Archive for March, 2010

Literary Mileage
Living a Cat’s Life

Monday, March 15th, 2010

A cat has absolute emotional honesty; human beings, for one reason or another, may hide their feelings, but a cat does not.

- Ernest Hemingway

I’ve been thinking about how my cats, Ben and Jerry, teach me to behave–what they model for me as a decent way to live in the world. The way I would like to be. Ben is regal and dignified, even when he’s asleep on his back with all four paws in the air. Jerry is self-assured despite when he miscalculates the distance from the floor to the kitchen counter and ends up in a thud back on the floor.

They are independent, yet are happy to join me in whatever room I am working. Or not. They purr exuberantly when I pet them, and aren’t shy about asking for affection. When company comes, they’re the welcome committee, except when guests are under three feet tall. They trust their own judgment when they sniff danger and scamper off to the closet.

Jerry and Ben having a moment

Jerry and Ben having a moment

Cats are the quintessential study in napping, always joining me on the couch when I practice what I see them doing about 85% of any given day. Their approach to problem solving is to sleep.

They are adventuresome within the sphere of my 950 sq foot condo, and would refuse to be put on a leash if I were to take them out into the world. They find excitement in the present moment–a bird fluttering outside the window, an asparagus fern swaying in the breeze, or a clattering thunderstorm. They are thrilled when a fly or moth ventures into their air space. And they are hypnotized by falling snow.

Sometimes one of them will look directly into my eyes for a long time. I fancy we’re having a spiritual exchange. They hold still and meditate on a situation before taking action, except when they hear the snap of the lid coming off a can of catfood.

Jerry is neurotic, having had an abusive kitty-hood before I adopted them. He has trained me to work around his anxiety disorder. Despite that, he and Ben are low maintenance. I am grateful for that every time I see dog owners slogging through the mud to walk their dogs when it’s 36° and sleeting outside.

And stretching! Cats invented head-to-toe stretching. I’m sure they expand to twice their normal length when they extend all four legs as far as possible.

Right now Jerry is cleaning between his toes and Ben is working on one of his silvery paws. They both clean up after themselves with the exception of hairball disposal.

We humans should do so well. Are there cat (or dog) behaviors you see that are worthy of emulating? I’d love to hear about them.

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