The origins of a catwoman (part 3)

Chapter 1- The conversion of a non believer to a cat worshipper (....continues)

As I said before and yes, and once again, shame, shame of me, when I was younger I didn't really like cats or even dogs for that matter (despite the fact that we always had a dog around as I was afraid of them because of a couple incidents I had, when I was attacked by some stay dogs without really getting injured, just very scared!). Instead t I seemed to rather prefer small chicks which I found easy to care for (till at least they'd have grown to adult hens who we would then either keep them for a while for the eggs  they'd produce or who we'd only keep if they were cockerels till they were big and fat enough for the dinner roast). Yes I know, shame of me once again but I couldn't help it. I'd love and care for these small chicks (and I was a very good foster hen mother) till they'd have grown and become adult chickens and I would look like a young female Konrad Lorenz, having them following me around the house or garden but when they'd had grown up all of the sudden I'd just stop caring for them (and looked to care for other young ones all over again) and didn't really care whether my mother would keep them or decide to cook them instead...I didn't even mind eating them, to be honest, as I would have completely detached myself from them...To my defence they didn't look anything like the fluffy and soft balls I’ve used to care for...and those days vegetarians didn't  really exist!

I think it must have been the size and the total transformation that kinda made me so uncaring when they were grown up chickens (a few rabbits too. occasionally) as when I've started looking after dwarf, which we were calling, chinese, chickens I kept them for life and I got really distraught when my first dwarf cockerel, Rico died from old age... and who I've even buried in the back garden. And despite all my then faults I was one of the first and perhaps a pioneer in some way as I would always keep my animals indoors, in the house and often treated them like they were part of the family particular at times when all animals that they were kept as pets were kept mainly outdoors in a special, sheltered area and were even only fed occasionally. In some way I guess they were paying back for that shelter and free food by either protecting their humans or assisting their humans in their activities and hobbits, like hunting, or and in case of cats keeping the rodents population under control. And even after I'd finally had my epiphany moment and became a cat worshipper. I was, at least where I've lived, one of the first that insisted on keeping their cats indoors because it was safer, despite common beliefs and often severe criticism that they should be allowed to roam freely because it was in their nature, pure nonsense really!

So and despite the fact that I would sometimes eat my pets in the end, I've always liked and cared for animals in general including  wounded wild birds which my dad would bring after his hunting trip (which funny enough we would then keep and not eat if they’d managed to survive and recover from their injury and stress of being captured of course) , rabbits, other small birds like canaries, budgies, puppies, etc. but never kittens or cats...I simply didn't like cats that is....till of course that day when I had my accident and a close encounter with a ginger, stray tom cat when I was about 12 years old!

Ozzy looking as alway very cute!!!

To be continued.....hopefully more will be added next week. For more information or if  you have any comments you can always contact me at: kirkiecat@yahoo.co.uk

The origins of a catwoman (part 2)

 Chapter 1- The conversion of a non believer to a cat worshipper 

(...continuing )

Nevertheless, and despite for our purrsonal reasons for having cats, our cats today are an important part of our lives and those of us who live with them could never consider a life without them (although in same occasions we might have secretly considered at times a life without our partners and even without our children or other family members....come on, admit it at least to yourself).

And of course there are always those, well at least some people, who for some unexplained reason they seem not to like cats or even (the savages!!) to hate them and even to want to harm them...Cats have, even now, in these modern and open minded times at least once again for some, a bad reputation of being mean, independent, unpredictable, wild and even dangerous...Of course these people seem to forget that today domesticated cats, and especially the Homo catus species (indoor only cats in my own feline family tree, who and over the year, have evolved to a new subspecies) have lived with humans in cities, towns, villages, farms, etc for over thousands of years now and therefore they can't  be considered to be wild anymore (as some cats can't even catch a toy prey let alone a living fast moving one...) and like dogs they can be trained, they are loyal and faithful and even better talking and listening companions...

But I don't want to dwell for too long on why some people seem to unreasonably dislike cats (maybe there is something in their unconscious mind, which they try to forget or ignore as this something might remind them that cats after all are not so different from humans, despite their small size, soft fur and tail.. cats with thumbs?)

So and to return to the people that they do like cats, each one of us has his/her own reasons for liking cats and also perhaps their different origins in their reasons for liking our feline companions. Early experiences perhaps, growing and living in homes where cats were always around or even having a sort of epiphany at some point in their lives or even like with my own case, they had a rather strange experience at some point in their lives, which kick-started  this great relationship with those magnificent animals.

At this point I think is about time that I confess something...that as a young child I didn't really like cats...I was kinda afraid of them and that I used to prefer baby chicks and birds instead...To my defence I've come from a country where till recently (or even now for at least some really cruel people who seem to enjoy killing cats for their own mean reasons) cats weren't very popular, they had a bad reputation, and they were  many stray and they were serving only one purpose  to catch rats and mice and not to be kept as companion animals indoors!!!

It is true that where and when I was growing up cats weren't the popular animals they are today and most people seemed to prefer dogs to cats who they could serve their ‘human masters’ by guarding and protecting them or in the case of my dad and too many other hunters those days, when they were going hunting, so they could find and retrieve fallen, killed or lost birds...

Those days dogs and cats would stay outside in a sheltered place (if they were lucky that is) and they would only eat human leftovers. Yes now and when I'm reminiscing those days I do feel really ashamed especially when remembering how badly dogs and cats were really treated, with cats often being poisoned to reduce the numbers down while dogs were kept tied up, day and night, almost all year around...But I guess, and unfortunately, I didn't know any better those days as we were living in a world  where only humans deserved  to have a 'good' life and anything else, any other living organism was expendable, it lived only to serve or sustain humans and they couldn't feel or know anything as they were  mere 'dumb and stupid animals!!' So bad and sad really...

But at least we can all be thankful that now things have indeed changed and cats and dogs are treated in most cases like equal family members...although and even now there are still some exceptions to these rules and some people are still mistreating their animal companions....Unfortunately some humans can never change or they would openly admit that all animals have their place in this world and that they have the right like humans to live their own lives as nature intend it...live and let live!

But the past can't be changed, no matter how much we might want to and sometimes there is no much point in thinking too much how different things might have been. Instead it is better if one can focus on the present and on the things that he/she can change now and subsequently influence the future. So and instead I'll just carry on telling you that part of the past that is relevant to this part of the story so I could explain my own origins of my cathood!

Faith, who we adopted along with Ozzy about six months ago, sleeping in her favourite spot!

(to be continued next week....)

You can always email me at kirkiecat@yahoo.co.uk if you have any comments or questions!  i