Boyle McCauley News

Since 1979 • April-May 2024 • Circulation 5000

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No Defense Against Cuteness

People love their pets. I love my pets. I must love them – they exasperate me and I haven’t tossed their fuzzy tails into the winter cold. I am sometimes amazed at the lengths I’ll go to ensure the comfort and happiness of my cats. Why do I do this? There is a psychology behind our reactions to animals. The bottom line is that we are hardwired to respond to the needs of cute creatures. This instinct had been grievously taken advantage of by pets worldwide.

There are few, if any, truly effective defenses against cute and sweet. As I’m writing this, I am playing defense with an old, white cat who is trying to eat one of our houseplants. I am not scolding him or shooing him. I’ve learned in recent seasons how to speak to these little creatures in their language. Why get angry when I should be able to anticipate their behaviour? It is my responsibility to anticipate their actions and prepare myself to not be annoyed. I know that the cat in the hat will try to eat the plant, whether he’s in a train or on a plane. So I make the plant portable and tell the cranky cat he’s adorable. That’s the best thing to tell anyone in your life – how much you love them . . . anyways.

As much as we, as people, may feel that we don’t deserve to be loved – the truth is that we do. My cats don’t earn an income; they don’t contribute to the economy or have any deductible tax value. They don’t seem to accomplish much in our modern, civilized society. They can be seen as pretty shiftless in this day and age. Their intrinsic value, much as our own, is beyond modern definitions.

If we can’t slap a quick dollar sign to something, we assume worthlessness first. We rarely take the time to relate or question or forgive ourselves or others. We can fail to see where our values lie. At the end of it all, I believe we find value in the relationships we’ve had through life. I’ve lived with these little creatures through most of their lives and a good portion of my own. There’s value in that because I believe it to be so. We have a common history.

History shows that cats chose to be domesticated by humans. They chose to live with us. It wasn’t entirely altruistic. A fully belly and shelter from the elements are great motivators, but it wasn’t self-centeredness. They wanted to be with us because they could relate to us and therefore, find a way to love us even when we don’t feel lovable. That’s why we put up with 4 a.m. cries for food, houseplant hunting, and variable mischief. What defense could one possibly have against that?

Keri lives in Boyle Street with her husband and cats.

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