Excuse me butting in on the cat reference. For me, while cats are cold-blooded killers who get away with murder, so that definitely puts them on the Dark Side, there must be some reason why they were revered by the Egyptians.
I suppose some people do much the same - think of bull fighters - and anyway, producing meat (and dairy products) involves cruelty that may last a lot longer than the time it takes for a cat to dispatch a mouse. Even vegetarians aren't guilt free - I mean those vegetables need land to be cleared with little concern about the animals that have made their homes there.
Cats have an outdoors personality, and an indoors personality, they are amusing and individual. I like the fact that although they are pets, they have a life of their own, and are free to clear off and leave us at any time if they wish!
David