Felidae Spotlight: The Domestic Cat

I've never much understood why we put up with cats as pets. They seem to take a bit more than they give. Half the time, they act like spoil brats--tearing up the carpets and furniture when they don't get their way--and the other half, they go out of their way to give us plenty of affection. I suppose self-maintenance is a plus as well. You don't have to bathe them, and I wouldn't recommend trying it either. Good way to lose an arm. Either way, cats fascinate us, and I am driven to write a spotlight about them.

Domestic cats come in an uncountable array of different shapes, sizes, colors, and personalities. For this reason, I am not going to go into their looks as much as what they seem to mean to us. Yes, this will be an unusual spotlight, to be sure. The term "domestic cat" mainly refers to a class of felines that are common to civilized areas. They are smaller than the big beasts found in jungles and prairies. These cats can also be feral--living by their wits in the wild; however, they pose very little danger to us humans.

The personality of a cat can range from unbearably narcissistic to a sloth-like laziness with an indomitable indifference to the world around them. With either one, it is a very selfish attitude. Cats live for themselves. Their loyalty always comes at a price. Every bit of love they give is on the grounds that they will have their needs met on a timely basis. If needs fail to be met, punishment can be as benign as persistent meowing or as violent as a random scratch.

Cats are remarkably agile, and they know this well. They can climb trees with ease, but can sometimes find themselves afraid of heights and have to be helped down. They enjoy a good hunt preferring small prey like bugs, rodents, and birds. They are skilled at stealth combat--especially at night. Most cats see very easily in low light environments but can freeze up in total darkness. Many cats are known to play with their food before killing it. This usually means knocking it around until it is too tired to run anymore. It's mean, but cats are often quite mean.

You may find it interesting that feral cats almost never meow. That is their silly way of trying to communicate with us. Domestic cats will often meow to other cats--domestic or not. I doubt that there is really any intelligence behind the noise. I get the impression that they are simply trying to mimic us to better make it clear that we should be giving them better attention. Very selfish!

Domestic cats have extremely keen senses all around. The reason we often say that cats have nine lives is because they have a knack for getting out of danger in just the nick of time. They are hyper aware of their surroundings and can usually figure out what is going on even when they are not in the exact room where something is happening.

I am sure we have all noticed a cat licking itself. Cats are remarkable groomers. Their tongues have little hooked hairs on it that are especially useful for grooming fur. These "tongue-baths" are apart of the feline's personal hygiene. Recently, I put a bunch of gravy on my finger and let my cat lick it off. It was the strangest feeling ever! Those little hooks really catch anything they touch. It is like cats come with their own bristled brush.

Domestic and feral cats are all over the place in fiction. I only have time to name three. We all remember Tom from the "Tom and Jerry" short cartoons. The cat and mouse show has almost become its own genre. This series was very straight forward in its presentation of the trope. Tom--not always trying to eat the mouse--would often just try and be mean to poor Jerry for the fun of it. It was more of a rivalry thing. To this day, the series continued with new shorts and even a series of movies. With the exception of "Tom and Jerry: The Movie," the characters never talk.

The Loony Tunes character Sylvester is a good example of a domestic cat. He is often pitted against a prey that keeps besting him. Sometimes, it is Tweety Bird, and other times, it can be Speedy Gonzales. There are even a couple shorts where he is expected to chase down a giant mouse who is really a kangaroo. One of my favorite characters from his cartoons came in the form of his son--simply called Junior. His over-the-top expression of humiliation from his father's failures--such as having to place a bag over his head as to not be seen in public--was some of my favorite moments. He was also quite cute for a kitten.

There are a number of films--short or otherwise--about domestic cats that are well worth your time. Disney's "The Aristocats" is a great example. Warner Brothers also did their own cat movie called "Cats Don't Dance." My personal favorite is Don Bluth's Banjo the Woodpile Cat. But likely the most carefully crafted domestic cat movie would have to be the German movie "Felidae" which paid special care to the creatures and their peculiar habits. The movie is so close to reality and depicts the felines in even sexual situations that is is often never found in America. I highly recommend it--if you can find a copy--but I warn you that it is not suitable for children.

Much of my own personal love of cats were found through observing my own pet "Cupcake" and from watching videos of them on You Tube--something nearly everyone can enjoy on the internet. There was this one video in particular that captured my interest in only a few minutes. I felt like I was watching a soap opera in another language, but they were real cats meowing at each other. There was even surprises when an unexpected cat came onto the scene which led to startling revelations! Left to their own devices, I see domestic cats as living out a soap opera, and it would be fun to see them doing this as people.

As I said before, there are many kinds of domestic cats. They are fun pets to have, but you have to decide beforehand if you are willing to put up with their selfishness. If you can, be prepared for a lot of love at the cost of a lot more petting.

Thank you for reading my blog! If you enjoyed it, you can comment below, or you can email me at tkwadeauthor@gmail.com. Meow!

Cat Playing With Prey

Cupcake, My Cat

Sylvester Cat and Junior