Can give people a sense of dominance over another living thing, which the person can not obtain else where in life
Following up on the recent post below about many providers having cats:
In my five decades of trying to understand what it must be like to live life as a female, I have come to the conclusion that women are much more likely to feel lonely than the typical male. Even if she shares housing with other females (or a husband with whom the "flame" has burned out), for most straight females not having meaningful companionship seems to lead to loneliness.
In browsing the w4m ads I notice many younger women admitting that they are lonely.
A cat provides a form of companionship. If a lady lives in a single family home or another type of dwelling where she is concerned about security, then a dog is a "four-legged burglar alarm".
Any guy who has been married realizes that women are the ones who make the effort to create the events that celebrate family relationships: bridal showers, weddings, birthday parties, holiday meals, celebrations and presents. Women keep the greeting card companies in business, not we males.
I presume this has been the case throughout recorded History.
Afterall, has anyone ever read or heard the word "hermit" being applied to a female?
Is that women have a different relationship to community and extended family than men. They compete differently with each other, and they bond differently with each other. So...in a way they are more social, or so it seems. Cats? Well, unless they do that thing of "parenting" a pet, like something that progresses out of playing with dolls when it doesn't go into having babies? Most of the women I know seem to prefer small dogs. But it's probably the same general thing.
I wrote a haiku about the cat feeling:
Teakettle whistling,
The cat curled up on my lap.
This is all there is
Can give people a sense of dominance over another living thing, which the person can not obtain else where in life
[speechless]
