How anthropomorphism can damage a feline/ human relationship
I’m going to admit something terrible now; I have a weakness for trashy magazines. They generally make me laugh with their rather “Carry on” type style of writing.
I opened one fairly recently however, and felt I had to address an article they’d printed. The article was about a lady who took on a cat; a tom named Sam, who it seemed she loved very much. The problem was that he’d (in the magazines words) become a “killer kitten” and had attacked her. After reading the article, I was saddened by quite a few things. The lady felt that their relationship had been damaged permanently and she didn’t feel the connection she had with Sam could ever be repaired.
What did jump out of the page at me was this; “We decided it was best to get him neutered. “It should make him less hostile” Mum said. “I guess” I replied glumly. It was such a shame. I really wanted him to be a daddy.”
This, coupled with other things mentioned in the article can explain a tom getting rather more aggressive than you’d expect. Hormonal urges are strong in cats, they don’t rationalise what they’re feeling; they act on it.
Sam was purely reacting to hormones. The lady stated she was visiting a clients home and the home had other cats in it, at least three. Sam responded to the other cats smells very strongly judging by the article; this would have been infinitely less likely if he’d been neutered at the recommended minimum age.
The article goes on to say that three months after his neuter, Sam is much calmer. I can’t help but feel if the lady in question had considered all the reasons for neutering instead of looking at things from a humanised perspective, she may have done what was best for Sam initially. Instead, she applied a logic that had no bearing on him (Sam more than likely had no preference on if he was a daddy or not) and it damaged a functioning friendship.
Anthropomorphism is something most people that love their animals are guilty of. And a lot of the time, it’s nothing more than a reaction to the emotions they feel for them that does no real harm. But with things that are truly necessary to be a happy (and as mentioned previously, more likely to be healthy) cat we have to override the desire to attribute human reactions to them. We have to recognise a cat is not sat pondering if she’ll ever get to be a mother. She is more likely to be wondering where the red dot went and when it’s next going to reappear. Or if the human she is bonded to has picked up the meat she prefers for her evening meal.
Recognising when it’s safe to apply human personality traits to a cat and when it will be detrimental to them is a hugely important part of caring for them to the best level you can.
What an excellent article, accentuating how easy it is to apply our “human” traits to animals, to the point that our decisions can be detrimental to them and us! It astonishes me even in this day and age how complacent and sentimental some people can be about such a fundamental responsibility when it comes to pet ownership.
I find it’s a fine and emotional line to walk being a pet owner. We embrace our animals with open hearts, take them into our home, nurture them with love and wellbeing, accept them for who they are and worry about them when they get sick or go awol, but alongside that goes the responsibility of ensuring they and we have a happy life together.