Quote
freya

Quote
khan
Mother told me that barn cats were good for teaching manners to a child.
I grew up on farms in the 1950s.

Makes sense to me. I've met some cats who were as polite as little aristocrats.

I'm not sure politeness is what does it. Barn cats are a step away from feral a lot of times and if you don't pay attention to their signals, they will absolutely fuck your shit up. Kid won't stop pulling a tail? Kid will bleed. Kid will no longer pull tail.

Barn cats aren't just bred to be killers. They are ACTIVELY killers. They can be sweet as can be, but they do not mess around.

(Currently have a former farm cat in our home along with our "regular" cats. They almost all play hunter; they all have the instincts. But the way the farm cat plays is very, very different. Her play style is much more aggressive and a LOT more physically economical. It's actually very interesting to watch the differences.)