Cats are notorious for being stubborn, prideful and extremely annoying at times. As someone who has owned cats for my entire life, I can attest to the frustrations of seemingly going in circles with my cats, repeating rules and commands with little response and feeling inferior to my feline friend as they get their way for the millionth time.
Although this seems like a burden for those who don’t own cats, I believe this burden can teach valuable life lessons and skills everyone can benefit from.
The more I think about it, the more I realize that cats are basically just self-sufficient toddlers in a different body. Like toddlers, they are extremely curious, risk takers, clingy at times and standoffish at others, but also very loveable. Furthermore, the skills gained while taking care of a cat can translate to taking care of a toddler which can be applied to many aspects of life.
At one point or another, everyone has dealt with an entitled person, whether it was at their job, out in public or with their family. Think of that person as a cat who is begging for food or scratching at a door constantly, despite your pleas for them to stop. The amount of patience required to deal with cats in those situations can be the same for dealing with entitled people.
Matt Agnew, a senior majoring in sports management, while also fond of cats, agrees they can test your patience.
“I feel like they can (test your patience) because sometimes they may not do what you want them to do,” Agnew said.
Because cats learn from positive reinforcement and attention, learning to ignore them in certain situations can translate into other aspects of life and can make dealing with difficult people easier.
This isn’t the only lesson that cats teach either. Boundaries are very important to cats, requiring those who interact with them to be mindful of those boundaries and not to cross them, otherwise they could be attacked. Developing this skill can be extremely helpful in real-life situations when boundaries are being set between people. It allows for people to understand what it means to set a boundary and how to not cross them with others.
Cats are masters at being curious, and they can often translate that mindset onto their owners. The phrase “curiosity killed the cat” is incredibly misleading, as curiosity is how cats have been able to thrive as a species.
Curiosity doesn’t just spark interest, it can lead to new discoveries, new survival tactics and new ways of living. Sure, it may be safer to not explore, but living a life without risk is dull and boring, and cats are excellent at living life to the fullest through their bravery and exploration. It’s better to be brave and enjoy life than to be a coward and endure life.
Cats spend much of the day sleeping, often in little bursts to boost their energy. While this may not be viable for a human, it is an important reminder for us to be more mindful of our sleep.
Cats value sleep so much because they need energy in the wild to hunt. We don’t need to hunt in the wild, but we still need to work, do chores, attend class and spend time with others, and that is just as important to us. Just like cats, we need energy to do all of these things, and we can’t have that energy if we don’t get enough sleep.
Cats often get a bad rep for their occasional grumpy attitude, standoffish nature and strict boundaries, but learning how to befriend a cat and take care of one can not only be beneficial to the animal, but also to you.
