cat follows me from room to room. If she wants to. My cat retrieves when I throw a ball. If she feels like it.
My cat cuddles. Only when I 'm wearing black trousers.

My whimpering would to draw my dog's attention. I think for a cat, it only increases their disdain. As I've said before, sometimes I think she views me only as a walking can opener.

My cat is not disdainful. As a life-long &quot;dog person,&quot; I would not respond well to that personality. She's motivated by her own pleasure, but many of her pleasures involve being with her person for reasons other than getting food (i.e. she has &quot;good values&quot; :D ). She will, however, sell her soul for a few seconds of joy with a furry fake mouse with a rattle inside. My dog and I picked her out as a kitten for her personality and her attitude toward the dog. I think we made a good choice.

Our tomcat, Achillies, is a hopeless beggar. He likes everything from eggnog to marinara sauce and we have to watch him like a hawk to make sure he doesn't launch himself onto the countertop or stove to sample something that smells tasty. He is a hearty eater of everything he can get his paws on but somehow stays quite thin.

Our little girl cat, Mycencea, has the tiniest appetite imaginable and turns up her nose at anything other than cat food... and she is the one with the weight issue. Go figure.

Elaine--Your description of your Cornish Rex reminds me of the woman describing her cat: &quot;Of course she's beautiful--she sleeps sixteen hours a day.&quot; :)

Three of my own cats absolutely view me as Mommy. The fourth sees me as a very deficient waitress.

&quot;...a very deficient waitress&quot;

&quot;I recall one cat we had who could sit outside the door and think at me until I opened it.&quot;

Wonderfully put!

to be fair, my Neige is a little like cmt's cat, motivated by her own pleasure, never investigates any food other than her own, and even then, eats daintily. Would that I could follow her example.

Sometimes 'her own pleasure' is to be with me, but only if I meet her preferences du moment. I have thought often of getting her a cat of her own, but then I think that she actually prefers being undisputed skinny queen of the house.

My cat actually DOES investigate my dog's food. when she was a foolish little kitten, she would barge right in and steal my dog's food from under her nose, with no concern that the dog could, if she chose, squeeze her whole little self in her good-sized mouth. (I have a very very kind, tolerant dog.) The dog was with me when I noticed this kitten and picked her out as &quot;perfect&quot; for me from among the rescue groups' offerings at Petsmart last year, and when I went back to get her a few days later, and when I picked her up after she was spayed a month or so later. So I think the cat understands that the dog is one of the two rulers of the house, and that the dog is my very special favorite. Now, as a young adult, the cat still occasionally tries to sneak a nibble of the dog's food. I think she assumes that anything I give to my much loved Gypsy, co-boss of the house, MUST be something good.

Don't let all these charming cat acts fool you.

They're all just biding their time, waiting for the signal to launch their campaign of world domination.

I know mine is, anyway.

Obviously, Henry Beard has not encountered Le Chat (the cartoon creation of Philippe Geluck - http://www.geluck.com/). Le Chat is a gros chat.

On the other hand, like her owner, my cat seems to have slimmed down since we moved to Paris.

Our Head Cat, Lucie Furre, also eschews everything but cat food--except for honey-roasted turkey lunchmeat. She insists on one slice every morning before her post-breakfast nap.

Yum Yum, she of the blue eyes and fluffy fur, however, will eat just about anything, including avocado and cheerios. She is a seven-year-old kitten who continues to tear around the house and burn off the calories.

Environmental awareness...compare the cat's profile with its keeper. Cats are futuristic. They knew they will not be able to depend on the humans for much longer.