As I watch Loopy and Nolo attack the things on my desk, sleep all day, and try to steal food that isn’t theirs, I find that I’m treating a cat better than a person.
Here’s why.
Crazy Cats
Loopy and Nolo love being mischievous. Nolo has ripped off the edges of 4 slats in the living room blinds so she can simply walk behind them whenever she wants. Loopy and Nolo are constantly batting about the wand on the blinds in Cristi’s office when she’s on conference calls.
As I write this the two of them just ran into my office at full speed with the thunderous sound of tiny buffalo, and now Nolo has jumped on my desk to walk in front of my monitor, pull at my cords, and knock my pen onto the floor.
From the cords they attack while I play guitar, to the dry-erase wall calendar they wipe clean with their paws, they are chaotic. They are destructive. They are frustrating.
And yet, when they curl up in my lap, the only thing I think is to pet them, love them, and show them that they are valued and important. It’s just a slice of my day where I’m treating a cat better than a person.
Don’t we all?
Cats Are Cats
Why do we treat cats and other pets this way when they cause so much havoc? Because they are cats. We don’t expect them to understand what we want, act in a way that is contrary to what they know, or be perfect.
So why do we expect more from humans? Sure, we can reason with other people. When I tell Nolo she can’t get under the sink because there are bad chemicals under there, she just stares at me blankly as she walks right in. With a person, I can say “it’s dangerous under there” and they understand.
But at the same time, we expect more from people than we do from cats even when it is in our nature. We can look and see we are treating a cat better than a person by simply taking a step back.
Human Nature
A cat will destroy blinds because they are just operating their world the best they know how. A narcissist will be selfish because they are operating their world the best they know how. A person suffering from depression will be locked in negative thought patterns because they are operating their world the best they know how. I should know.
There comes a point we have to accept people as they are and not try to change them. We can’t allow people to do things that hurt others, but that doesn’t mean we treat them poorly. Just like a cat who is trying to destroy blinds, we don’t throw the cat out or punish it for acting like a cat, we simply remove the cat from the blinds or find ways to protect the blinds from the cat.
We understand the nature of cats and treat them accordingly. We’re treating a cat better than a person. It’s time to treat people the same way. It’s time to accept people as they are, and realize they are doing the best they know how.
Sometimes we might have to help them make better choices, remove them from bad situations, or even remove ourselves from the situation, but we must realize that people are people. How could we expect them to be anything else?
