Thursday, July 16, 2009 11:31 AM

Exploding Cat Myths


That's right, it's just a myth. Cats don't really explode, at least not spontaneously. Well, there was that Hoover vacuum commercial with the Persian cat on the carpeted stairs...well, never mind that. Seriously, folks, I'll be starting a new feature in which I debunk some myths concerning our beloved cats. I was going to call it "Cat Myths Exploded" but J. suggested the above title, which is much funnier. I'm telling you, the guy is a laugh a minute. I might have to shorten it to "ECM:___", though I haven't made up my mind yet on that score. OK, enough of that. Just thought I'd share with you the inner workings of my bloggy brain for a minute or two, sort of as a bonding experience. Really brought us closer, don't you think?

For some reason, the other day I was thinking about all the well-known sayings about cats, many of which are unflattering. "Cats are selfish." "Cats aren't loyal." "Cats are too independent." Now, really! Is there any such thing as TOO independent? I certainly don't think so! Sounds a bit like sour grapes, doesn't it? Where do these myths come from? Let's see: "Cats don't hang on your every word like dogs do." Aha! If you just add the phrase "...unlike dogs" or "...like dogs" to the end of every anti-cat phrase, you will have the answer: dog people! Well, cats aren't dogs, are they? When you compare the cat to the idealized version of man's best friend, he's bound to come up a bit short. With his supplicating posture, face turned lovingly to you and eyes shining as brightly as two stars of Bethlehem, Buster seems to be fairly begging, "Oh, please, please, let me take a bullet for you!" A cat would never do that, even if that's how he felt. They just aren't that demonstrative.

I once bought a get well card for a veterinarian I knew that showed a lovely tri-color cat lounging on the front, with the words, "Cats know how you feel" underneath. Inside it said, "They don't give a damn, but they know." I laughed and laughed at that card, even though it could be construed as somewhat insulting to cats. Why? Because I get cats. And, I know that the person who wrote that also "gets" cats. That's how they are, and we love them for it. Just like, if you're a dog person, you read the above paragraph and laughed (or at least smiled?) because although it's an exaggeration, it sort of sums up our loyal canine pals in a nutshell. I have to say, I find the abillity of even the most loving cat to toss out the occasional "Yuck Fu" look very amusing. They may not always be kissing our butts, but they are entertaining as hell!

So, next week we'll look at one of these myths, whichever one that may be. We'll also talk about halitosis (not yours, your pet's), and whatever else my crazy brain cooks up over the weekend.

Movie of the Week: Technically it's not a movie, it was a HBO series called Deadwood. We're not huge fans of the "Western" genre but we got absolutely hooked on this show. We went through all three seasons in record time. Everyone who's seen it that we've spoken to loved it too, but it only lasted three seasons because supposedly the ratings weren't high enough. Apparently, superb writing is not very popular among cable viewers. Go figure.
Chat later!

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Amanda
I'm a former Shutesbury Assessor who thinks we taxpayers can never know too much about town finances.
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