Catty Fun Facts

One of the more fascinating side effects of having Yuki Grace Beans around all the time has been gaining insight into the twistings and turnings of cats.

In combining real world observation with browsing r/catadvice and slowly working my way through a few books delving into the nature of cats, I’ve been gradually unravelling the mysteries of the universe our feline friends.

Turns out, cats are grossly misunderstood by the world at large.

So many cats are brought into homes because the humans want a low maintenance pet who can be left to their own devices and will take care of themselves. Cats will survive in such an environment, but they won’t thrive.

Most cats love, crave, and need human interaction, but crucially—on their terms. In addition, Play, or consistent energetic stimulus of some kind, is an absolute necessity. Cats are semi-wild creatures, after all.

“On their terms” is the first hurdle where many humans stumble. I’ve read countless stories of people who wanted something fluffy to cuddle, left heartbroken upon discovering that the cat they chose isn’t into cuddling.

Understanding each cat’s unique terms and conditions requires patience, perception, adaptability, and compassion. In a similar vein, getting a cat because you want something particular from them is a recipe for disaster.

Cats, like humans, are sovereign beings with each their own personality. The moment you start laying expectations at their door for how you want them to behave in relation to you, you’re setting yourself up for a frustrating time.

Okay, that’s the first insight—here’s number two:

I was tickled to notice that Yuki essentially fits 4-6 ‘Cat Days’ into each 24 cycle, religiously following this pattern, with small variations here and there:

Sleep - Pets - Bathroom - Eat - Groom - Play - Repeat

While this particular order of things may be unique to Yuki, the facets themselves are not—and the days of most cats will look and feel similar.

When I recognized this pattern, I couldn’t help but think, “what a life!” She’ll move through this cycle every 4-5 hours like clockwork, with a degree of reliability where I’m able to accurately guess when she’ll ask for a meal.

(Which happens between 8-9am, 1-2pm, 5-6pm, and 10-11pm, if you’re curious. She also gets two overnight snacks via an automatic feeder to keep her satiated and from banging down the bedroom door at 2 and 5am.)

That meal frequency brings up another interesting tidbit, which is that largely due to their small stomachs, cats thrive on eating numerous small meals, rather than stuffing themselves twice per day as many dogs do.

A hungry cat is also a stressed cat, and a stressed cat is often a misbehaving cat. This was the realization that led to buying the automatic feeder for overnight snacks, as dealing with kitty chaos at 3am quickly grew old.

Curiously, in sharp contrast to the rigidity of a cat’s daily routines, I’ve noticed they have very different days from an emotional and mental perspective.

To illustrate: Where dogs tend to show up as the same dog most days personality-wise, Yuki expresses a new variation of herself each day. Her degrees of playfulness, neediness, sleepiness, mischievousness, desire for touching or solitude or outside time, and which toys or resting spots she favours are always in flux—which is a dynamism I find fascinating.

(Actually, I must correct myself: Yuki does have one clear favourite of a toy—a now-raggedy ass, ravaged, punched-full-of-holes little mouse that was the first toy I bought for her. The amount of joy she gets from throwing this little thing all over the house is heartwarming, hilarious, and a delight to behold.)

With Yuki fresh in my mind, I’d like to end today’s Whimsie with a confession:

Adapting to life with her around was tough. She is a very different cat from Katsu, and making comparisons was easy, even if wildly unhelpful.

I questioned whether or not we’d made a mistake in adopting her. At times, her chaotic playfulness was overwhelming, frustrating, and annoying. I didn’t want to adapt my schedule to better suit her needs. My sleep suffered.

But something shifted in early August, perhaps related to The Coolest Mushroom Trip of My Life, during which I channelled her playful energy.

I realized that despite the difficulty she introduces and the bouts of chaos she brings, I love the smoky little panther to bits and pieces. Her joy when she plays is infectious. Now that we’re aware of them, her subtle signs of affection are heart-melting. Her various vocalizations are helpfully informative. And creating an environment were her needs are met is a fun project.

In this shift in thought, she’s helped me understand the old adage that we see life not as it is, but as we are—that life is purely a matter of perspective.

Thank you, darling Yukster.

With love from the forest,

~ Alexander ‘Wiz’ Mullan