In "The Black Cat," how does the narrator describe his personality before he becomes an alcoholic?

Keeping in mind that the narrator is highly unreliable in this story, we can nevertheless note that he describes himself changing for the worse as his alcoholism worsens. As an infant, the narrator says, he was peaceful and known for his "humanity," which is rather faint praise for a baby. In his childhood, he had a sensitive disposition that resulted in the other children teasing him. This led him to be particularly fond of animals...

Keeping in mind that the narrator is highly unreliable in this story, we can nevertheless note that he describes himself changing for the worse as his alcoholism worsens. As an infant, the narrator says, he was peaceful and known for his "humanity," which is rather faint praise for a baby. In his childhood, he had a sensitive disposition that resulted in the other children teasing him. This led him to be particularly fond of animals and to spend a lot of time with them. Even as an adult, he seemed to get more satisfaction from his relationships with animals than from his relationships with people. He was able to find a wife, however, and they both enjoyed their pets. The narrator uses the cat Pluto as an example of what a kind person he was, pointing out how friendly Pluto was toward him and how he was the only one who fed the cat. Consequently the cat wanted to follow him everywhere. Interestingly, the only evidence the narrator is able to or chooses to provide of his commendable disposition is his relationship with animals, yet he clearly wants to establish the fact that he was a good person before he succumbed to "the Fiend Intemperance."