Cat Parenting Field Notes | February 2022
Cats and Climate Change
In early February, I journeyed to the North Pole.
Well, a place that felt like the North Pole. There was snow above, below, and all around, like in a recently swirled snow globe. Weather reports spoke of something called windchill. Survival could only be ensured with the constant injection of hot chocolate.
In preparation, I took out my thickest winter coat, which Junipurr immediately attached to like a neodymium magnet to a steel pot. It was quite touching how seriously Juni took her job of quality testing mama’s coat.
Even back home in a land that promises balmy weather, though, Juni has been spending a fair amount of every day in her heated cat bed or atop multiple layers of blankets under a heat lamp. It made me wonder: How do cats feel about climate change? Are they aware of it? Do they hear about it in the evening kitty mews (“This is the hottest/coldest winter in our territory since the first colony moved in!”)? Since cats, dogs, and other animals often seem to intuit earthquakes and thunderstorms before they happen, are they also aware of the radically changing environment? If so, how are they processing their climate emotions?
(If you are looking for an interesting weekly read on climate change from humans’ point-of-view, I just started subscribing to “The Weekly Planet” newsletter and find it eye-opening.)
Kitchen Counter Rebellion
Junipurr had a terrible GI tract infection earlier this month that is, thankfully, resolved now. However, we are still working through some of the consequences … During the course of treatment, we had to drip feed Juni just 10 kcal food an hour (her daily target is 150 kcal). Naturally, Juni got used to the frequent mealtimes. Even though she’s transitioned back to more regular sized meals now, she has had a taste of the good life and refuses to suffer a reversal in life quality!
Her protest: Jumping on the kitchen counter, the only place in the house that is off limits to her and where food is prepared.
How do we know it’s rebellion rather than mere curiosity?
Well, she first makes eye contact, and with eyes locked on ours, start slow-mo DDR-ing on the kitchen counter.
This, friends, has created some contention in our household. While Favorite Parent and I are aligned on “no Junipurr on the kitchen counter,” we aren’t seeing eye to eye on how to parent on this. To FP, no means no, and no is final. End of sentence. Mic drop, leave the room. I, on the other hand, am more in the Jackson Galaxy camp of “Follow a firm ‘no’ with a ‘yes’ to something else.” Redirect the behavior by creating a fun and permissible alternative, you know? What do you think — am I being too soft?
The kitchen is not all war and negotiations, though. This month, Juni and I had an epiphany on teamwork: Juni can help with the dishwashing! Specifically, Juni helps me by licking clean the spoon with which I use to spoon her wet food. Even though I still wash the spoon with soap and water afterwards, you’d be surprised how many seconds I save — and how much utility this adds to both of our daily lives! :D
Flowers and Spring
Inspired by the incredible organic native plants and food gardeners in my community, I’ve been reading books on permaculture, attending workshops on composting, and bursting home with cuttings and seeds. No one has been a bigger fan than Juni (I check ASPCA’s searchable list of Toxic and Non-Toxic Plant List to Cats and this PDF table of Plants Toxic to Dogs & Cats by The Garden Factory on whether the plant is toxic to cats before bringing it home). Yesterday I came home with a gorgeous cutting of Salvia leucantha (Mexican Bush Sage), which I set on the dining table while getting a glass of water. When I turned around, I discovered my flowers have ears… triangular, milk chocolate brown, and suspiciously fluffy ears. Juni was burying her face into the flowers! My little anthophile…
How was February in your household, friend? What are you and your kitties up to?
