Born or Made?

[happylabs]

I think I was a born animal lover in general. I had a dog from the time I was born and almost all of my life until the last year when I had Casey put down. I never had a cat until I was in my early 40's. I didn't really "love" cats until I had my own but always liked them.

[krazyaboutkatz]

I think I was born loving cats. When I was probably about 5-6 years old I kept bugging my mom to get a cat. I was able to bring home a kitten for the day to see if we'd all like it. Unfortunately my mom made me return it. Later on my mom decided to take in a stray male young adult cat because a neighborhood boy said that he would be put down if he couldn't find him a home. I was 8 or 9 when I finally got a kitten of my own. She was a fluffy orange kitten. I think this is where my love of orangies also started.

We had one dog and I loved her very much but I was still more of cat person. We had hamsters, guinea pigs, mice, rats, gerbils, fish, turtles, snakes, lizards, frogs, toads, ducks, and even a squirrel for a little while. I'm very lucky that I was exposed to so many different kinds of animals while I was growing up. My love for cats has always won out though and it still does.

[Catherinedana]

My allergies have kept me away from cats all my life so I've never bonded with one, but I do love animals. Dogs are great and BIRDS are WONDERFUL!! I seem to have a special affinity with them.

So here's the kooky part . . . I can "feel" certain animals. It's like they give something off that lets me know what's going on with them. Believe it or not, elephants especially. It's actually very painful because they go so deep, much deeper than humans. I can hardly stand it. . .being around elephants always brings me to tears. And if it they are in shows or unhappy or bored I have to leave because it nearly makes me sick.

[Randi]

I tend to believe that everyone are born to like animals, but the influence from your surroundings probably has a huge effect also, especially as a child. Then, children can be so cruel to animals. I remember as a child I had a lot of fun tramping on ants in the street. These days I might kill a fly if it keeps buzzing around, and cockroaches I will kill, but I will take a spider outside.

I also think that people who grow up with animals around them and go to the Zoo a lot will understand them more and therefore be empathic towards them.

When I was little, I always wanted a cat, but my mother wouldn't let me, for various reasons. I saw cats every summer when i visited my grandmother in the country side, and I had a dinner plate with a cat on.

When it comes to liking a particular animal more than others, I don't really know where that influence came from or whether you have it in your genes.

I wonder if there has been done any scientific researh on this.

[cassiesmom]

I have been a cat person for as long as I can remember because my sister has had a cat for almost all her married life. Pet Talk has taught me so much about dogs that I hope to have one some day! Animal cruelty and homelessness (and puppy mills and too many pets in shelters) make me sad.

I don't like opossums because they dig in the trash and make a big mess.

[Karen]

What made me really think of the question was thinking about a few people I have known, none of them Pet Talkers, just so ya know. One, Julie, had never been permitted a pet as a child, but had always been drawn to cats. She was sure as soon as life circumstances permitted it, she would own a cat. We worked in an office with a dog, and she was perfectly cordial to the dog, but didn't really like it.

Another friend, Bonnie, grew up with a cat, always a cat in the family. When we became friends, she learned to love dogs, through our Saint Bernard, Freckles, and then our Great Dane mix Gracie. Before them, her only experience with dogs was a little terrier neighbor, who tended to bite whenever he could catch someone. She now owns both dog and cat.

And yet I know some people, like my acquaintance Will, who does not own a pet, does not really understand why anyone would, and just doesn't "get" the appeal.

[lvpets2002]

I voted Born to Love Cats.. Dont get me wrong I do love all animals.. But I am very much a loving cat person..