Mark Twain would have to disagree with you on one point:
[SIZE=-1]"Of all God's creatures, there is only one that cannot be made slave of the leash. That one is the cat. If man could be crossed with the cat it would improve the man, but it would deteriorate the cat." - Mark Twain[/SIZE]
Phyllis Sidhe_Uaine
True, true.
My kitty was certainly much cuter and fluffier than humans, as well as friendlier than most humans, without lacking dignity.
If a stray kitty found its way to me, I would, no doubt, adopt it. I can't say no to animals unless I can't afford them or they can't fit into the current family, and then I work to get them to a no-kill shelter or adopt them to friends or family. Animals are my best friends.
At this point, I'm not ready to go looking for a kitty though. Maybe one day. I miss my kitty too much at this point to be ready for another.
I had that cat since I was 9 years old... She sat in my lap while I learned to type, and all through my junior high and high school report writing, and all through my undergraduate and graduate school. She sat in my lap while I wrote my dissertation last year. She would occasionally contribute a word or phrase in cat-language by hopping up on the keyboard and tapping at the keys. Or sometimes we would sit together on the bed or the couch, she in a ball of fluff on my chest, and we would philosophize about life. When I was sick, she would always curl up on my tummy and purr to help me feel better. When it was cold in the winter, she would happily become "earmuffs" around my head on my pillow.
It's days I'm at home writing that I miss her the most. I always expect to feel her little paws on my chair telling me to pick her up and put her in my lap. She was truly my best and oldest friend- my comfort through everything in life from divorcing parents to losing grandparents to the trials of grad school. She was, quite simply, an amazing cat and cram-packed with personality. When my husband's friends would come over and play live rock music in our living room, contrary to most cats' natures, she would come out in the thick of it all... making rounds and politely demanding affection from all concerned, no matter how loud or tattooed the individual, or indeed if they liked cats at all. They
would like her, of that she was sure, and... they did.
I could never repay her for what she gave me all those years. People say I rescued my animals... Oh, no... They rescue me...