Nov 20th, 2022 Sunday Sunny
Cats are weird creatures.
That is to say, the behaviors of cats are exceedingly puzzling to humans, yet we find them irresistibly adorable ? To some people, cats seem to do everything on a whim, that there is no logic behind at all. Nevertheless, I am of the opinion that cats have their own unique rationale of doing everything – it is just that we humans do not share or fully understand their minds.
One of the “complaints” that all cat parents probably have encountered is: I spend tons of money on this expensive toy/cat tree/cat bed, but my cat does not even touch it – how ungrateful!
While I can empathize with others on this point, I also find it amusing that humans would keep assuming THEIR preference or THEIR value system should apply to a completely different species. What do kitties know about the value of a toy/tree/bed in human currency? Why should they ever care? It is not like you can buy a meaty dinner with ten bucks in the wild.
Instead, I derive my contentment from knowing that I can make my kitty, Lyn, a very happy cat without having to poke a hole in my wallet. As it turns out, her favorite toy is my shoelace – it has become a “welcome home” routine that she would greet me at the door, and chasing/pawing/biting my shoelaces as I take off my shoes. Her favorite cat tree (?) might be my husband’s lap, though as the climb onto that “tree” becomes a little challenging due to her old age, she often gets a little “lift” as soon as she stands up and paws him with pleading eyes.
As for her favorite bed, it is an old pillow that I set up next to the staircase where she likes to hang out and watch us from. However, being a cat that spends most of her day napping, she certainly is open to explore other potential beds (her second favorite might be the chair in my husband’s office, especially right after he stands up for a coffee break ?). And a recent opportunity has led to this discovery – a new bed!
It is just a delivery box from Amazon. Seeing that my husband left it out in the office for Lyn because it was exactly the right size for her, I commented, “if we put a towel inside that box, it could become a sweet bed for her.”
And there she is, sleeping in a typical “cat circle”, enjoying the luxury of a snug space not far from her daddy ?
Understanding what cats want seems to be natural for me, maybe because I often think like a cat 😛 The ideal spot for a nap is a small space, neither too tight nor too spacious, just enough to curl up on a soft blanket. It should be somewhere that I would not be bothered but is also very close to those who I love. That is a safe haven for taking a rest after an exhausting day.
None of the above criteria can be assessed with a price tag. Even the fanciest mattress will not do if it does not give me a sense of safety – granted that the sense of safety does not usually come from the mattress itself anyway.
Perhaps this is why “the best thing in life cannot be bought with money”. It seems that kitties, with no attachment to material wealth, have this philosophy figured out, better and sooner than most of us.
This is why, to a kitty like Lyn, happiness can be so simple 🙂