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jasonlulu_2000

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The tabby, called Tara,curls up next to Jeremy Triantafilo at his home in Southwest Bakersfield, California,as he is interviewed by ABC News following video of the attack being uploadedto YouTube this week.
Tara reportedly adopted the family six years ago after turningup while the boy’s mother Erica and father Roger were on a date. At thetime they were unmarried and had no idea they would end up together.


Is "adopted" correctly used here? I think we should say " the family adopted Tara" or "Tara was adopted by the family."

I need your advice.

Thanks!
Jason

 

Raymott

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No. Tara adopted the family. Tara is a cat, and cats do that. They are clever. Cats adopt a family and then train them how to look after it. Any cat-owner will tell you that.
 

emsr2d2

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It's a little standing joke amongst cat owners. We believe that we choose/adopt/own cats. Cats believe that they choose/adopt/own us. :-D
 

Raymott

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Maybe it's part of Western cat-lore.
Also, when someone says "Anyone will tell you that", it means "...if you ask". It doesn't mean that everyone will spontaneously say it. It's also hyperbolic. Obviously not every single person will tell you that. If you want to ask the question on an English cat forum, you'll be told that cats adopt families all the time.
 

Tdol

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Is it a fond belief held by humans?

By some- it's a common enough usage when the animal seems to choose us, like when a stray, for example, comes to live with a family. Maybe we're more anthropomorphic in English.
 

emsr2d2

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I think it's a lovely belief. For my part, when I decided that I wanted a rescue cat to come and live with me, I visited the rescue centre but I decided I would not choose the cat. I would allow it to choose me. So I went into the large area where all the cats were, I sat down on the floor and I waited. Some came over and had a good sniff, then wandered off. Some ignored me completely. But after about ten minutes, a very tiny, very beautiful cat came out from under the shelf where she had been hiding, crept up to me, crawled onto my lap and went to sleep.

Guess which one I took home? ;-)
 

Rover_KE

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Tdol

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I let Kimmy, my late dog, choose me from the litter he was born in- he was the one that stuck to me like glue, so that did it for me. ;-)
 

Tdol

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I don't know how many of you have seen the video associated with this cat. The video has gone viral in the US. The cat was a real hero. And this cat seems to be the type to adopt rather than be adopted.

Wow! I'd be happy to be adopted by that cat.
 

MikeNewYork

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I would too. A very special cat.
 
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