People often say that life isn’t just black and white. I find that amusing when I think of black/white-type dualisms such as: George Bush supporters v. John Kerry supporters, Steelers’ fans v. (substitute your team here) fans, pro-lifers v. pro-aborts, and the one that seems to divide everyone: cat people v. dog people – The debate that goes way back to elementary school. However, I’m not here to trash dogs (after all, they can’t help being dogs) – I’m here to explain the mindset of the cat.
If you’re a dog person, you might see a cat as: finicky, aloof, unfriendly, stubborn, and a general pain-in-the-rear. This is quite understandable – You’re used to the always-there-and-friendly dog who comes when you call. You might get frustrated at the independent (and seemingly non-caring) spirit of the cat; unable to understand why they do the things they do, and simply give up because any sort of relationship with them may seem hopeless. I’m here to (nicely tell you) that you’re simply being lazy because a cat isn’t as easy as a dog is to be your friend. This process of earning a cat’s trust and respect takes time. However, if you can make a cat your friend, then you have a special and lasting friendship that you’ve worked hard to earn.
As a disclaimer, I would like to point out that I’m not an expert on cats and their behavior. Please take this advice as you will. I’m simply a girl who loves cats, and I feel that I have a pretty sound idea of how they think. I want to share what I have found works to help people get along better with cats. (FYI – This advice is for those who have or interact with indoor cats, because my cats are indoor cats.)
Rule #1: Cats are like people, so treat them as you would another person. Having established that, here are some useful hints I’ve picked up from my twelve years of having cats.
Personal cat space: A cat like his space, and he likes people who respect that. He especially likes it when his owner likes to have HIS own personal space (i.e. time that is spent alone and in silence). I like being alone much of the time, so my cat and I have a good set up. We take comfort in the silence of the room, happy to be in each other’s presence, but not intruding on it. My dog, on the other hand, irritates the heck out of me sometimes because she always HAS to be around people. If I’m in the living room and I’m the only person in the house, she camps out on my feet. Sometimes I’d like to rent her out to PennDot as a speed bump because I have to be very careful where I walk (as if I’m not clumsy enough, already). I’ve noticed that often the more you want to be a friend to your cat, the more they back off, because they sense your, well…desperation? Think of it as making friends with another person. If you have someone who wants to be your friend, but they follow you around everywhere, and don’t give you a minute of peace – Wouldn’t you want them to back off and give you some space? Cats enjoy their freedom – They like to come and go as they please. Can you call up a friend at any time of the day and tell them to come over because you want to do something at that particular time? No. You can do that with dogs, but you can’t simply believe that people are going to come at your whim. However, if you establish a good relationship with your cat, you can get them to come when you call (most of the time, and that’s just something you have to accept).
Addressing a cat: Well, you can follow the “The Ad-dressing of Cats” song from the musical “Cats” (which isn’t too far off the mark, actually). When I address my cats, I use some of the nicknames I’ve given to each of them – For me, using nicknames is a form of endearment (that goes for people, too). I like to make sure that my cats feel special and appreciated. If you’re talking to a cat, mean what you say. Don’t say something like, “You’re soooooo precious” in a condescending or superficial tone – A cat will pick up on that. Oh, and take care NEVER to insult a cat. Unlike a dog, to whom you could say, “Oh, you’re such a clueless numbskull” in a sing-song voice and get away with it, you CANNOT do that with a cat. Cats have excellent memories and they WILL get even. If they know that a person doesn’t like them, they may simply hang out around that person just to irk them off. Cats are excellent at reading between the lines and because of this, they can be good judges of a person’s character. I never trust how my dog feels about people (if we welcome them in, she welcomes them in), but I take care to see how my cat Cloudy receives them. If she doesn’t trust the person, then I too, am wary. If she does, I feel more relaxed. Cats don’t simply let just anyone into their lives immediately, (and on the rare occasions they do, it’s probably because they sense that that person has a personality like them).
An environment cats like: Cats like peace and quiet (so if you’re a noisy person, cats generally won’t want to be around where the noise is – After all, their hearing is VERY sensitive). They have a taste for good music, like classical music or musicals. (However, they will tolerate hip-hop, pop, etc. and small amounts of rap; provided the sound level is low, because the constant thumping of the base irritates their acute hearing.) I’ve noticed that the attitude of the music to which I listen, affects the attitude of my cats. So if you want to calm your cat, play soothing music. If your cat (like mine) is living in your room, be a good roommate and don’t go over and purposefully wake him up. He won’t appreciate that…If you have a place where they can sit (like a “cat napper” on the window sill), and sun themselves/watch the world, that’s recommended. They usually enjoy that a lot. (Cats also appreciate if you open the blinds for them to let them look outside – I believe that they appreciate little acts of courtesy, because it’s the little things that really matter, isn’t it?) They like to lie on soft places, anything you’re reading at the moment, or near heaters. And depending on the cat, he may like a small cat bed to crawl into (I keep mine for Cloudy on my bed). If you toss and turn a lot at night, most likely your cat won’t sleep near you (because you’ll keeping waking him up). If he does sleep near you, it will probably be somewhere around your head. If you don’t move a lot during the night, you may have a cat curled up by your feet, or (in my case) on top of you.
Please stay tuned for “Into the Mind of the Cat (part 2)”….
Well i generally disagree with you on some things. You see i live with two cats, one of which i find to be a waste of time. She has killed the kids favourite birds which cost a lot of money, they could talk and did so frequently. These birds were a love of the house, chloe the cat sat by heard us talk and communicate with these birds over a period of time, she waited patiently until the right opportunity to come and killed them both just for the fun of it, In front of the kids, on finns birthday.
Some time later much to our delight a couple of sunbirds had decided to make a home for their youngster on our veranda, over time we watched them build their nest and soon afterwards watched them begin to raise the two chicks. Within time chloe had killed both the mother and the father just for the fun of it, she didnt eat them. She also catches drangonflies and just as they begin to die she leaves them their and watches them die in pain.
I think that any living thing kills for the enjoyment is evil, regardless of what you think.
In the wild its the battle of the fittest and you kill to servive, not for fun.
Cats are selfish and they dont give a shit about you, but only what you can provide for them. If you didnt feed them and give them everything they damand, they wouldnt stick around.
Also if some one was to die in their house, and was there for a while, the dog would morn you and the cat would eat you.
Also cats are an introduced species to australia and by right should not be here, as they are a dangerous threat to the australian ecosystem.
Overall there are about two million cats,and a great many more if you count those that have gone feral. It is estimated that even a well-fed pet cat could kill an average of 32 animals each year, so emagine the impact of two million cats (in australia, but emaigine the impact worldwide)Also emagine the impact over a period of 5 years. Regardless of what pple say about their cats, ALL cats kill it is in their nature to do so. The impact of cats on wildlife can be reduced by
keeping cats indoors, especially at night.
Posted by: matilda at February 21, 2005 06:58 PM