Open Writing

My wife and I are about to have an addition to our family. No! No! No! No! – not kiddies, kitties. I figure I have done my bit to maintain the human population. Four is enough. This Gray Malkin long ago came down from the tiles. But kitties, that’s a whole other matter.

My wife and I have been “providers” for cats, separately and together for years, but have abstained for the past 20 years, after our last cat died, because our peripatetic lifestyle wasn’t, we considered, in the best interests of these furry little critters. I use the word “providers” because you don’t own a cat, or have a cat, it owns and has you.

Over the years I have “provided” for 4 cats, 3 males and one female, all Siamese. The female was my first, and it was then I learned that the females’ prime objective is to protect their offspring. If you want an affectionate, lap loving, fun and games cat, go for the guys every time.

But I’ll bet there are lady, cat “providers,” who are already mustering an objection to my observation, including my wife, whose Burmese female was our last cat. I suppose it makes sense that the females of all species are going to hold the line on the primacy of raising their offspring.

Anyway, I stand by my preference, and my experience with the three toms bears that out. It will come as no surprise then that the kitties we are hoping to add to our ménage are two littermate males, one a seal point, the other a blue. As of this writing they are about three weeks old, and we will see them for the first time in a few days.

If there is a mutual attraction, it will be a further 5 weeks before we can bring them home, and I’m anticipating it will seem much longer. We’ve often thought, long before now, that we should bring cats back into our life, but doubted that they, or we, would tolerate well the summer months on the sailboat we owned until last year.

Americans are wild about dogs, as I wrote in my column “America Has Gone to the Dogs.” http://www.openwriting.com/archives/2011/03/americas_gone_t.php I suggested this was in part due to the prominence given to dog shows on TV here, and the numerous documentaries claiming to explain how dogs think and what they think about, and why. Others trace the development of the various breeds, and what influenced their breeding over the millennia since they were wolves.

Still others feature training, and the correcting of behavior or personality problems. All this is driven, as one might expect, by the pet food, and pet medication manufacturers who sponsor the shows. So it’s a self sustaining cycle: the more dog shows, the more dog owners, the bigger the sales of food and medication, the more TV shows…

The US feline community is probably very large too, but is below the radar. There are numerous dog owners on my street, but I don’t know of a single cat, yet I’ll bet there are several. They don’t need to be walked, and nobody around here lets their cats out anymore for fear of rabid raccoons, skunk and foxes. I’m told there is a large feral cat population, but I have never seen one.

Another factor contributing to the invisibility of cats is that, beautiful as they are, they don’t show well. Cat shows are by and large for breeders and existing or potential “providers.” A telegenically exciting spectacle they are not. The show cats remain in their cages until judging time; the cages often blanketed to prevent chills and infection, and are then transferred to other cages in the judging arena.

The judging involves a lot of fondling and appraising, some of it disturbingly erotic. Unlike dog shows, there’s no prancing up and down the arena on a leash, accompanied by flat footed handlers; no opportunity to be cute, or naughty in response to miniscule treats. So by and large the shows are a big yawn, and unlikely to attract an ambitious TV producer.

Like the canines, many cat breeds have evolved from the common or garden tabby over the years. The difference between some breeds is so subtle, only an owner or breeder knows the difference. Others are so wildly different you either love them or hate them – the giant, fluff ball Persians and the, ugh, hairless Sphinx variety for example. In the US, the humble tabby has been elevated to be the “American Short Hair.”

Whether or not cats outnumber dogs, the industries that have sprung up around them are just as manifold. Within 10 miles of my house there are 4 pet supply stores as big as supermarkets. The racks are loaded with cat foods, cat beds, scratching posts, carriers, toys, blankets, over-the-counter medicaments, food bowls, poop trays, even clothing. Within the same radius there are 6 veterinarian hospitals, and this is the suburbs, not a farming community.

In the twenty years since we lost the Burmese, being a cat “provider” has taken on many new dimensions. It used to be simple, but like life its self, has become orders of magnitude more complex. Even so, cat providing is going to be another adventure for the two of us, and a happy one.

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