I must get something off my chest...

[Gravekeeper]

I hate hate hate hate HATE the term "Furbaby" for pets. Hate it. Its ridiculous and downright silly. I love my cat as much as the next person but she's a cat and a pet. -.-

There. I'm better now.

[Greenday]

I wonder where this post spawned from

Eh, I'm not too big on nicknames for animals that don't involve their actual name.

[Flyndaran]

My cats are members of my family. I didn't give birth to them, but I will defend them with exactly the same level of ferocity that a mother will defend her own offspring.
If it came down to Fireball's life or that of some stranger's, then I won't think twice. My family comes first.

When my dearly departed Cerberus lost his vision, if it were possible I would have given my left eye to give him his sight back.

I don't call them my babies, because that is both prone to misunderstanding of the nature the OP stated, and because it is insulting to thier unique non-human nature.

I can't convince "you" of the depths of my feeling for non-humans any more than a gay man can convince me of the "beauty" of naked dudes.

[AdminAssistant]

It sounds too much like a furry who likes to wear diapers....

[Sylvia727]

"Furbaby" sounds silly and childish. I wouldn't mind it if it was a "cootchie cootchie coo, oo's a widdle pweh-shus" style of thing, but when used in normal conversation I just roll my eyes internally. I just can't take it seriously.

If I tried to address my cat as "widdle pweh-shus" or "furbaby" she would stare me down and then stalk away. Cats have far too much dignity for that nonsense. The family dog would eat all that up though. She has no dignity to stand on, and adores being adored.

[Amethyst Hunter]

I have no strong feelings about the term either way. I don't use it myself in regards to my own pets, and I can't say that I remember anyone around me ever using it (maybe once or twice at most). I've only ever mostly seen the term used online. Whatever floats your boat, I figure.

[Gravekeeper]

"Furbaby" sounds silly and childish. I wouldn't mind it if it was a "cootchie cootchie coo, oo's a widdle pweh-shus" style of thing, but when used in normal conversation I just roll my eyes internally. I just can't take it seriously.

Exactly.

If it came down to Fireball's life or that of some stranger's, then I won't think twice. My family comes first.

That's unsettling. I'd hate to die gurgling in a puddle of my own blood because my would be rescuer picked up the cat first.

I can't convince "you" of the depths of my feeling for non-humans any more than a gay man can convince me of the "beauty" of naked dudes.

That's even more unsettling, you might want to come up with a better example. ><

[AFPheonix]

http://www.wwtdd.com/post.phtml?pk=12781

heh heh heh

[Flyndaran]

That's unsettling. I'd hate to die gurgling in a puddle of my own blood because my would be rescuer picked up the cat first.

I know it's unsettling, but family coming first isn't that unusual of a priority.

That's even more unsettling, you might want to come up with a better example. ><

Unsettling to heteros maybe. But it's still a good example of how people can strongly believe different things without either being wrong.

[Boozy]

That's unsettling. I'd hate to die gurgling in a puddle of my own blood because my would be rescuer picked up the cat first.

I don't believe that situation would be terribly unusual, to be honest. In life-and-death situations, like a fire for example, people make split second decisions. Those decisions are likely to be based on pure adrenaline and emotion. So if someone sees their beloved pet and some guy they don't know from Adam in need of immediate rescue.... well, right or wrong, it's human nature to save the ones you love.

I don't like the word furbaby either. It's not fair to animals to pretend they're like humans. They're not at all like humans, which is why it's so easy to love them.

[MystyGlyttyr]

I jokingly refer to my cat as my adopted son, but only to people who already know that my "son" Wally is a little white deaf kitty. I also tease my sister for having "too many babies" because she's got about four or five cats. None of this is in any serious manner.

However, I think I probably do love my cat about as much as I could love a human baby, seeing as how I really don't care for human babies at all. Oh, yes, I love my nieces and nephew as much as biologically required...enough to ensure that I'll protect them...and now that they're getting older and less annoying, I may start to like them as people, but I would take cats over people babies any day.

[Kirkygirl]

I don't like the word furbaby either. It's not fair to animals to pretend they're like humans. They're not at all like humans, which is why it's so easy to love them.

Well I like the word furbaby. No offense to you guys, because I know that you guys think it's annoying. So be it. I actually think it can get annoying, especially with little lap dogs like chihuahuas and bichon frisees.
But our dog acts so humanlike it's funny. She gets DQ ice cream (only once a month. We want her to stick around for a while). She has a very large vocabulary and understands quite a bit. She tries to sneak out the door with us like a little kid because she wants to go somewhere in the car. She sleeps with my mom on the bed (but not when my dad is home, ), and tries to give my mom a big sloppy kiss when she wakes up. She is constantly trying to get our attention for affection and for us to play with her.

Can you tell that we love her? But it's worth it.

[Gravekeeper]

Unsettling to heteros maybe. But it's still a good example of how people can strongly believe different things without either being wrong.

No, unsettling as in it implies you find your pets hawt.

I can say whether or not a guy is sexually attractive even if I have zero intention of molesting him, I can't say the same for my cat. =p

http://www.wwtdd.com/post.phtml?pk=12781

heh heh heh

Oh god. That poor creature. -.-

[protege]

Quite a few people refer to my kitties as "the kids." They really are like furry children--they get into everything, constantly want to play, and keep me awake most nights

[Flyndaran]

No, unsettling as in it implies you find your pets hawt.

I can say whether or not a guy is sexually attractive even if I have zero intention of molesting him, I can't say the same for my cat. =p
...

Ohhhhh. I don't see how anyone could interpret my analogy that way.
I can't say whether a male is attractive or not. I'm not homophobic, so it isn't some kind of denial thing. I just can't understand dudes even though I am one.
My cat Fireball certainly doesn't understand cat, hates the nasty things, even though she is one.

I once had a cat, Cricket, that did a triple take the moment she realized that I'm male rather than her mommy. I did not want to receive "that" kind of look from a non-human.