What's with an old cat and self-improvement? 😉
Not long before age 15, my cat got tired of living. Her daily activities shrinked to eat / sleep / piss / sometimes groom. She lost affinity to playing and galloping around as before. Instead, she dragged along, a pale shadow of her lively self, skinny, uneven thin fur.
Once or twice a year, a hormone rush turned her into a restless noisy creature with insatiable hunger for being caressed so that my wife dubbed her Scratchbelly.
Once or twice a year, a hormone rush turned her into a restless noisy creature with insatiable hunger for being caressed so that my wife dubbed her Scratchbelly.
I was much worried and sought a solution. Through thinking, reading and conversations I finally found a fresh look on the life that we gave to our cat. She lived in a flat, always indoor. Never gave birth to kittens, serving as a walking decoration and an amusement for humans. In her dwelling, nothing stayed unexplored or unfamiliar. All games been played, all corners been sniffed. Sick of chasing balls and feathers.
I was determined to get my pet out of that hole and my wife supported me. So we embarked on a plan to change the life of the cat... and us. Since then, I started to use feeding time for training. The cat is required to run along the corridors and jump on a high desk to get a piece of meat. By the end of the meal, she usually gets quite tired. In some days, it could be noticed how much the cat gained strength and agility. My wife took responsibility for regular outings: walk through the staircase and onto the street, sniff more new smells, meet the neighbors and their cats, explore the territory.
Well, the cat was evidently back to life. Curiosity and appetite returned, she again wanted to go out.
However, the whole story also stirred up old concerns of mine, born from watching all the town's birds, cats and dogs. Was my cat happy living besides me? For many years, I kept thinking that to provide natural food and comfortable safe environment was enough for the cat to sustain curiosity and agility. Now I tend to think that was a mistake.
I was wrong suggesting that a homeless kitten would figure out itself how to live a happy cat's life provided it is given a shelter and food. No doubt, it was good of me to adopt her. Of course, better have a home than hit the streets. And she rewarded us with so many minutes of joy and happiness! But she failed to sustain that happiness for herself.
As to me, I have learned that, by adopting a homeless animal, I take responsibility not only for its food but also for its social life. An animal needs to be guided and delicately mastered, even such an independent one as a cat. Otherwise, degeneration would start as soon as the potential of the youth hormones is drained. Be trained throughout life if there is no opportunity to hunt. Insist on spending time outdoor even if it doesn't ask for. Provide partners for plays. Likewise, my wife and I agreed that, if we ever have another pet, we'd better have two or three of them of different species.
I haven't figured out the issue of progeny. Although we never allowed our cat to give birth and raise kittens, there's a reason to think that this part is essential for wholeness of a she-cat's life.
Another takeout is that a pet master should feel genuine interest to caring about the animal. Want rather than must. If they wants, both the master and the animal benefit from synergy. If they must, owning a pet would be a torture for both.
The catch is that the want can vanish eventually and never return by itself. It's a challenging moment for the master who has to find a new one and that's not easy, it starts from "I must try". A must capable of pushing me out of my comfort zone to get up and seek the want. One initial kick in the ass that helps to find the want. Which, in turn, would make further kicks unnecessary. As if I needed a master for myself.
And what about those coach potatoes and social media addicted out there - don't they have masters to care about their self-development? Who is our master who takes responsibility of training us throughout life?
Who's your master?
I was determined to get my pet out of that hole and my wife supported me. So we embarked on a plan to change the life of the cat... and us. Since then, I started to use feeding time for training. The cat is required to run along the corridors and jump on a high desk to get a piece of meat. By the end of the meal, she usually gets quite tired. In some days, it could be noticed how much the cat gained strength and agility. My wife took responsibility for regular outings: walk through the staircase and onto the street, sniff more new smells, meet the neighbors and their cats, explore the territory.
Well, the cat was evidently back to life. Curiosity and appetite returned, she again wanted to go out.
However, the whole story also stirred up old concerns of mine, born from watching all the town's birds, cats and dogs. Was my cat happy living besides me? For many years, I kept thinking that to provide natural food and comfortable safe environment was enough for the cat to sustain curiosity and agility. Now I tend to think that was a mistake.
I was wrong suggesting that a homeless kitten would figure out itself how to live a happy cat's life provided it is given a shelter and food. No doubt, it was good of me to adopt her. Of course, better have a home than hit the streets. And she rewarded us with so many minutes of joy and happiness! But she failed to sustain that happiness for herself.
As to me, I have learned that, by adopting a homeless animal, I take responsibility not only for its food but also for its social life. An animal needs to be guided and delicately mastered, even such an independent one as a cat. Otherwise, degeneration would start as soon as the potential of the youth hormones is drained. Be trained throughout life if there is no opportunity to hunt. Insist on spending time outdoor even if it doesn't ask for. Provide partners for plays. Likewise, my wife and I agreed that, if we ever have another pet, we'd better have two or three of them of different species.
I haven't figured out the issue of progeny. Although we never allowed our cat to give birth and raise kittens, there's a reason to think that this part is essential for wholeness of a she-cat's life.
Another takeout is that a pet master should feel genuine interest to caring about the animal. Want rather than must. If they wants, both the master and the animal benefit from synergy. If they must, owning a pet would be a torture for both.
The catch is that the want can vanish eventually and never return by itself. It's a challenging moment for the master who has to find a new one and that's not easy, it starts from "I must try". A must capable of pushing me out of my comfort zone to get up and seek the want. One initial kick in the ass that helps to find the want. Which, in turn, would make further kicks unnecessary. As if I needed a master for myself.
And what about those coach potatoes and social media addicted out there - don't they have masters to care about their self-development? Who is our master who takes responsibility of training us throughout life?
Who's your master?
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