DB> BR> Disagree.  The cat is being a cat, the dog is being a dog - their
 DB> BR> synapses are prewired, and the cruelty is our perception, but not
 DB> BR> something about which the critters think - and cruelty, by
 DB> BR> definition, requires thought.
 DB> I believe you haven't had animals close to you at anytime in your 
 DB> life. Animals DO think. They're not necessarily intelligent, but they 
 DB> DO think. Fish, horses, dogs, etc are able to assess a problem, 
 DB> within a reasonable range, solve it and achieve a (their) desired 
 DB> result. Octopi and chimps are astonishing in their advanced thought 
 DB> and on a par with some humans. They're even more sociable than many 
 DB> of the "superior" species.
Animals do think, within their own parameters, some more than others, and 
some 
possibly more than humans. HOWEVER - I believe it is an error to ascribe to 
innate malevolence a behavior that is consistent within a species (cats, for 
instance) instead of just allowing it to be a characteristic of the species. 
All humans have the potential to be cruel, not all exercise it.  Cats are 
best 
at being cats - it is prewired into their constitution.
 DB> Bob, animals think, feel and dream... but I guess I'm just talking to 
 DB> a wall.
They do all those things - but they're not human.  Cruelty is something that 
humans do to other creatures selectively. 
We've had a houseful of cats for 30 some years, and from time to time there 
has been a large bird in the house.  Few dogs - they're more trouble than the 
cats to the humans.  I personally have a great fondness for the larger 
arrot-
type birds, and have been owned by a few in my lifetime, most of which got on 
well with the cats, because they knew who the boss was - and it was the bird.
I think intentional cruelty is reserved to humans - it requires a very high 
order of cogitation.  I realize it doesn't speak well for humans - but then 
again, it is humans who have conspired to destroy subgroups within 
themselves; 
no other group of critters has that distinction.
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