Living with Dr. Doolittle

[bosaw]

He doesn't hunt does he? Cuz that would be cheating.

[CowSlips 26]

Speaking of Dogs...........I am a firm believer that they know a animal lover or a softy as my wife calls me. 28 animals all adopted or as I say found along the road. Dogs, Cats , Minny Donkeys, Burro's ect. Sounds like your husband is a good man.

[applestar]

Marlingardener, just be sure to look all around you -- under bushes and in the trees, as well as skies overhead -- before telling any secret you want to keep from your hubby!

[tedly]

CowSlips, most animals do recognize animal lovers. They just recognize some sort of connection. It's weird and there's no real way of explaining it, but it's true.

[cynthia_h]

Whenever I'm out in public without my dogs (fairly rare these days, but it *does* happen), I can call cats to me. I've always been able to call cats to me, even skittish ones. Evidently, I speak "Cat," both to my own cats and to cats who've never seen me before.

It took me a few years in high school and college to realize that this doesn't happen for everyone; in fact, it happens for very few people, at least with cats. Dogs are much more willing to come to people they don't know, but dogs have been living with people for thousands of years longer than cats have. (Current beliefs are that dogs have lived with people anywhere from 12,000 to 30,000 years, but cats only 5,000 to maybe 7,000 years.)

When I had my pet-sitting business in the mid-'90s, I cared for birds, fish, cats, dogs, and a few rabbits. They were all happy to see me, although it was difficult to tell with the fish!

But cats do come to me, willingly, if I call them to me.

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9