"If animals could speak, the dog would be a blundering outspoken fellow;
but the cat would have the rare grace of never saying a word too much."
~ Mark Twain
There is much wisdom in this quote and I agree fully with Mr.
Twain. The thing is, that animals can speak. We just have to listen.
My cat told me the other day that she was in labor and was ready to go to the closet to give birth. She actually grabbed my daughter by the hand with her mouth and tried to pull her that way. That's "free speech" if I ever saw it in action.
Now she calls to us to come and see her prized possessions. When we go into "her" room and she is nursing them, she rolls onto her back so we can have a better look, purring loudly the entire time.
As a cat lover, I would just like to say a "word too much" about the wise cat ... more than he would probably say about us people. These amazing creatures bring me so much fun, laughter, joy and sometimes grief, that I feel indebted to them.
I have wondered what the world would be like without the cat. I know many a person who has lived life without them and I wonder how? I feel that they teach us patience with their often kitten-like behavior. My children have learned to be nurturers by caring for many a kitten. Of course they keep the mice at bay ..... Well, maybe not the way I'd like. I guess they are too well fed!
We had a gerbil loose in the house once and we found it on the stairs going down to the basement. It was running back and forth on a step and on the step below was our big male cat, Little Joe, with his big head following the little creature as it ran. He had absolutely no intention of catching that little, mouse-like thing. I still believe if we would have left it there, he would have been mesmerized right to sleep by watching it. "Worthless" my husband said -- but the kids and I felt differently. We were thankful that he did not eat the "other" pet and we could put it away safe and sound.
I'm sure our cats think we are as "blundering" and "outspoken" as our canine friends and they, too, agree with Mr. Twain. He must have been a cat lover, too! Living with cats and dogs, it is clear to see that the cats are superior in nature as far as they are concerned. They reign from on high, looking down from their perches at the peons below. I, for one, am glad they do not speak my language because I don't think I could take the (maybe) constructive criticism it seems they would give without regard. At other times I wish I was a cat and I could get away with acting like they do. Surely the term "catty" comes to mind here. Hhhmmm!
I take to heart the above "words of wisdom" written long ago. I read them to my momma kitty while she lay nursing her newborn babies. She looked at me and said one word ...... just one ...... "Meow!" I knew what it meant because to my left sat the Schnauzer staring, tongue hanging out, not getting a word of what I had just read, only thinking of the moment I was going to get up and she could FOLLOW me out of the room. I knew it was true because the cat was up, too, and she went out, too -- in the lead, of course.
| ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Kelly Ordway works every day at the Selket Arabians Farm in Hickory Corners, Michigan. She is the mother of 11 children of her own and a midwife for families in the area. |