Monday, September 19, 2011

Lessons From My Cat Part 2



Male metaphors tend towards the active: hunting, chasing, holding, making her mine. Let's be kind and say that there's a certain carnivore and prey smell to our way of thinking. The implication is that women in the wild are innocent unwilling participants.

Which is dumb. Male metaphors can be crap.

As I noted previously, the humble house cat gives us fundamental clues about female human behaviour. Think of her as woman stripped of overthinking and emotion - she's the essence of feminine...in a soft, seasonal fur coat. Not that I am suggesting women are large upright cats without tails. It's that I see more than coincidence in the commonality of feline and feminine. Plus I love both cats and women.

But back to the chase metaphor. Yes, on one level men hunt for women, but it's like describing the Champs-Élysées as a Parisian street. A street takes you somewhere. A French avenue is for strolling. One takes one's time, checking out the boutiques, being surprised by what one finds along the way. Waiting for just the right moment to steal a kiss. Waiting for her to tell you by her actions when she wants a kiss.


Which is the way my cat works. Most of the time she's engrossed in her own world. There's stuff to look at, food to eat, naps to take. Washing. Grooming. Exploring. But once a day, she makes it perfectly clear that we need to be affectionate. She'll jump on my desk and sit on the keyboard. Or she'll climb onto my lap. That's the point at which I have to - I must - stop everything and focus completely on her. A petting session or a few minutes of brushing is enough...physical contact to reconnect with each other before we get on with everything else.

Observing and reacting. Not hunting.



Bottoms Up, Tail-less Ones.






8 comments:

Mr Nights said...

Now if your cat looked like Sarah Michelle Gellar, then you'd be on to something hot! For some reason, she personifies the term 'feline feminine." She can kill vampires and yet speak in a soft cuddly voice.

So what describes the rest of you? I've been described as a golden retriever. Wombat, you're already self-described. I'd like to know what the rest of you are like.

Miz Aventures said...

Spot on. Cats also go a little nutty from time to time, as do most women, myself included. I think I'm a hybrid of sorts and to invision the animal that would be would give small children nightmares for years. It would be a cross between an elephant, a cat and probably a bear. I have a great long term memory, fiercely protective of my loved ones and everything you mentioned about feline feminine. :)

Beautiful but Grumpy said...

Ha, golden retriever! They are playful but they do need a lot of grooming. I've been called mynx few times. That IS an animal, right?

John Green said...

My cat goes crazy everytime he is served Fancy Feat Souffle...lol he is so funny

Mary Fincher said...

You've hit the nail on the head. This perfectly explains why I prefer cats over dogs and yet simultaneously why I prefer gentle men over alpha-males.

Sex Advice said...

Oh yes, definitely. A man who is not good with cats is usually not good with women.

I think the discrepancy is rooted in a desire to express masculinity but doing so in an anxious way. Instead of being dominant in a positive way, which is an attractive masculine trait, a lot of us men try to be physically dominant in an abusive way or domineering, which is an entirely different thing.

If you have a take it or leave it attitude and your doing your own thing, the cats come up and purr on your lap.

On the other hand, to attract a women you also have to actually approach her and actually make moves. Just at the right time. So the analogy like most analogies shouldn't be taken too far. Women aren't actually cats - despite sharing some perhaps feline qualities :-)

Wombat said...

Ah-HAH!.

So MizA is a cat, and BbG is a mynx.

Niiiiiice.

Good question, Mr Nights.

Anonymous said...

Well, as someone with fur and 3 tails, I have to say i agree with you Wombie:)

Enigma