I am sitting on our three-seater sofa with one cat energetically grooming himself on my right and the other carrying out an identical process on the left. Soon white fur will gleam, charcoal and tan parts will look sleek with mats removed and claws will be carefully bitten trim. I have even seen Sherpa engaged outdoors in what appeared to me to be a teeth cleaning exercise using fine twigs broken off shrubs as a toothbrush. Cat dignity depends on effort being put into personal grooming and to urination and defecation rituals which ensure that waste is hygienically disposed of. What is strange about cats is how little effort is put into cleaning bedding and resting places. When these start to look grubby the cat simply moves on finding somewhere more salubrious to lie while its human friend does the laundry. Cats could learn to flick debris and brush hairs off their sheets couldn’t they? And remove wrinkles to make their bed more comfortable if they really tried. They watch humans doing these things just as they watch everything we do, but no matter how much time they have shared with us, it doesn’t seem to occur to them to imitate us.
Sitting on the sofa, I imagine cat genes launching cats at appropriate times into permitted orbits of behaviour. Those first orbits allow feeding and movement, but soon kittens come under the influence of the Hunting Planet and the varied play, which so fascinates us, begins. The Star of Knowledge has many planets which reflect its light and, throughout their lives, cats slip effortlessly between them. The Warrior governs defence of territory. The Protector teaches them to avoid danger, food poisoning and parasites and seek therapy through eating grass. The Lust and Love Planet has as its domain friendship, courtship, mating and care of the young.
There are however things which the Star of Knowledge cannot teach a cat.
No comments:
Post a Comment