cats are beautiful... why?

[miriam_e]

Am I the only one who sees the peculiarity here? Cats look beautiful to us. We frequently coo and aaww over them. Even people who hate the slaughter they wreak upon the Australian wildlife still have to admit they are gorgeous creatures.

But why?

We are humans. They are cats -- a totally different kind of mammal. They have a completely different language from us, both verbal and body-language. They are quite alien. So how could we ever consider them beautiful? They don't even benefit from crossed parental cues the way dogs do. Dogs even share the same language as us, both verbal and physical. If we should feel another species was beautiful you'd think it would be the dog, but they are described differently -- they're our best friend, loyal, steadfast, noble... but rarely beautiful.

The only thing I can come up with is that there may have been some early selection for those who like cats because they kill rodents that take grain and pass on diseases like bubonic plague. Cats won't hang around unless it is in their interests to do so -- they aren't social animals. So a person with a misplaced adoration for cats would have been be in a much better survival position.

Just pointless thoughts. Can't be proved or disproved so it's far from scientific. But an interesting puzzle.

Comments

[drjon.livejournal.com]

You know, although cats don't hunt in packs, they have a much denser social life than is normally supposed.

Ever seen a game of Cat Chess? Now that's beautiful!

[miriam-e.livejournal.com]

I know what you mean, but cats competing, thrust into close company... I'm not sure that counts as social...

Cat chess??? You have me intrigued. What is it?

[drjon.livejournal.com]

Why would you not count competition as social? Speaking as someone who gains an enormous amount of pleasure from watching social interaction, competition is a very large component of it...

Cat chess is a game which three or more cats play. The object is to find a position where you can see as many of the other players as possible, while being seen by the least.

[greylock.livejournal.com]

Your description of cat chess is:
All kids of brilliant.
Totally accurate.

[miriam-e.livejournal.com]

I still don't go along with competitive behavior as being social. That's a little like Maggie Thatcher's denial that society exists; that only individuals do. But of course there is always some kind of wiggle-room in definitions, for instance flocking behavior looks pretty social, but the rulles are simple and individual... so perhaps there are ways of looking at cats as social.

I've never had more than one cat at a time so I've never seen "cat chess". It sounds interesting. I'll have to keep an eye out for it. Thanks for the pointer.

My Cat's

[senseless.livejournal.com]

Tend to behave more like dogs...

Re: My Cat's

[miriam-e.livejournal.com]

I've heard a lot of people say this, but apart from a Siamese cat, I've never really seen it.

[greylock.livejournal.com]

Cats are love.

[miriam-e.livejournal.com]

okaaaaay... :)

[dances-withcats.livejournal.com]

Some experts have said that the reason cats (and dogs, to a lesser extent) appeal to us is that they have some of the characteristics of babies: a head and eyes that seem unusually large, etc. I don't know; for me, it's a combination of their innate grace and elegance and the honor I feel when a cat chooses to make him/herself part of my life...and I'm a sucker for soft fur and a good purr. :-)

[miriam-e.livejournal.com]

Yes, I've hear the notion of crossed over parental cues a lot (big eyes, etc), but while I think it has some part to play I doubt it is the whole story (for example tawny frogmouths have very big eyes and large heads but I doubt many people would coo over them see a pic at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Tawny_frogmouths_close-up.jpg ).

I think we get closer to the heart of the matter when we consider the other things you listed. I know exactly what you mean and I feel these things myself when I watch a cat or have one with me. But I'm still puzzled. We are still talking about something completely non-human. Why would we feel any kind of affection for it?

Regardless of the answer (and I suspect it because of past humans who survived better because of their feline friends)... regardless of that, I think it is very fortunate for us, because I can't help feeling that it is one of the things that will let us survive our destructiveness. That we can love other species and appreciate their beauty, means we just might save enough of the rest of our planet's life to enable ourselves to survive.

Tawny Frog Mouths

[amberitus.livejournal.com]

I had an opportunity on the weekend to see a Tawny up close, it was about 2 metres away on the balcony near where i was sitting. It flew away before I could get close to it. But if I could have I would have cooed over it. I love Tawnies.

[sealwhiskers.livejournal.com]

I've had both cats and dogs...and the cats were just so much fun. They invented tricks, learned how to turn on/off my digital alarm clock by themselves and all kinds off things that would take some intelligence to figure out. They were also very social when they were indoors, they came and greeted us like dogs are normally claimed to do, by the door, and they threw themselves at us while watching tv, to get cuddling and petting. I've seen all kinds of cats, but a large branch of them delight in the interaction with humans..is my experience at least.
As for the beauty...well, big eyes in a little round head, little furry paws. They can be decent baby substitutes, as someone else here said.

[miriam-e.livejournal.com]

Cats are certainly intelligent and that is almost certainly a large part of the attraction. You may enjoy this cool piece:
http://cats.about.com/od/behaviortraining/a/cattools.htm

Some time back I also read a piece (have no idea where it was) about a person who noticed that their cat would disappear at the same time on the same night each week. They became curious and followed the cat one night. From what I remember (and I'm not clear on it) I think it travelled a couple of blocks to a local church where it went and sat on a window and watched while the people within held a meeting. At the end of the meeting the cat left its perch on the windowsill and came home.

Cats can be soft and welcoming and affectionate, but they can be quite inscrutible too.

My old girlfriend, Margaret has always had cats as long as I've known her. She treats them well and they treat her well in return. From your description of your cats above it reflects very well upon you. It is easy to have a dog be all the things you mention, but a cat? You have to be an especially good person.

[sharpblonde.livejournal.com]

Attraction to the exotic?
Instinctual respect for a cunning predator?
Natural admiration of elegance and grace?
And as someone else said... resemblance to babies in that they have large heads and eyes in comparison to a human adult?

[miriam-e.livejournal.com]

The fact that we like these things in cats gives me great hope for humans. We can like these elegant little aliens and extend our interests and affections to those things that we derive no clear benefit from... just because they are alive and beautiful.

Of course it doesn't give so much hope for things like huntsman spiders which are alive but not very beautiful... but it's a start.

[belegdel.livejournal.com]

I've always put it down to the Cat's instinctive aloofness giving them more an impression of equality than Dogs, who tend to naturally arrange their social groups in terms of a heirarchy.
Often the term "beautiful" (and similar expressions) aren't equally applied to things we feel we have power or control over. In those cases words like "cute" are more often used.

Or I could just be making stuff up.

[miriam-e.livejournal.com]

Cats' aloofness contrasted with dogs' willingness to take a submissive role -- this is a very interesting point. It also gives me great hope for us humans.

It is easy to have a close relationship with a dog. It is a no-brainer. If the human is stunted (as most of us seem to be) then the dog will happily do most of the work in maintaining the relationship. It is very easy to fall into a master-slave relationship with dogs, which I believe is very unhealthy for humans, though that limited relationship is still healthier than no relationship at all. Of course, those who put the extra effort in can take their friendship with dogs to a far deeper level where they become partners and best pals -- something incredibly powerful.

Cats don't easily accept a master/slave relationship. With cats you get back what you give. If you get lots of affection from cats then that is the greatest compliment. I like what cats can teach us.