Milwaukee Journal Sentinel suggests makeover of cat's image

[TheMightyFavog]

http://www.jsonline.com/enter/gen/apr05/319382.asp

No one would be proposing a state policy to hunt and kill feral cats if they were, say, dogs.

Blame it on the cat’s rep. Even cat owners, who wait shamelessly for a moment of purring from their independent pet, admit their felines can be standoffish and arrogant. They’re the Simon Cowell of the animal kingdom. If they don’t like the food they’re served, they sniff at it and walk away. If they don’t like the décor — the look of a drape or the feel of a sofa — they’ll tear it to shreds.

(snip)

Maybe Fluffy needs a Martha Stewart-like makeover. Two nationally-known image consultants offered their thoughts on how cats might change their reputation from outlaw to icon.

"At this point, we’re talking about an emergency situation — and emergency means tough action needs to be taken," says Richard Laermer, author of "Full Frontal PR," a book about media and public relations.

[demnan]

1. One creature who doesn't need a "makeover" is the cat

Why can't people just accept this wonderful animal on its own terms? Must we ruin everything?

[HereSince1628]

2. Did Minnesota actually adopt a law to make feral cats unprotected?

I am pretty sure that I heard on a WPRs ideasnet show last week that this attempt would have mirrored a law in Minnesota. Though I may have heard that wrong.

[Patiod]

3. It's a JOKE

And pretty funny:

"What a cat needs to do is show off a mouse. Remind them, ‘Buddy, I am your exterminator. I save you $75 a month. Does the dog save you this kind of money?’

Called SO this winter from work: "Um, honey, can you check next to the bed and see if the cat left one of her toy mice there? I saw it out of the corner of my eye as I was leaving work, and it didn't look quite right" (our apartment is littered with toy mice)

Pause. "Uh, her toys don't look quite that realistic, and they don't look like they had agonizing deaths."

[TheMightyFavog]

4. I like this bit...

Of course, dogs have the advantage of the whole "man’s best friend" thing, but our experts say it shouldn’t just be canines walking the red carpet with the likes of Britney Spears and Paris Hilton.

Reid, whose résumé includes image work for the Clinton administration, says if cats and cat lovers could arrange just one or two A-list celebrity match-ups, cat image would improve greatly. He’s picturing a Siamese with Naomi Campbell.