Scott Meyer
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How to Evaluate Advances In Pet Care Technology
🕑 Added 2024-12-23 08:00:03 +0000 UTCI think the greatest value of pets is that they bring unconditional love into the house. They just don’t all do it in the same way, or from the same direction. I know people who have dogs, dogs that seem to adore and shower them with affection no matter what they do.
We have cats, whom we adore and shower with affection no matter what they do.
One of our cats decided a few months ago that her proper feeding time was an hour earlier than we wanted to wake up. (And bear in mind, I am a morning person.) We disagreed, but our arguments did not impress her and her methods of making sure we were awake to feed her become harder to ignore.
I can tell you, from experience, it is impossible to get back to sleep when you wake up to an animal chewing on your beard.
Anyway, we got an automated feeder and set it for 5 AM. Now, she doesn’t deliberately wake us anymore, but she occasionally wakes us accidentally by making a mad dash across our home, using our bed as a launchpad, to get to the machine when her sharp little cat ears hear it “pay out.”
Also, we have caught her more than once staring at the device, waiting for it to make a move, or even reaching her little paw up its chute, trying to coax it into giving her a snack.
If it had a lever and a slot, she’s happily give it every nickel she had.
Comments
Scott Meyer
Yeah, I love out pets, but I also try not to think about the overall situation too hard. It's a skill I learned growing up in farm country.
Joel Ronningen
I believe that some of the buttons can be used to record whatever you want them to say - including "Let me go" if you really felt like that was wise to do. I know someone who has a whole layout of buttons, and the dog regularly says things like "Play. Outside. Now.", so not really all that far off. And really, if they want to run away and be free, shouldn't we let them? This is one of the reasons I haven't lobbied hard for buttons. Do I really want the moral consequences of having to know exactly what they are thinking, and then deciding whether or not to acquiese?
Scott Meyer
I did too, after I finished cringing. it's a weird way to wake up.
Sunshine Anderson
I had to LOL at Chewing on your beard. LOL
