Why Cats Are Frusrating

This article assumes that you want to understand cats and

would like to live in your home harmoniously with them.

Cats may frustrate some dog lovers because, well, they are

small animals: they "should" act like pets, i.e., they should

"appreciate" what you do for them the way dogs seem to. They

should "love" you unquestioningly, dammit! You give them food

and shelter, so they darn well better appreciate it, right?

Actually, you might know already that the "love" you see in

your dog's eyes is really not love for you, it's a plea for

acceptance by you. You are the leader of its "pack". You may

notice that your dog acts like this with pretty much anybody

in the family, but this behavior actually comes from the dog's

heritage. Dogs, as we all know, were originally bred and

domesticated from wolves, and the behavior and instincts that

your pet dog has are very similar to those of the wolf cub.

Dogs are really wolf pups that never grew up.

They bark, which is characteristic of the wolf pup as it calls

its mother, or members of the pack. Mature wolves have no

"bark" because as they grew up and their basic nurturing needs

were met, they no longer needed the bark, and they actually,

as predators, need to be silent as they approach their prey.

The only noise that mature wolves display is the baying often

heard at night in the northern areas of the continent, as they

call to other members of their pack.

Back to cats: The first thing one has to accept about cats if

they are ever going to take on the responsibility of owning

one is that they cannot help being cats!

Repeat: A cat CANNOT HELP being a cat!

What do I mean? Well, the complex behaviors that cats display

are identical to the ones found in their wild counterparts.

For example, I'm sure you've seen as a cat "sneaks up" on a

toy and pounces-this is the exact skill that a cat needs to

hunt its prey. Now, domestic cats seldom need to hunt,

however, they won't ever lose this instinct. And cats are

simply not intelligent enough-intelligent though they are-to

learn to behave in any other way than cats do. Sounds pretty

simple, but it's amazing how many people I run into who forget

this.

Secondly: CATS ARE NOT HUMAN!

They are not "sneaky", they are not "aloof", they do not "try

to make you angry". They do not need these traits, therefore,

they don't have them. I know you are going to say I'm crazy to

make these statements, but no, a cat does not have the human

intelligence and motivation to do these things. One MUST

understand these things in order to understand the cat.

OK, here's a scenario: The cat jumps up onto the counter.

(Cats actually instinctively want to be in the highest places

they see in order to survey their territory.) But, you do not

want your cat on the counter so you hiss or yell at the cat to

get it the heck OFF the counter. The cat jumps down, startled.

You exit the kitchen, and when you come back in, there's the

darn cat, right back on the counter! Didn't you JUST tell it

to GET OFF?

OK, now, keeping in mind that cats are NOT HUMAN, and

therefore do NOT have human emotions; and are not "sneaky", we

have to take this logically: You startled the cat off the

counter. The cat knows only that you startled it off the

counter. And that's all!

Wait a minute-the cat not only is on the counter when you come

back, but jumps off when it sees you. Right? That obviously

means the damn thing is sneaky, right? Wrong! The cat only

knows that you startled it off the counter. The cat does not

"think": " Oh-oh, he doesn't want me to ever be on the

counter, even when he isn't in the room, but I'm going to try

to get away with being on that counter when he leaves.

Screw him!"

Can you see how this is not only attributing to the cat human

behaviors- of which it's not even capable, but further: that

it has the ability to reason; to think abstractly, something a

housecat is decidedly unable to do. Instinct is the primary

drive in cats. Repeating:

The cat can't help being a cat!

You might think: Bull, that cat knows I don't want it on that

counter!

To this I ask, How does it "know" this?

Again: all the cat "knows" is that you startled it off the

counter! And that is it! Cats are survivors: they remember

when they are startled-also a natural reaction of cats, by the

way-so the cat jumps off when it sees you again. When the cat

sees you, all its instincts are telling it is that you are the

source of a startling experience, so it reacts. See? Stimulus,

instinct, reaction. That's it. The cat DOES NOT have the

ability to think in the abstract, which is what you are asking

of it.

Not fair, sorry.

Second: Cats are not dogs!

Cats also are not "aloof". They do not "ignore" you, and they

do not choose who they come in contact with by logical

reasoning. Coming when they are summoned is simply NOT a part

of the cat's survival set. Cats do not NEED to come when

called to survive. Maybe in some households they do. Yikes! If

you just remember these 2 things: that cats are survivors

(that's why they will run like hell from someone who has

struck them-an absolute no-no!) and they will do what it takes

to ensure their survival.

OK, if cats are this way, can we ever develop a relationship

with them like the one we have with dogs? We certainly can,

and I will cover that subject in my next article.

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