Cool Cats

Are there any animals that are more strong-willed and more free-spirited than cats? Not that we’re aware of. Cats are individualists with a pronounced character all of their own. They simply are what they are. Above all, they are mavericks and don’t follow any leaders the way dogs do. A cat is its own boss. They certainly rule the house. Cats know this, and you can bet that the people they live with know it too. What they think about that? Ask any cat owner. They know what it means to be ignored.

Cats do not subordinate themselves; the special thing about them is their great independence. Cats are elegant, often have a magical, mysterious aura about them, and sometimes seem fascinatingly aloof. The cuddling, the petting – they only do that for cat lovers, as independent observers often suspect.

Malicious tongues say there is no point in wasting your time finding a good name for your cat. It won’t come anyway when it’s called. This is a commonly held belief, but it is, in fact, false. Cats do come when you call them – but only if they see some sense in doing so. They know their name very well, and if they can expect to find something tasty in their food dish immediately after being called, they will gladly come prancing around the corner. Cat training is actually not all that difficult, the experts say: it takes a cat just a few days to teach its owners the essentials.

No two cats are alike. Each has its own personal preferences. And in any given moment, a cat will cultivate these preferences more self-indulgently than any other animal. Cats do things for their own sake. Because they find it interesting at the moment or because it simply seems like the right thing to do at the time. If they don‘t feel at ease, if something irritates them or appears to be a threat, they simply leave. Without making a big fuss about it. In fact, cats do pretty much everything as relaxed, as unagitated and as admirably composed as possible – which quite perfectly describes the normal state of mind for a cat.

“Cats have no need of philosophy”, says John Gray. “Obeying their nature, they are content with the life it gives them.” The English philosopher admires cats especially for the serenity with which they face the world.

Gray spent several years exploring the nature of cats. One conclusion: we stand to learn a thing or two from these willful creatures, especially when it comes to happiness and contentment. And perhaps philosophers, who have spent millennia pondering the same questions over and over again, would be well-advised to simply imagine life as a cat for a change. Because cats experience neither fear nor doubt. And all those big questions about love, death and morality? For Gray, cats embody the answer in an almost perfect way.

In his Feline Philosophy, published in 2020, Gray delves into the topic of “Cats and the Meaning of Life” – so the subtitle of the book. As playfully lighthearted as it is profound, this elegant study of what cats can teach us about the good life is recommended reading – and not only for diehard cat lovers. The main takeaway from the book: “Among cats, happiness is the state to which they default when practical threats to their well-being are removed.”