Got a cat? If so, I’ll bet you can cuss it and love it at the same moment. They can behave like the strangest critters on this planet, independent to a fault, yet will jump up on your lap and head-butt you with contagious affection, then rub against you while purring.
How are you going to resist that when the darn cat is tugging at your heartstrings?
It is bound to be difficult to understand a critter that is 95.6% tiger, can run 30 mph in bursts, can jump five times its height, move faster than greased lightning, has long sharp retractable claws and razor-like fangs. That cat sees the world very differently than we do.
Somehow, I just know the cat is seeing me as a far-inferior hunter. While that is definitely true, I’m a far more consistent hunter because the packages of cat food at the market don’t run away very fast when I’m trying to catch them. And so, the cat puts up with me.
For me, one of the most fascinating things about cats is their reflexive ability to right themselves in air (for example when falling). Another is that they don’t seem to have a sweet tooth. I mean, if my cat got into my stash of candy, the fur would fly.
A cat can be right-pawed or left-pawed. I’m told they can drink seawater, but I don’t understand from a biological perspective how that would work, and I have not observed cats drinking from the sea.
One thing that makes perfect sense to me is how cats seem to favor toys of roughly the same size as their natural prey like birds, cats, lizards and insects. Since they naturally hunt terrestrial and aviary prey, they seem equally happy with a toy on the ground or that dangles from above.
When they do hunt and make a kill, cats are sometimes gracious enough to leave the kill for us to enjoy.
Cats can be infuriatingly frustrating. For example, a cat doesn’t like too much attention, but nor does a cat like too little attention. Where things really get weird is that their mood about such things changes, and we who are owned by cats are supposed to know their mood of the moment and behave accordingly.
Have you ever put a leash on a cat? It generally doesn’t go well for very long, especially when you take the cat somewhere that loud noises or nearby dogs occur. Yet I have seen a few (very few, actually) cats on leashes that seemed halfway okay with it. It made me wonder what sedatives were put into that cat’s food.
Speaking of such things, giving a cat a dose of medicine can be a dangerous moment. Baths can also be disastrous trials replete with loud angry sounds and hateful looks from the cat.
One other thing that can cause raised hackles is staring at the cat for a long period. That is because a long stare to a critter is a statement of dominance. Your cat wants there to be no confusion about who owns who.
I do love cats, and the bigger the better. But I can love them and curse them with equal sincerity.
— Capt. David Bacon operates WaveWalker Charters and is president of SOFTIN Inc., a nonprofit organization providing seafaring opportunities for those in need. Visit softininc.blogspot.com to learn more about the organization and how you can help. Click here to read previous columns. The opinions expressed are his own.
