Cats and migraines

I notice that several people have cats in their avatars or mention cats. It makes me curious. This is just for fun.

I, personally, am not a cat person. I think they smell terrible for one thing and they just annoy me. So, of course, if I go to a home with a cat they cat always comes to me. Don't know how many times I have heard, "Oh, that's odd. He/she generally doesn't like strangers." as said cat jumps into my lap.

So, is there a connection between having a cat and being a migraineur? This highly scientific poll should tell us.

I have always been kitty mad. I love their affection, their playfulness, their curiosity and last but not least their beauty. Who can resist those little furry bundles when they give you a tender nose rub and plonk themselves purring on one's lap.

I don't exactly know where the smelly thing is coming from. Cats by nature hunt by stalking. It is therefore important for them not to have any body odor to not scare away their prey. Also their saliva contains a natural deodorant to eliminate the tiniest trace of smell that might give their presence away. I guess it must have been the owners who have not done a good job at keeping the kitty litter clean. Cats are beyond clean and hate nothing more than a smelly litter tray.

It is not unusual that cats are drawn to you despite you not being interested in them. It is down to a communication problem between humans and cats. The height of good manners for cats is to not look at them and generally ignore them. They think you are the most wonderful and friendly human being and will be all over you. Normally just staring at a cat is enough to discourage them from getting too friendly.

Having said that, I am not just a cat lover. I love nature and all animals and it saddens me to see how their natural habitat gets smaller and smaller. Where is it all going to end for them? I think a lot more should be done to protect what we have left. I am very much in favor of for sustainable retreat instead of sustainable development.

I am a dog person. Cats dont like me. They bite me. Maybe its because I am used to dogs and maybe I stroke them wrong.
I had two kittens as a child, We had a bakery and we had cats to deal with the mouse problem (how times change).
After that we got a dog and never had any more cats. Where we used to live we had one Misty who sort of adopted us. he was more like a dog. He belonged to a neighbour but spend his days in our garden. We were dogless at the time.
When we came here, one evening my eldest daughter went to go to bed and said to her younger sister, in the to bunk. "Why is there a cat under the bed" This was Sir Jasper. He belonged to the people we bought this house from...we only moved around the corner. Jasper apparently liked our house....They did offer him to us when the moved, but we got another dog.
Now the dog is old and about 5 cats come in the garden and tease her. I dont like them because they kill the birds I feed. I wish cats wouldnt do that. They go after the frogs as well. I dont think I could have one because of this killing thing. Anyway my son is allergic to them.
So as far as migraines go. No cats.....

I had a kitty for a little while not long ago, but I don't anymore. Oh, she was the sweetest thing, fun to play with, yet would settle down easily. Affectionate, yes.

Why don't I have a kitty anymore? She was a natural born killer. First she started bringing dead mice while I was in bed. I thought it was icky, but cute she loved me so much. Then she started bringing live mice (we didn't even know we had a mouse problem til we got her!)

Then I walked out of my room and stepped on a dead baby bunny (clarification, she was a indoor cat but was constantly getting by me to get outside, with my bad back I couldn't bend down to catch her. Once she got past me at that door we have a doggie door in the mud room so she could bring stuff in and out). Then she brought me a baby bunny in bed.

A day after that I was doing laundry and stepped in something warm and slimy. When I lefted up my foot it fell on my opposite calf. At that point I couldn't tell what it had been, well other than being able to tell intestines were involved, but it took three showers to get the ICK feeling off my leg.

The next day hubby called me and said she had brought a medium sized rabbit in to the laundry room and had already disemboweled and decapitated it. He said it was gruesome.

The cat went to the Farm. No, no not "The Farm, little Johnny"...a real farm where they appreciate rodent murderers. She is fed kitty food daily and all the critters she can eat. She shares the farm with one other cat. They have one shed where a kitty size hole is always open so they can get away if any bigger predator is chasing them. A couple of the other sheds are heated.

I feel somewhat guilty, but I also feel that she is probably much happier now that she is "out" rather than sitting looking out the window yowling.

With the exception of 3 years, early in my first marriage, I have always had a cat. Powder was in our family when I was born and I still remember the day I got up and heard my dad digging in the back yard. I had been sick in bed and my mother was in the hospital. I got up and found Powder dead in the dining room. She was 17, I was 12.

Today, I have two kitties, Angel and Cleo. Angel is white and long and lean. Cleo is striped with sapphire blue eyes and a butterball. They get along very well considering they didn't grow up together.

I never had a dog but I love dogs. I just know I would be useless in training one. I'd be the one with the dog who jumped and barked and all the bad mannered stuff. Cats are so easy.

I don't think a house is a home without a pet

I recently looked after a young Labrador (Lucy, 3 month) for 3 days. OMG! What a bundle of energy. She was a right terror and had some naughty habits. Like pooping into my dining room and eating it [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] . She also managed to wreck my patio in one clean swoop. The gardener is here today to sort out the structural damage to my patio and to replace a couple of broken planters.

On one of the 165 walkies I took her she managed to knock me over and tried to lick my face while I lay in the middle of the pavement and could not get up any more because she was on top of me. How embarrassing! [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

But, however naughty she was I could not be upset with her. Her sheer exuberance, hunger for life and fun and of course those puppy eyes won me over every time. All of a sudden I was also a lot more popular when out and about. Lucy was a people magnet, drawing in small children who wanted to pet her, good looking young guys with puppies who wanted to discuss doggy ownership (sorry hubby, but I did enjoy that), and many other friendly encounters with dog loving Brits.

Nevertheless I was relieved when her owner picked her up again. The house (and shoes) was ours again. As lovely as she has been I was happy to sink back on the sofa with my kitties and enjoy the rest of quiet evening without a wagging tail stalking me in the hope for yet another walk.

I guess my introvert nature is much more in tune with cats than with a bouncy and energetic dog.

The hunting instinct of cats is what it is. They are highly evolved predators and are only doing what comes naturally and instinctively to them. It is how nature works. After all we are all on the food chain and cats are not the only meat eaters out there.

When the hunting is getting out of control my cat gets kitted out with a collar with a little bell attached to. That usually does the trick. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

All in all I think pets are great fun and hugely therapeutic.

lesherb wrote:I don't think a house is a home without a pet

I agree totally!

We've had a couple kitties over the years, and I love them, but I'm a dog person. Growing up on the farm we had lots of cats. Kitties have a "smell" to me, too. I don't know what it is, but it bothers me a bit. I know dogs sometimes have a doggy smell, but that doesn't seem to bother me in the same way.

I love the unabashed love dogs show for you, that they like to be with you most of the time, how they greet you with such happiness. They are just mood boosters.

There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face..
-Ben Williams

A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself.
-Josh Billings

The average dog is a nicer person than the average person.
-Andy Rooney

We give dogs time we can spare, space we can spare and love we can spare. And in return, dogs give us their all. It's the best deal man has ever made.
-M. Acklamï

A dog teaches a boy fidelity, perseverance, and to turn around three times before lying down.
-Robert Benchley

I have a petsitting business called "The Cat Lady". I was probably one of the youngest cat ladies ever. When I was young we lived on a small horse farm. We started out with 2 cats to keep way the mice. Somehow neighborhood strays knew I was there to love them. My father didnt care for cats much, so I had to be tricky.

I would rotate cats from barn to house. Never more than 3 in the house at a time. At one point we got up to 19 cats. My father figured it out when he saw one of the feed store bills. Much more than 3 cats could eat! I now have one good hunter, an indoor/outdoor cat named Pepper. We also have 2 dogs that Pepper tolerates. I love dogs and cats equally, but I mostly take care of cats because with migraines it is easier.
Cindy

We have three cats in my home. Each of us "owns" one. They are just the cutest things. They don't smell bad, they smell kind of like vanilla. I make sure they eat good food that doesn't have a lot of fillers and that keeps their coats glossy and smelling good.

I've always been a cat person. As a child at one point we have 6 cats. They were indoor/outdoor so we rarely had them all in the house except at night.

We also had dogs, one was half Chihuahua and half West Highland Terrier. The most annoying animal I ever had. My Dad had a half German Shepard and half wolf. A great dog.

But I am much more a cat person. They are so independent and have great personalities. They make me laugh every day.

they tell me if the tray needs changing, they can't stand smells!!!

one smells of flowers at the moment lavendar because it is in flower in the garden.

they are what keep me sane when the migraines go all wrong, but I know plenty of people who have cats without migraine.

Di

Charlotte - I laughed out loud at the cat story! I had a cat years ago that did the same thing. The baby bunny bowels on the floor is a smell you don't quickly forget! She also brought live mice in and released them to live in my house.

I didn't want any animals to take care of because of health problems but my daughter "rescued" a dog which she couldn't keep and I took him until we found something else. Right. I'm the something else. Then I rescued one who was a breeder in a puppy mill and the mills are closing down in Pennsylvania so she got dumped. Lots of problems but six months later she's becoming a pet who has learned to love humans.

I'd love to have a cat but my daughter is allergic and wouldn't be able to visit plus I don't think I could keep up with the litter. I let the dogs in and out and clean up the yard and walk them. But I'm so nauseous and gaggy (you know what I mean) from the migs I wouldn't be able to do the litter thing again. I also don't like the hair. Other people's cats are fine.
-Cathy