HEROIC CATS: IS THERE REALLY SUCH AN ANIMAL OR IS THIS A MYTH?
I spotted a story about a cat that alerted its owners to a house fire and saved them from harm. It sounds good in theory but are cats really that noble? My wildest guess would be no. But we have to examine cat motivation before we can render a final decision.
The heroic cat had some serious motivation in the fire: He had little desire to become a crispy critter. The short list of options available to Tabby included alerting the owners or Kitty flambé as a main course.
Cats look after themselves first and foremost.
The cat in question was probably unable to work the doorknob, or his owners would have been a casual afterthought for him. Cat owners fulfill one primary function for cats: They either provide food or become food if said owner is a crazy person who dies alone with 53 cats in the house. Mainly because cats are not good with can openers, and they can’t order in some take-out.
Cats are pretty good actors. It appears that they can mimic real affection for people. It is actually a pretty clever trick, but not unique to cats. My goldfish can do the same thing when they’re hungry.
Cats follow their natural hunting instincts in most situations. They will likely annihilate every bird within three miles of home, but mice are another issue. It turns out that they are too lazy to hate meeses to pieces. They like low hanging fruit such as flightless baby birds better than furtive and speedy rodents.
So you can rule out useful purposes for cats under normal conditions. Every cat in the world should sing the praises of the cat that saved the family from the fire. It was a public relations dream for cats. All the rest of us have to do is completely suspend reality and believe that the cat had pushed the family’s welfare ahead of its own.
For me, that is a tall order.
COMMENTS
BERNIE:"This has article has about as much validity to it as Al Gore and his Global Warming tirade."
DENNIS:"You hit it right on the button. I'm not a dog person, they require love and attention and they give it in kind. I've always had cats. You can go away when ever you want as long as your house has a cat door. If they get hungry they will go beg at the neighbors house or find something to kill. When a cat purrs and rubs your leg it's not being affectionate, it's simply identifyng property, it's property. The whole cat family is very lazy by nature, they don't blow a calorie they don't have to. Cats sleep away an easy half of their life. Cats are very smart for something with a brain the size of a walnut, they can figure out how to get into anything you don't want them in and they don't take "No!" for an answer. A squirt gun is the only law they respect. My cat actually looks at me when she is going to get into something she knows I don't want her in and if I'm not already reaching for the squirt gun on the coffee table, she goes ahead.
