Once upon a blog, Aimee wrote about pets who prefer people other than their owners. I got to thinking about this yesterday when I was writing about my friends who have been adopted by cats lately.
In both instances, the cats technically belong to other people. But they’ve adopted new ones, which technically makes them unfaithful pets.
Or does it?
Cuddles
Cuddles is a little calico that really belongs to the people who moved in to the house next to Cindy and Michael, our across-the-street neighbors.
But Cuddles has decided she likes to camp out at Cindy and Michael’s. She can often be seen lounging on their front steps or curled up on one of the chairs on their front porch.
Cuddles has not completely forsaken her original people. She still visits them too. But if she sees Cindy, Michael, one of their four kids, or either dog out? All bets are off. She ditches her old people in favor of the new ones.
Rocky a.k.a. Butters a.k.a. Mr. Kitty a.k.a. Pain in the A–
Kim’s cat is a corker. First he belonged to a man and his son who moved in to Kim’s complex. Then he adopted Kim’s friend and his dog. Now he’s adopted Kim and her dog.
His first owners called him Rocky, Kim’s friend called him Butters, and Kim’s torn between Mr. Kitty and Pain in the A–. (She never wanted to adopt a cat, but this little guy seems determined to convert her.)
But Kim’s leery. What if she adopts him and he ends up scorning her for someone else? (Given this cat’s history, I’m inclined to admit she may have a point.)
Why Cats (and Sometimes Even Dogs) Stray
It’s so funny to be talking about unfaithful pets in the Pets Blog. Infidelity is a hot topic over in Marriage, but in Pets? It’s laughable.
Except, it happens.
In one of her emails Kim mentioned how she’d read an article on MSNBC.com about pets cheating on their owners. This piqued my interest so I Googled it and found the article: “Getting dogged: When your pet cheats on you” by Kim Campbell Thornton.
The article cited experiences of different pet owners who had been cheated on, and in some cases thrown over entirely for another. In each case there were different factors, but in general:
1. Sometimes the pet found the new environment more comfortable to his or her liking.
2. The new owner had more time to spend with them.
3. The new owner had more room, or an environment more suited to the pet’s personality.
4. There was less distraction, competition, or pets at the adopted owner’s digs.
Courtney Mroch writes about animals great and small in Pets and the harmony and strife that encompasses married life in Marriage. For a full listing of her articles click here.
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Photo credit: Photo by Vea Avernalis 
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