Thread: My cat...

Originally Posted by 0livia

Adorno and Heidegger is just the right stuff for male cats.
How do you read Heidegger? In Portugese?
This man causes havoc in German already and with the simplest words!

My ladies prefer music, hehehe

I read Adorno, Heidegger, Kant, Nietzsche and many other philosophers in Portuguese, yes. My german is only good enough for me not to starve in Germany. I am thinking about taking an intensive course, though. I have to learn german... it's a must. And the objective is to have my german on the same basic level as my english.
When I read certain - very good, actualy, because there are side notes to explain in detail the richness of the original word or expression - translations I feel that something is missing, that something was, indeed, lost in translation. That is why I prefer to read english, french, spanish and italian in the originals... except when the thing is too complicated and the writing is too complex as too make the use of the dictionary almost useless. My english is the best of the refered languages, though it needs some brushing up once in a while...
German is at the moment out of the picture, unfortunately. I think it is a beautiful language - very direct, very practical, very... german!

In Portugal we are treated to a very high quality of translations in what concerns philosophy. There is both a great universitary tradition of both languages and philosophy. I actualy graduated from a Univeristy that was, for a long time - and in some ways, still is - the cutting edge of philosophical studies in Portugal, despite a very academic view on things... But note, please: my degree and area of expertise is music, not philosophy, though I quite enjoy it. But purely on an amateur basis...

I understant that Heidegger might cause havoc with the simplest words... but is there really a simple word in Heidegger? The man defined the thingness of the thing, for crying out loud! But hey! he and Hannah Arendt were lovers, right? back in the 30's?... Talk about rough sex!

But really, I should publish my cat's monograph on Adorno...
He likes music as well... the other day I caught him listening to Stockhausen's Gruppen and noting on the score what he would do differently. He also noted that, on some parts, the tempo was not exactly what Stockhausen wrote... You know, cats hear more than we do.

Originally Posted by fpessanha

I am terribly sorry but I cannot help but consider your comment to be rude.

I take it you must be a reporter?
LOL

I didn't comment because .............

well you are right, you don't want to hear about shooting
and from this I could tell that my comments concerning cats wouldn't be very welcome

I'll just say that domesticated animals which have to potential to become feral have no need of testicles
unless you intend to breed, cut out the sex organs

I think if tree huggers wanted to take on an issue (instead of a stupid minnow etc) they could try to deal with the feral cat population as it is out of control and decimates native species
song birds, game birds, rabbits, and various others

you asked

German is probably the best language to think or write philosophy. Hence we have such a lot. I love it, cause it can be as precise as a razor but it is very difficult to learn. I'm just wondering how good a translator must be to understand Heidegger (cause very few people really do) and translate him.

Baltazar sounds really cool! Yes they do.
I wouldn't play Stockhausen to mine though, cause I simply don't like it myself, but Astor Piazzolla and Beethoven are high on the list and they even know there is nothing wrong with Freddy Mercury cranked up real loud cause somehow they get his message.

^^ Now GW and I thought you'd have something against neutering ^^
Helps the trigger happy well!

Originally Posted by gratewhitehuntr

I take it you must be a reporter?
LOL

I didn't comment because .............

well you are right, you don't want to hear about shooting
and from this I could tell that my comments concerning cats wouldn't be very welcome

I'll just say that domesticated animals which have to potential to become feral have no need of testicles
unless you intend to breed, cut out the sex organs

I think if tree huggers wanted to take on an issue (instead of a stupid minnow etc) they could try to deal with the feral cat population as it is out of control and decimates native species
song birds, game birds, rabbits, and various others

you asked

I am sorry for my previous comment. All opinions are welcome.
I just thought that you were, indeed, expressing an opinion, instead of not expressing one because you might feel it unwelcomed...

I'm not a reporter. I'm a composer...

Originally Posted by 0livia

German is probably the best language to think or write philosophy. Hence we have such a lot. I love it, cause it can be as precise as a razor but it is very difficult to learn. I'm just wondering how good a translator must be to understand Heidegger (cause very few people really do) and translate him.

Baltazar sounds really cool! Yes they do.
I wouldn't play Stockhausen to mine though, cause I simply don't like it myself, but Astor Piazzolla and Beethoven are high on the list and they even know there is nothing wrong with Freddy Mercury cranked up real loud cause somehow they get his message.

^^ Now GW and I thought you'd have something against neutering ^^
Helps the trigger happy well!

Portuguese is also a nice language for philosopy. It's not as precise, but adds some mellowness to the synthetic nature of the thought. But germa philosophy is different in its essence. The language, being itself the means of expressing thought, defines the way thought is built. If the language is synthetic - like german - the thought (and therefore, philosophy) will be as the language: synthetic. If, on the other hand, the language is analytical - like portuguese, for instance, the thought will be like that: analytical...
But I suggest we keep the discussion on this point, for now... we are going too far off topic.

You should try to play Stockhausen's Stimmung to your cats... They'll love it. And I suppose you will as well.

I'll quote Vicky Halls (cat behaviour specialist) from the book Cat Confidential on the subject of neutered male cats:
"...pretty much the ideal home-loving and friendly cat for us, but not the best emotional state for them."

Anyone who says neutering doesn't affect a cat's behaviour is an out and out liar. It made me angry that your vet said otherwise. Just because he considers neutering to be the responsible thing to do that doesn't justify lying.

On the plus side, neutered cats tend to live longer on average, as a result of their changed behaviour, so be happy with that.

Behavioural problems like marking territory indoors can usually be explained and dealt with. I'd recommend Vicky Halls' books to anyone with a cat, for both fixing and preventing problems.

FWIW my cat is intact and well behaved. We let him out in the day and keep him in at night (because of the foxes that come out at night here.) This works well despite cats being nocturnal by nature.

Originally Posted by gratewhitehuntr

I take it you must be a reporter?
LOL

I didn't comment because .............

well you are right, you don't want to hear about shooting
and from this I could tell that my comments concerning cats wouldn't be very welcome

I'll just say that domesticated animals which have to potential to become feral have no need of testicles
unless you intend to breed, cut out the sex organs

I think if tree huggers wanted to take on an issue (instead of a stupid minnow etc) they could try to deal with the feral cat population as it is out of control and decimates native species
song birds, game birds, rabbits, and various others

you asked

You make a very good point. In Wisconsin the feral cat has pretty much decimated the song bird population. Not only is a cat outside at risk of disease and injury they are also a huge risk to native species that have a right to only deal with natural predators and not your domesticated cat. A domesticated cat is just that, domesticated. A domesticated animal needs to be kept under control and safe at all times. That is your responsibility. A cat that is inside knows nothing else about being a cat than being a domesticated pet. It is not missing anything or yearning for anything.

Oh we have the ferals as well over here.
People organize, try to catch them and get the males neutered to keep the population at bay. Works pretty good. The vets do it for cheap.

I get mine second hand usually. There are so many unwanted cats in shelters that its not funny. My Siamese was found with the front teeth smacked out and the big one almost ate her owner cause she hates arguing.
I'm glad to have them and I think they like to stay with me.

I don't like cats because people let them wander.
If my dog (don't have one either) was in your back yard I'm sure you would have something to say about it.
But the law here says a cat with a tag can go anywhere and be ok.

If I wanted a cat in my yard I would have one.

house cats are better, but I hate having anything crap in the house
we could all just stop flushing and it would be the same thing

barnyard cats are the only variety I care for
even then measures have to be taken to control their reproduction

spay/neuter most definitely affects a cat, male mostly
while I take issue in general with the emasculation of anything, in cats and cattle I find it the better than the alternative

I have 4 cats. After all, no outfit is complete without a bit of cat hair