The Lion in my Living Room

The other day my daughter suggested I see a Netflix video titled "The Lion in Your Living Room."  It was a documentary about cat behavior and how our domesticated fluffy companions have descended  and evolved from their big cat ancestors.

This was an amusing idea to me because sometimes I feel that humans are the ones who evolved and adapted to cats as opposed to the reverse.  Take my husband, for example.  He wasn't always a "cat person" (not all guys are eager to admit they are for some reason even if it's true) but now he is a bonafide cat lover.  Of course he has no choice because I subject him to the rigors of cat ownership and make him watch endless YouTube videos on cats.  My hubby realized it was easier to succumb to the cuteness of cats than insist upon his independence which is intolerable to cats.  The best way to get a cat to love you is to ignore them.  And I think in his case, it has paid off mightily.

We have one particular cat, Pepper, who isn't named that simply because of her looks.  She has a prickly personality and will only tolerate you in small doses.  Pepper would prefer to do a bobcat impression and hiss and spit at you rather than cuddle and adore you as most pets should.  In Pepper's defense, it's probably our fault she is such a little sh*t as we have been her owners since she was three weeks old and was socialized poorly (i.e. we didn't worship her adequately or teach the other cats to succumb to her greatness).  But out of the 7 cats we've owned, I've never had such an ornery and stubborn cat.  She has adopted one member of the household, and other than being fed, she refuses to acknowledge other humans or cats as her equal.  It only takes one moment for her to turn on you when she deigns to present her belly for rubbing, and then hears any noise, seriously, and run away.  A friend of mine has labeled her "one eye Pepper" because you more often see her backside as she runs off that a full cat sighting.  In terms of adapting and evolving, Pepper didn't get the memo on being a human companion or investing herself in the relationships that surround her.  Our other two cats might approach Pepper carefully for a sniff, and she retreats quickly or bats at them with her paw like an insulting face slap as if they were cat perverts.  Our cats just look at me after getting smacked as if to say "was it something I did?"  I can only reassure them that Pepper is so very sensitive, she doesn't need an excuse to work her magical charms at defensive hissing and/or scratching.

Remember I did say she has adopted one of us as her owner, and thank goodness it's my daughter who will eventually move away and take Pepper with her.  For some reason, Pepper feels safe only in her company and will happily submit to any number of indignities at the hands of this human. Whether it be her monthly claw trimming, or just being manhandled and juggled around like a stuffed toy, my daughter can do nothing to offend Pepper.  Yet Pepper appears twice daily for me to feed her and offer her culinary sacrifices such as Liver and Chicken pate or catnip flavored treats. She will then look at me with disgust at my meager offering and run away.  Or she will eat hers and any portion I have left for another cat.  Either way, she is entitled to this rude behavior because I have enabled it.  But how does one nurture a nasty kitty and teach it to be loving and kind?  I give up because I'm not about to call a cat psychic or the cat specialist and be trained on the art of submitting my dignity to this annoying cat.  Like I said, I love cats, but Pepper pushes the envelope in my home and makes the idea of a dog more attractive.

To all of you out there who have adopted and rescued a cat only to be treated with ingratitude and an aloof demeanor, you know how I feel.  The least these cats can do is sit on our lap or beside us once in awhile to make us feel like the generous hosts we are to their inexplicable ungraciousness.  *sigh*

Or we can recognize that not all cats have adapted and still expect to be worshipped as an Egyptian God.  I guess Pepper is waiting for her big debut on a tomb somewhere as the hieroglyph she aspires to be.  Stinker.

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