Cats Are Awesome.

Disclaimer: I am mostly talking about the cats that I have had, or my friends have had. You may have had a totally different experience, but maybe that's because you need to know some things about cats before interacting with them.

Cats are awesome.

Why?

Cats like interesting things.

They also don't care about things.

What can a feline mind possibly find interesting? What could a cat *gasp* not care about?

First, I'll talk about what cats might find interesting. Some of the things they like are:

Food

Naps

Exploration

Figuring stuff out

Physical comfort

Those things are also interesting to me.

Food: They like to eat. Duh. When they get hungry and they can't figure out how to find food for themselves, they find someone who can. Pretty basic.

Naps: Self explanatory. Who doesn't like naps? I sure don't not like naps.

Exploration: All the cat's I've seen like to know where they are, and what the extent of their space is. Watson (my cat), whenever he gets to somewhere new, runs around exploring, trying to find exits, seeing what he can get into and on top of, etc. etc.

Figuring stuff out: I think this is why cat toys exist. I think cats mostly like floppy, elastic, fuzzy things because they can't predict exactly how they will react when they are interacted with. Cats like chasing mice. Maybe it's because a mouse is a thing, that's smaller than it. The cat wants to be able to predict how things smaller than it will react when interacted with. A mouse is an enigma. It doesn't act like things are supposed to act.

Physical comfort: Also pretty self explanatory. Cats like to be petted, scratched behind the ears, and a whole mess of other random things that may be unique to the cat.

Ok.

Now, what don't they care about?

How messy your apartment looks

Whether you're happy or sad

How late you sleep in

Sticks

The first three of those had to do with you. Cats just don't really care to much about you. That sounds like a bad thing, but...I think in a pet, it can be a good thing. Obviously, if you're directing emotions towards the cat, it will react, but in general, whether you're awake, asleep, angry, or happy, they pretty much act the same. I find that comforting. Don't misunderstand me - I think they can read some of those things in how you act, but it won't change their attitude, for the most part.

Pointers for people who think cats are horrible:

You can't usually go directly up to a cat the first time you meet it, pick it up, and play with it. It takes a little time and effort to get the cat to like you.

You can't play with cats the same way as dogs. Referring to "figuring stuff out" and "physical comfort", cats have pretty specific preferences in how they like to be touched.

They also don't like to be shoved around or manhandled, at least until they feel comfortable with a person.

Anyway. Those were just some thoughts.

To sum up, I just find cats to be more intellectually stimulating than dogs.

Dogs are fun though.


Edit: If you need more pointers on how to pet a cat, read this wonderful comic:
http://theoatmeal.com/comics/kitty_pet


Update to my life: I'm writing this at 4:30 am. So...still no real sleeping schedule. I slept for 13 hours straight yesterday and woke up feeling tired. Weird.