I’ve been thinking about the nature of cats a lot over the last couple of days, and I would like to preface this post by saying that I am both a cat and a dog lover, and have had both beloved animals by my side all my life. I think cats are severely unappreciated and misjudged. I’m a hater of cat haters. If you think cats are cold and mean, you might be the problem for being entitled and judgemental *puts hands up in defence*. People often compare them to dogs in an effort to degrade them. Lame. They are animals on two entirely different operating systems. I feel dogs tend to love loudly and blindly, while cats tend to love quietly and selectively.
So I have a cat, obviously, as you all know. My little feline child is six and a half years old, and the love of my life. I adore him with all my heart. I cook for him when I won’t even cook for myself, which is the surest sign of my love as I despise cooking. He is lying here by my feet as I write this. People often look down on cats and say they are not capable of the love dogs have for their owners, but this is a load of shite. My cat is one of the cats that loves quietly, but I am absolutely certain of his love. I feel it when he is sleeping at the bottom of my bed on his fleecy blanket and I gently tell him ‘good morning’, and he immediately starts purring and saunters up to crawl under my duvet and curl into my chest. I feel it when he chooses to wait outside for me to come home when I’ve been out for the night, and he runs to my car with his tail up when I pull in - and jumps up on my car bonnet when I don’t get out of the car quick enough. I feel it when he just wants to be chilling in the same room as me, even if he would be much more comfortable strung out on the couch or a bed somewhere. Something I often hear said is that cats are not as loyal as dogs, but cats have a lot more free will than dogs. I let mine do whatever he wants whenever he wants, and he chooses to stay with me, and I think that’s a very pure form of love.
I felt his love especially on Friday, when my mother was the very unfortunate recipient of a head injury (thankfully seems to be ok which is all that matters). That evening, when we were together in the living room, my mother on one end of the couch with her bandaged head, myself on the other end, and between us - my cat at the top of the couch by her head facing her, with his back turned to me. It may be reaching, but it felt like he was protecting her and trying to give her comfort - especially since he usually likes to sleep on the other couch. Sadie, our dog, was very shaken. She is very sensitive to emotions, mine in particular as she spends the most time with me since I’m the one at home all day every day, and let’s just say my fear and anxiety levels this past weekend were the highest they’ve probably ever been. She is usually glued to my mother’s side, but she retreated to her bed in the sitting room and was just sitting there looking overstimulated beyond belief, which only served to highlight my cat’s display of affection. We recalled two cats we had years ago, Toby and Nico. Nico was always my cat, and Toby was mam’s - but when my mother had a procedure done, Nico stayed glued to her lap when she got home. It was so simple but so touching.
Anyway, this all had me thinking about love and how it comes in different forms and how it can be unfair to measure and compare it. Just because cats love more quietly than dogs, it does not mean they love less. Sometimes it feels like the world puts a lot of pressure to be loud, and I feel like some people both equate and confuse loudness with pureness. Personally I find a lot of calm, meaning and beauty in simple and quiet gestures that are done by choice, and also in being able to identify and recognise them. It’s something I cherish when I look around me. I'm not sure how many people actually read these things, but if there are any cat haters in the audience, I hope this will help to rehabilitate your misguided ways.