We envy cats for making life look so easy

People will generally have one of two opinions about cats. They can love them or despise them. For those that love cats, they are feline companions, creatures of beauty and elegance who make every purr they give you feel like a hard-won victory. For the others, they are a nuisance who contribute nothing and are full of nonsense. Whatever the opinion an individual holds many people will encounter cats outdoors on a daily basis. But what drives someone to dumping a cat into a wheelie bin? And the reaction that has spurred from such an act, would it have been as explosive it was a dog?

The reactions the public have had against Mary Bale, the woman responsible for dumping Lola the cat into the wheelie bin for 15 hours, vary from sheer hate expressing how they’d rather her “sit in a bin covered in cat litter for 15 hours to see how she likes it” to death threats, while others see her the victim of an enormous over-reaction.

Miss Bale has declared her actions were a “joke” but the joke would only have been for her own amusements since she had no idea she was being filmed. Whatever the reasoning, the outcry this event has had on the nation probably says more about us and our feelings towards cats than you might first think.

Is it because cats have so much personality that out feelings about ourselves are tied up so closely into feelings about them? If you’re troubled, you may see a cat as an easy outlet for your anger, this creature doesn’t have to worry about bills or responsibilities and just lounges around all day, its biggest concern being what to eat, making life look infuriatingly easy. Cats are an easy target for an outlet on anger since they are trusting and vulnerable.

Suspicion and loathing of cats has existed throughout the centuries, from cats being the companions of witches to the modern day crazy cat lady portrayal in media. And while cats may seem to have it easy, their intelligence means they also have it harder than any other pet. Cats go on surviving whatever we have thrown at them, be it yobs, dangerous drivers or crazy elderly practical jokers. But their key to survival is that they live entirely luxuriously in the moment, and rather than fear or envy them, we should do well to learn from them.

Source: The Daily Telegraph – Saturday August 28 2010