Why the Chinese should stop eating cats.

It’s an old post from times gone by found in my computer.

Why the Chinese Should stop Eating Cats.

Let’s get this straight before half of you switch off straight away. I used to have a dog. I am not a dog-hater. I like dogs. Dogs are great. They love you, they need you, they can’t do without you, they constantly need your approval..Dogs make you feel great…The chinese should probably stop eating dogs too.

Dogs make you feel great with no effort at all….they love you unconditionally.

Get a dog. You’ll be loved. Easy.

Meh.

Yes there are dogs. Man’s best friend. And then there are cats. Cats are a different matter completely. Cats really don’t need you to clear up their shit. They don’t need you to show them the way home. In fact, cats really don’t need you at all. And therein lies the beauty of a cat.

A lot of people are put off cats because of this apparent indifference. But actually, it’s the cat’s finest quality. If a cat stays with you, it’s because it loves you. End of. They’ve chosen to stay with you. They’ve decided – normally after a good snoop around and evaluation of what other homes in the area have to offer – that you’re the best person to co-habit with at this particular time.

That’s got to be a good feeling, hasn’t it? To be chosen rather than loved just because it’s in something’s nature to love and you’re the handiest person with a lead and a tin of pedigree chum?

A cat will love you. It will curl up and rub faces with you. It will follow you from room to room and watch you work. It will come running down the stairs when you get home. Hell, mine waits outside the bathroom door for me in the mornings. When a sick friend came to stay, in the last week of that man’s life I watched as my cat crept cautiously up the side of the bed and tucked his head under the dying man’s hand and just lay there. This coming from a cat that will normally clamber all over you and sprawl across your chest however he damn well pleases. I think the cat knew he was ill. The cat was gentle. Cats are sensitive like that. Sometimes I think cats chase ghosts in the night.

Cats don’t just take despite what some people think. A cat will bring you things. And not items you’ve thrown for it specifically to fetch. A cat will go and tear the head off a living thing and proudly bring you the body. Here’s what I did. How great am I? And I’m giving it to you, because right now I think you’re pretty great too and this is the best possible way I can think of to show you that.

Now that’s love.

But you have to earn that love. And there is nothing unconditional about it.

Not ever.

A cat can hurt you when it plays. It might not always be intentional, but sometimes it will be. If you get rough then the claws will come out, and really, what do you expect? A cat needs to let you know that as sweet and affectionate as it may be on your pillow, it can draw blood. Cats can survive. You learn quickly how to play with a cat, and let’s face it you have to have respect for something that can hurt you so unexpectedly if you’re not careful.

A cat will never save you from drowning. Primarily because they don’t like water, and secondly a cat will think if you were stupid enough to get yourself into the situation, then what do you expect? There is no blind trust. Ever tried to get a cat down from a garage roof? You stretch your arms out to them, and you get a ‘Really?’ with a raised eyebrow. ‘I’ve seen the clumsy way you move. Like you’re not going to drop me? I don’t think so...’ as it jumps past your ladder and down your back to the ground.

Most importantly, a cat doesn’t forget if you hurt them. A cat stores information. When you weren’t available for a bit of lap action. When you forgot to re-fill the bowl. The amount of times you shut it out of the bedroom because you had a better offer. How many weekends you stayed away. If you don’t put the time in, the cat will get distant. Suddenly your pillow is not its favourite place first thing in the morning. It’s in the corridor instead, seemingly infazed. Just watching.

Jealousy is a cat trait. Bring a puppy into another dog’s house and the dog thinks it’s Christmas. A cat does not. A cat will yowl and scratch and beat that kitten into submission because the cat knows that attention is limited. You see the change in cats that suddenly have dogs around. The cat becomes more aloof. The dog is too needy and the cat is too proud to fight for love. Why should it? Its love needs to be earned too, after all.

And like anything worth having, if you don’t value it, you can lose it. Love’s funny like that.

One day, maybe, if you don’t pay your cat quite enough attention, you’ll find it’s moved next door. Maybe someone else was filling the milk bowl when you weren’t looking. Sometimes it may creep back into your garden, but it will never be your cat again. You can see the change in the eyes.

You’ve got to stay on your toes with a cat. Because cats are clever. And independent. And they know a love that’s worth having, and they know their love is worth earning.

I’ve been thinking about getting a dog. A puppy. Hell, I get needy too. I want some unconditional love. And then I catch the look in Mr Fing’s eyes and I think, you know what?

Maybe I’m a cat kind of girl at heart.