Scott's mailbag: cats vs. babies - Opinion Columns

Just like William Safire or Robert Novak, I do this by taking on controversial topics including abortion, the role of religion in politics and cat poop.

I didn't realize the last one was contentious until a few weeks ago, when I wrote a column suggesting, in a deliberately cautious tone so as not to offend anybody, that cat owners are idiots. The cat people were not happy about this.

They mainly aired their grievances on The Daily Illini's comment boards ("I think I'll keep the cat and get rid of you" was a typical response), but there was even a letter to the editor published the following Monday pointing out that my column included a logical fallacy. This upset me because, in the process of writing a serious and dignified piece about cat poop, I'd never intended to dishonor the legacies of Plato and Aristotle.

But my favorite response, in the sense that it was the only one that did not refer to me as a "scum-sucking scumwad," was an e-mail from concerned reader Jessica Kubo. Jessica, a senior in Engineering, took issue with my complaint that cat-owning friends of mine have a smelly apartment. I know a family with young kids whose house smells like diapers," she wrote.

Should they get rid of their baby? I've come to the conclusion after reading this column that if cat owners are psycho, so are baby owners." My initial reaction, as I'm sure it was for many of you, was to wonder if Jessica Kubo was available. My second thought was that she might be onto something.

Cats, unlike babies, don't make their owners pay for four years of a state college for a degree in a made-up field like Rhetoric, Cultural Studies or Engineering. Cats also don't move back in with you after realizing the best job openings in the political science field involve working a deep fryer.

Jessica also felt slighted by what I wrote about Cat Genie, a product that eliminates your feline's various emissions without you having to touch anything. I would like to point out a similar product, also on Amazon, called the Diaper Genie," Jessica wrote. Like the Cat Genie, this product (which is intended for the disposal of dirty diapers) appears to have its share of problems; reviews on Amazon describe it as 'smelly' and easily broken."

Continued.. Google The Daily Illini encourages on-topic discussion through article commenting on its articles and blogs. It is our policy not to delete any comments based upon political or ideological point of view. However, we reserve the right to remove comments that are abusive, off-topic or use excessive foul language.

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Comments containing copyrighted material will be removed, and continued violation of copyright law is grounds for being banned completely from commenting on DailyIllini.com. If you feel any post meets these conditions or merits review, please e-mail our editors at meonline dailyillini.com. Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1 La belle expat posted 3 27 08 3:44 AM CST "Spins it into gold." Classic.

And props for the French! Men's wheelchair team wins championship 3 15 2008 View a slideshow. Wisconsin ends hopes for NCAA bid 3 16 2008 View a slideshow. Illini advance to championship 3 15 2008 View a slideshow. Illini upset Purdue 3 14 2008 View a slideshow. Illini win first game in Big 10 Tourney 3 13 2008 View a slideshow.

All in the Hicks Family 3 13 2008 View an interactive audio presentation. Polar plunge 3 8 2008 View a slideshow. Illini end with a win at home 3 8 2008 View a slideshow. Weekend in photos 3 9 2008 View a slideshow. Senior Day ends in loss 3 8 2008 View a slideshow. Tennis sweeps match 3 8 2008 View a slideshow. Illini fall after fast start, again 3 6 2008 View a slideshow. The week in world photos 3 3 2008 View a slideshow. An Unofficial recap in photos 2 29 2008 View a slideshow.

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