What Has Your Cat Taught You?

by Michael
(London, UK)

What has your cat taught you? One of the special qualities a cat has and which comes naturally to a cat but not to us is the acceptance of their situation without struggling psychologically to deal with it. Cats just get on with life. Their natural inquisitiveness helps them to explore new avenues.

The story of Homer a blind cat, prompted me to think about this:

And Charlie my three legged cat is another example. He has adapted. Cats seem to take a completely neutral stance when disabled . They don’t question it and become morose. O.K., I am guessing because I don’t know what goes on in Charlie’s head but I get a very good indication that his mental processes were essentially the same before and after losing his leg.

Homer the cat in the video is blind and gets around fine. As the author in the video says, Homer encouraged her to take a blind leap of faith in writing the book. It seems to me that the average person plays life fairly safely. A high degree of predictability is usually desired. This is sensible, obviously. But not always. To explore new areas, to go outside one’s comfort zone can lead to better things even if initially it feels worse.

Cats have taught me is an acceptance of the things that I cannot change and the courage to take new avenues and take some risks when I must. It doesn’t stop there, however.

Another great lesson is persistence. Cats often get their way through simple persistence and patience. Knock on the door of possibility long enough and it might open. If it doesn’t then accept it.

There are risks in taking a blind leap of faith. Risk is part of life. We should accept it and work with it. This cat-like method of living makes for a fuller life. We don’t though, have nine lives!

Charlie and Binnie (my lady cat) both ask me for cuddles and stroking. Charlie asks vocally (a lot). Binnie looks at me and rolls over waiting for a routine cuddle and a talking to. I always oblige her. It does me good as well as her. Do we ask our partners for a cuddle? We should, it might save some marriages. Physical contact is good and in busy and stressful lives it can get sidelined causing people to drift apart. I should know as it happened to me.

What Has Your Cat Taught You? to Home Page

Original Flickr photo