Accidental animal crueltyI once invented a brilliant game - I'd sit at the top of the stairs and throw cat biscuits to the bottom. My cat would eat them, then I'd shake the box, and he would run up the stairs for more biscuits. Then - of course - I'd throw a biscuit back down to the bottom. I kept this going for about half an hour, amused at my little game, and all was fine until the cat vomited. I felt absolutely dreadful.
Have you accidentally been cruel to an animal?
This question has been revived from way, way, way back on the b3ta messageboard when it was all fields round here.
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rob, Thu 6 Dec 2007, 11:13)
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In today's guardian onlineA video of a mouse genetically bred to be unafraid of cats. But the cat seems quite uncomfortable:
www.guardian.co.uk/japan/story/0,,2226236,00.html
(, Wed 12 Dec 2007, 14:14, 9 replies)
Where on earthdid they get that cat? Most moggies worth their salt would have pounced on a mouse like that.
There's no point in trying to reverse evolution. Mice are afraid of cats for a good reason.
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K2k6 has a proper job these days, Wed 12 Dec 2007, 14:19,
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Blimey"Unusually docile" is one thing - but that takes the cake. What had they been feeding the cat? Mogadon?
MOGadon... see what I did there?
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Enzyme is powered by sunlight, Wed 12 Dec 2007, 15:23,
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MogadonDoes that induce a catatonic state if taken in excess?
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K2k6 has a proper job these days, Wed 12 Dec 2007, 15:32,
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butI still don't understand what was the point of creating the poor mouse.. What's next, a human unafraid of fire or vicious dogs?
(, Wed 12 Dec 2007, 15:41, closed)
The pointI guess it could be something about demonstrating how fear acts in the brain. There are times when you might want to be able to control it - in people with chronic anxiety, for example. If you can show what receptors do what, you can put that knowledge to use.
Plus, it looks like fun.
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Enzyme is powered by sunlight, Wed 12 Dec 2007, 15:49,
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Unafraid of fire or landsharks?That'd be osok jnr. then. 3 years old and scared of nothing.
Score so far: 1 x broken wrist. 2 x split open chins. Has pulled one bookcase and one shelf on top of himself. Has faced MRI scans, innumerable blood tests and eye surgery without a problem (OK, he did take his teddy with him for that one). Can locate any sharp/hazardous object at long range and home in on it like an exocet.
However, scared of crabs??
What's worrying is that he'll be the one choosing where I get parked when I'm old and dribbly...
(, Wed 12 Dec 2007, 15:49, closed)
Docile catWe had a cat a bit like that- if you smacked her on the nose and shouted 'No!' at her she'd be too frightened to do it when anyone was in the room. For example: we did that with the hamsters and she wouldn't touch 'em. Ever. You could put 'em on her and she'd look at you and cower.
I suspect this had more to do with fear of being yelled at than anything else- she used to go out and eviscerate anything that moved, then bring home its twitching corpse.
(, Wed 12 Dec 2007, 16:31, closed)
could bethat the cat is just very stupid. My parents have a cat that was born prematurely after it's mother fell out of tree. He just stares goggle-eyed at everything, never seeming to blink, and shits himself if he sees anything white (pillows, socks, a mouse).
(, Wed 12 Dec 2007, 16:34, closed)
blimey....if that was my cat they wouldn't have had time to find out if the mouse was scared of him or not.
I've seen him try to take down herring gulls, hanging on to their necks as they take off.
(, Wed 12 Dec 2007, 17:11, closed)
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