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

[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.