n my observations of canines and felines, I've discerned an important fact: we humans have distinct size-related responses to these two orders. Specifically, the respect we accord to dogs is unrelated to their size, whereas with cats, our respect is directly correlated to size. "Respect" is measured here by three criteria:
(1) Do you regard the animal as "touchy" and easily provoked?I have chosen nine examples of each to prove my point:
(2) How ready are you to do a little friendly joshing- fur-mussing, tail-pulling, etc.- without fear of adverse response?
(3) If the animal were to spend the night next to your bed, how restful would your sleep be?
These graphs demonstrate that the heavier the cat, the more likely you are to accord respect to her. No such clear correlation obtains for canines.
The reason for this, I believe, is simple: felines have no sense of humor whilst many canines do. With notable exceptions such as Chihuahuas, Pekinese, and Pomeranians, dogs have a self-deprecating quality. It's as if they'd laugh if they could, at themselves as well as their fellows. By contrast, cats just don't get the joke. Once beyond kittenhood, they will not tolerate being dissed. Disrespect in any form necessitates retaliation, which- as in an inner city slum- takes a form entirely dependent upon the size ratio of Disrespected to Disrespector. If that ratio is small, the Disrespected One will merely slink away, sulkily. But if the ratio is large, prompt retaliation will be meted out to the Disrespector... (printer friendly version)
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