We exchanged emails the other day with a newfound friend who graciously sent us a picture of her cat after admiring our cat. This one we received had a very likeable look about him/her/it and one that got us to thinking about what cat’s think.
If you have had one of these animals in your life, you know that behind that seemingly vacant stare and endless naps is a force to be reckoned with, as are all forces over which humans have no control whatsoever. That is the attraction. Cats are the ultimate “if only” beings as in “if only” we knew what they were thinking, wanting, purring about.
Not to be maudlin and fawning here; above all not writing yet another trite thread about the wonders of cats and those who enjoy them, there really is a purpose in considering all this. It isn’t for nothing that we wonder what goes on behind those unflinching eyes as we do that with s.o.’s, spouses, friends in waiting, bosses, salespersons, used car salesmen etc. all the time. Cats may be enigmatic because they do look at us or ignore us but we are sure, behind that quiet gaze, the synapses are whirring along and they aren’t daydreaming about mice. Like the little human list a few sentences ago, cats have a gaze that we want to interpret. We want to connect with it out of curiosity (is he/she really looking at us as in grade school) or is my boss going to give me the axe and anywhere in between.
Gazes from others that are plainly there but unspoken have been for ages; a disconcerting item on our daily menu. As kids we all had a neighbor who we wouldn’t go near because “hey ma’ he looks at me funny” as if eye contact alone tells you when to put the flight/fight reflex in gear. We aren’t recommending that you adopt a cat and get into a starring contest but like in Harry Potter; the cat chooses the master much as the wand does and Mrs. Mcgonagall chose a cat for her first transformer trick; as that icy stare kept a classroom in line until the magic transform ensued.
Cat stares are mirrors when you get right down to it. That may well be why we can tolerate them or enjoy them or not. “I look deeply into my thoughts through a cat’s eyes” isn’t just an old saying.
Anyway, enough. I’ve figured it out. They aren’t dreaming or thinking of us. They want to be, in their own way, masters of sorts. Perhaps the housecat wants lion hood in his/her future. A pride. Stalking the great plains of Africa. Being the title of a great book about the great cats. We aspire to greatness in our daydreams, so why not this mirror animal sitting on a window ledge, gazing nowhere but everywhere, mind at the ready, tail at the twitch.
The Lion (Ogden Nash)
The lion is the king of beasts,
And husband of the lioness.
Gazelles and things on which he feasts
Address him as your highoness.
There are those that admire that roar of his,
In African jungles and velds,
But, I think that wherever the lion is,
I’d rather be somewhere else.
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