We have many friends whose experience with cats fulfills the stereotype of cold, distant and uninvolved creatures. There are chasms between that and how we live with ours. I regularly have to lift them up before they walk across the keyboard while I type, and it is impossible to sit or lay down without acquiring at least two of them. One, the biggest, regards any shoulder within reach as his perch. His concept of reasonable reach is broad - he has been known to climb up our backs when we were removing around inconveniently.
My sister's dogs aren't so different, though they are inconveniently large. Any sit on the couch is taken as an invitation into a lap. Sitting on the ground puts a dog head under each arm, looking for a pet.
I was on a pet sitting job tonight, and stopped the play in the back yard for a bit for some cuddling. Even a couple of the horses at the barn will seek physical contact, butting their heads out as you walk down the aisle looking for a scratch.
I increasingly wonder how these stereotypes are born. It seems impossible to live with any animal without a lot of physical contact.
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