Don`t forget the kitties! While most display little ``loyalty``, I`ve had a couple that have been truly amazing, displaying ``dog-like`` caring for their human friends. I know I`ve been lucky in this regard, as most cats I`ve encountered have been purely ``independent``. But these two always came when called (running!), had impressive vocabularies and followed directions amazingly well, and one tried desparately to tell me that something was wrong with my Mom (she lived with me for 10 months while ``in transition`` when we recognized she`d developed Alzheimer`s).

Long story short, on one of the very few evenings I left Mom alone, she passed out and was awakened by Cat licking her face. When I got home, I checked on Mom, and she was sound asleep in bed. But Cat was going nuts ``talking`` to me. I figured there must be something wrong with Cat, so off to the Vet. 80% kidney failure, so I began pumping her with 120cc`s of solution every other day (so she got ``tortured`` to a degree for having done a good thing, but it kept her around for another 5 months), but she was very cooperative about it. A week or two later, Mom recalls having passed out on a trip to the bathroom, and being awakened by Cat licking her face, on an evening when I wasn`t home. I put two and two together, and was actually shocked..... ``This is the kind of thing you hear of dogs doing!``.

New one, ``Dude``, is a ferrel kitten I found by the wood pile last November. Captured him `cuz I knew he wouldn`t survive the winter, especially with all the local competition for food (opossum, racoons and other cats). I have to say it`s been ``interesting``, but he`s finally settled into being a real good cat with a huge vocabulary. Nothing like having a cat that actually does what you ask, when you ask.

I think that kindness is key; they get it, they respond - cats and dogs. Don`t think it works with goldfish! LOL

These things I KNOW.

SGE