Cat Thoughts
Copyright 2003 by Suzy Wurtz
In a recent issue of Rolling Stone
magazine, American Idol runner-up Clay Aiken referred to cats as devil’s spawn.
Whether or not you’re a feline fan, I think Mr. Aiken’s assessment is extreme.
We currently house three endearing cats who do not
resemble his evaluation. I say “house” because there is some question about
who is the owner and who is the pet. All three cats have trained their three
humans well. Studies of the cat species tell us that while dogs look to their
human to be the leader of the pack, cats believe that their humans are IN a pack
led by a cat. Felines rub up against you not because they like you (well, maybe
they do) but because they are marking you as their “human.”
Our cats are really quite smart. They know immediately which
visitors are either allergic to them or don’t like them. And those are the
guests to whom they head first. Cat lovers will sit in the living room, patting
their laps saying, “Here, kitty,” while our cats gravitate toward the Clay
Aikens of the world. We believe they know exactly what they’re doing.
If you were to visit our house and sit down, one cat would
jump in your lap and snuggle, one cat would “merrooowwwl” until you stroked it
and the third would wait by the door and look at you as if to say, “I haven’t
got all day, jerk; open the darn door!”
At my house, it’s not bad luck to see a black cat, unless
you’re a mouse, a bird, a bat, or a bug. Or unless you’re wearing light colored
fabric. Cats shed in direct relation to the color of fabric they’re sitting on.
Dark cat sitting on light fabric--heavy shedding. Dark cat sitting on dark
fabric--light shedding. We have evened the shedding field by owning cats in many
colors so that all colors of fabric get equal chance to be covered.
My husband was not a “cat person” when we met but I convinced
him to add a feline or two to the household, usually with the line, “Honey, I’ll
never ask for anything else ever again…” But my husband is good-natured man.
He’s even grown fond of them. Although the other morning when I awoke to him
muttering words like “Gack!” and “Ugh!” and “Ick,” I was pretty sure the sounds
involved one of our animals. Cats are inborn with a genetic code that directs
them to throw up on the nicest articles of furniture and carpet in the house.
My husband was on all fours under the dining room table, cleaning up the latest
contribution. Our daughter came downstairs and briefly considered a science
fair project using different brands of cat foods and measuring the regurgitation
rates. We nixed that bright idea before she was able to finish the sentence.
There are many myths about cats. One myth is that cats always
land on their feet. This is not necessarily true if the height is too great or
if they are really surprised at falling through the air. But since cats are
nimble, they most often land on their feet. Since I’m around cats all the time,
I made the mistake of setting a friend’s puppy down with a bit of a toss.
Unlike cats, puppies don’t necessarily land on their feet. I could tell from
the horrified looks from those in the room that I was the only one who didn’t
know this.
Another myth is that cats have nine lives, owing to their
propensity to escape danger and death. I don’t believe that cats have nine
lives, but I believe they DO have multiple personalities, which makes it seem
like nine lives. Any cat called Sybil is well named.
Our three house cats are great companions to us. They make
sure the doors are always open, and the beds are always warm. They remind us
that touching and stroking is good for the psyche, and that watching feline
antics is funnier than most television. And when I most need it, they’re really
good listeners.
A t-shirt in a catalog read: “Ancient Egyptians worshipped
cats as gods. Cats have not forgotten this.” I’d say more about this theory,
but I have to go let a cat in.
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