A thousand animals in one
“The quality of life is in proportion, always, to the capacity for delight. The capacity for delight is the gift of paying attention.” – Julia Cameron
You may think a cat is a cat is a cat.
Not so, I am here to report.
Junipurr, as zoologists and cat behaviorist and laypeople would all agree, is a cat, a proud, card-carrying member of the Felis Catus tribe.
But she is also …
A raccoon … when a potential threat to her queendom is at large – A package deliverer! An intruding neighbor cat! A particularly robust gust of wind! – and her gray-brown ringed tail poofs up to just the circumference of a raccoon’s
A kangaroo … when she squats solidly on her hind legs, lifts her torso up high as if she’s following along on a Yoga with Adriene tutorial (“Big breath in as you lift your heart up …”), one paw on her side belly, and watches the world from this lofty position
A baby squirrel … when she curls up on her side into a true doughnut and goes in for the Deep Sleep. Her dreaming little face some how gets more and more babylike till it all but is the size and look of one of those baby squirrels I help take care of at the wildlife rehabilitation center
A frog in disguise … when her beautiful hazelnut and caramel brown torso is camouflaging regally on her (brown) ripple rug or (brown) infinity loop shaped brown scratcher
A snail … when viewed from behind as she tucks her tail into its invisible pocket, curls her torso tightly like a cinnamon bun, lifts her head and conducts the air currents leisurely with her ears
A great horned owl … when she is feeling professorial and dons her stern expression – eyes large and round, inky black pupil set in a bright yellow iris; ears perked and turned outward. And, I’m sure, if you offered her a mouse, she wouldn’t say no
And of course,
A tiger on the prowl … when she jumps up high, to the top shelf of the closet perhaps, exposing only her lean striped legs, her white belly, and her don’t-mess-with-me paws. Sometimes I have to remind myself – no, a baby tiger hasn’t moved in. That’s just Junipurr, our little thousand-animals-in-one cat.
Perhaps all of us are jackalopes, simurghs, or qilins. Perhaps life offers more mythical creatures, more similarities and overlaps, than differences and divides.
The last time you looked – really paid attention – to your cat, what (or who!) did you see?
