We love cats whether they are beautiful, gentle, graceful, silky, cuddly, sometimes warlike, sometimes princesses, mischievous, playful, delicate, charming, obstinate, independent, mysterious, or troubling. Sometimes they enjoy a close relationship with their gardians, understanding them subtly like no one else does. Sometimes they are close, sometimes unapproachable, sometimes cute, sometimes strange, odd, incomprehensible. They are our muses, our babies, our lovers, our blue, green or yellow eyed inspiration with their impenetrable eyes.
Cats were worshipped as semi gods in Ancient Egypt and today whether they be wild or domestic pets they share our lives. We are fascinated by them, hypnotized, bewitched, and entranced. We seem defeated, laid bare in the presence of cats. Cats are wonderfully incomprehensible and their stare carries universal enchantment. Their purring vibrates in our hearts to bewitch us and carry us far away into other dimensions.
Here are some unexpected stories of cats…
REALLY WEIRD CATS!
One day Eva called me because her cat, a handsome white tomcat, had savagely attacked her husband John. Eva adored Snowflake who even slept in her arms every night. But unfortunately every time her husband John came home, the door barely open, Snowflake flew at him. John’s legs were covered in scratches and he was afraid of Snowflake, even though he tried to hide his fear. Each time John entered a room where Eva was, Snowflake ran towards him hissing to attack him. And on top of it all the cat hid in every corner of the house so that it was impossible to find a safe way around, free of pitfalls. In other words, the husband was trapped in his own house!
Eva was puzzled. Snowflake was so sweet, so gentle and affectionate. How could he react like this? In the beginning the cat had taken no notice of John, was just indifferent to his presence. What had happened? John travelled often, his import-export business forcing him to move from country to country. During these absences everything was all right at home: the cat and his guardian enjoyed a close relationship and Snowflake was master of his territory.
At first glance it would appear that this was the classic story of the cat’s jealousy of the husband; however, during a communication with Snowflake, I discovered something much more interesting. Eva was angry with her husband and even thought of divorce. Also, even if she had not expressed all her anger, she and her husband had discussed the question of divorce. Eve felt neglected, that her husband did not listen to her, was not interested in her feelings and emotions; she even suspected that he might be having a relationship with another woman.
Could Snowflake be expressing the deep, hidden feelings Eva had towards her husband? I let you meditate on that question…
Xavier lives in Barcelona. The fifteen year-old adolescent likes computer games, the computer and his friends. He does not like Romero, the big tomcat of the house. Each time Xavier left his room after hours in front of his computer, Romero would attack him. He lay waiting for him listening for the slightest movement behind the closed door.
It was a serious situation which was why his mother called me for aid. We never really understood the reasons behind Romero’s behavior. There were, of course, Xavier’s hostility, the problem of territory, even the question of hierarchy, the hours spent shut up in the room in front of the computer, the mother’s feelings of resentment for her son whose habits she faulted and the general lack of communication among the members of the family. Could all of this explain Romero’s behavior?
The beauty of cats lies in their wild nature and the fact that one cannot easily interpret their actions. Let us leave them as they are, mysterious and inexplicable. That is what makes them so special and which constitues Poetry for me!
All the same I could not help laughing as I imagined poor Xavier leaving his room with the big cushion in front of him! It took me quite a while to get positive results with Romero and get him to leave Xavier alone. There was still no love lost between them, but at least Romero no longer waited behind Xavier’s door to attack him.
A STORY FOR WOMEN ONLY:
Rose is a lovely young doe-eyed girl with long dark hair who is sensitive and artistic. She lives with her black cat Mowgli and she is in love with her boy friend Andy. At night after their lovemaking, at just the time when they are dozing off, Mowgli enters their room silently and jumps on the bed. In fact not ON the bed, but ON poor Andy’s private parts that he bites tenaciously. Andy wakes up screaming, trying to cover up, to push Mowgli aside who continues attacking him! It is as if his private parts were a target to prey on! Andy had never hurt the cat; on the contrary, he likes cats. Now he is really suffering pain.
Mowgli is no longer allowed to enter the bedroom, but sometimes, if the door is ajar, he enters and jumps on Andy’s beautiful, young body, claws outstretched.
Is Mowgli jealous of Andy?
No. The rest of the time Mowgli is affectionate, loves to be caressed and rubs up against Andy’s legs. Andy thought that by showing him affection, on learning to know him better that this would change Mowgli’s nocturnal behavior.
But not at all! At night Mowgli becomes another cat altogether. So the question is, why?
As I communicated I learned of a whole history of rapes and interrupted pregnancies in Rose’s past. In spite of her youth, she has a heavy past. Could this explain her cat’s attacks? It is possible. In any case, there may be a connection here. There is something about Rose which provokes Mowgli’s strange behavior.
Poor Andy!
Will he stay with Rose? Can his love for her overcome the attacks of the black cat?
I leave it up to you to fill in the rest of this story.
What funny cats!
Laila del Monte