Cat hoarders are definitely cat addicts. But what the 'normal" cat carer like Celia. Is she an addict? Ronnie claims she is. He even wrote a book titled One Hundred Ways to Live with a Cat Addict. He claims she is obsessed with me and William and neglects him to care for us. He is particularly upset by the way she often leaves the marital bed half way through the night to come and sleep in my bed in the spare room. (I enjoy the compliment but I wish she wouldn't take up so much room.)
He claims she shows all the threefold signs of addiction - a mental obsession with cats (writing this blog for instance), an emotional attachment which means she hates leaving us for the day (like today when she is going to London), and a physical need to be cuddled by us (William really doesn't like this side of her).
I feel that her reactions are entirely proper and normal. She puts our welfare first as a good human servant should. She defers to us. She shops for the food we prefer. She looks after our simple physical needs. Cleans up the litter tray twice a day (important), grooms us daily (particularly William who is long haired), treats us regularly for fleas, treats us regularly for worms (we are both hunters), and vaccinates us each year. It's the least she should do. These are the duties of a human pet. I consider this nothing but our due.
OK so she thinks of us almost every five minutes. She fusses when I stay out late hunting. She gets anxious if she doesn't know where we are. She wants to cuddle us more than we want to cuddle her. There may be some dependancy in that but so what? Isn't that natural from an inferior species? This isn't and never could be an equal relationship.
It is not cat addiction. It is the proper behaviour between inferior human and superior cat.
Could not agree more George. The historic record also confirms this relationship - look at the Egyptians, they had it right. Maybe more archaeology could be seen this way if humans didn't look at through rose coloured spectacles and imagine purely human achievement. Stonehenge could be a representation of a few cats coming together around a bowl of chicken. A cat probably sat in the middle directing building whilst eating said bowl of chicken... Smudge
ReplyDeleteMate, you are so correct. My humans are just as bad, maybe even worse, than your human. They haven't taken a vacation (holiday) in several years because they cannot find a proper sitter to care for me and they won't even discuss putting me in the kennel. I'm really glad. They get really upset when I don't come home in a timely manner, they even get in their car and drive around the neighborhood looking for me, when I just over in the bushes guarding a mole hole. They fuss when I do decide to make myself available. They are such fussy humans. I'm very fortunate to have them, I would be a wild man had they not kept me.
ReplyDeleteCouldn't agree more. Humans are a menace any time they're not 100% devoted to the well-being of cats. I've trained mine pretty well, but they will keep doing what they want. Jolly tiresome.
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