Early in the pandemic I decided to adopt a cat. After getting to know her a bit I decided to call her Cuca. She doesn't have to worry about food or shelter and certainly did not suffer before I adopted her, so I started to wonder: Since I take care of her basic needs, what's left for her to spend her time on?
From the beginning I could tell she was clever. One day she discovered a small plush bear I had in a book case and started to play with it, I found this really amusing since she just "kept" it. It startles me that she seems to understand that some objects belong to her: She plays with them, moves them all around the house and even brings them to our bed in the middle of the night.
Cuca also enjoys playing hide and seek with my wife. She hides behind our stairs while my wife get closer little by little and then they run around the house. It's amazing to see them take turns hunting each other, and how Cuca is very aware of my wife's location most of the time. They created a game and somehow established rules on how to play it.
Another game she really likes is playing fetch. It started when I threw one of her toys to our couch after counting to three and eventually she learned to pick it up and return it to me. Nowadays she likes playing fetch on our stairs. She's gotten smarter and now instead of picking it up she just throws it to me downstairs.
We've had to take her on plane rides and long drives. At the beginning she didn't like it but she got used to it. Now when she's in the car she simply sits in our laps and enjoys the ride. All my previous cats behaved quite differently: They panicked, cried and sometimes peed themselves. Why is Cuca different? What allows her to trust she'll be safe?
Many of the behaviors I described above require some kind of higher conscience, it's not just her survival mechanisms taking place anymore. My intuition tells me this is the result of the extra care we have dedicated towards her well being: Once Cuca is relieved from the basic constrains of an animal's life, her mind can focus on greater things and she almost feels like a person. If an animal can achieve things beyond its abilities because of the attention and care it receives, these must have the same or even greater impact on an actual human.
I started to reflect on how I got to this stage in my life. I wondered why I could focus on hobbies that had absolutely nothing to do with my family's history, and same as with Cuca, the answer lies in how my parents raised me. I spent my entire childhood surrounded by my family and I was given attention and praise simply because they loved me. That kind of love gave me the confidence to focus on my interests for as long as I wanted and work towards the goals I set for myself.
Nothing's perfect, and just as Cuca I've had many ups and downs in my life. I feel fortunate to have her in my day to day and experience first hand the impact of our love and care in her life. I feel fortunate to finally understand this same principle applied to the people you love pays off, it's just complicated to measure. Most of all, I feel really grateful to have friends and family in my life who practice this same principle with me, as sometimes it's the only thing that seems to make a difference when I alone can't find sense in it.
From the beginning I could tell she was clever. One day she discovered a small plush bear I had in a book case and started to play with it, I found this really amusing since she just "kept" it. It startles me that she seems to understand that some objects belong to her: She plays with them, moves them all around the house and even brings them to our bed in the middle of the night.
Cuca also enjoys playing hide and seek with my wife. She hides behind our stairs while my wife get closer little by little and then they run around the house. It's amazing to see them take turns hunting each other, and how Cuca is very aware of my wife's location most of the time. They created a game and somehow established rules on how to play it.
Another game she really likes is playing fetch. It started when I threw one of her toys to our couch after counting to three and eventually she learned to pick it up and return it to me. Nowadays she likes playing fetch on our stairs. She's gotten smarter and now instead of picking it up she just throws it to me downstairs.
We've had to take her on plane rides and long drives. At the beginning she didn't like it but she got used to it. Now when she's in the car she simply sits in our laps and enjoys the ride. All my previous cats behaved quite differently: They panicked, cried and sometimes peed themselves. Why is Cuca different? What allows her to trust she'll be safe?
Many of the behaviors I described above require some kind of higher conscience, it's not just her survival mechanisms taking place anymore. My intuition tells me this is the result of the extra care we have dedicated towards her well being: Once Cuca is relieved from the basic constrains of an animal's life, her mind can focus on greater things and she almost feels like a person. If an animal can achieve things beyond its abilities because of the attention and care it receives, these must have the same or even greater impact on an actual human.
I started to reflect on how I got to this stage in my life. I wondered why I could focus on hobbies that had absolutely nothing to do with my family's history, and same as with Cuca, the answer lies in how my parents raised me. I spent my entire childhood surrounded by my family and I was given attention and praise simply because they loved me. That kind of love gave me the confidence to focus on my interests for as long as I wanted and work towards the goals I set for myself.
Nothing's perfect, and just as Cuca I've had many ups and downs in my life. I feel fortunate to have her in my day to day and experience first hand the impact of our love and care in her life. I feel fortunate to finally understand this same principle applied to the people you love pays off, it's just complicated to measure. Most of all, I feel really grateful to have friends and family in my life who practice this same principle with me, as sometimes it's the only thing that seems to make a difference when I alone can't find sense in it.
Alan