Why Cats?

by Nancy F. Low

The amazing thing about having a cat as a pet is we are both alpha predators. Each could kill or seriously harm the other. Why do we want to hang with each other?  Let's face it, people don't need anything from cats on a primal level. Cats are perfectly capable of taking care of themselves, they don't need humans to survive. Yet we coexist happily. We put up with each other's idiosyncrises and minor spitefulness. It makes no logical sense. We can only surmise.  Do we each admire the independence of the other species? Is it that we have simply befriended each other? Humans (in general) have placed cats lower in a lower class than us. Have cats done the same with humans? Could it be that cats really are the superior animal? They bring us mice because they think we don't know how to hunt. They have created a language just to try to communicate with us. Cats do not 'meow' at other cats or animals, only humans. Why would an entire species do that? Cats have a parasite* that they spread to their 'owner' that can make the 'owner' put the cats' needs in front of their own. We think they are sweet when they cuddle with us. I am beginning to suspect they just like the extra warmth.  Perhaps we should reevaluate our placement of cats on the intelligence spectrum. *Documented human cases of a disease called toxoplasmosis go back as far as ancient Egypt. The condition is caused by a parasite that can only reproduce in the intestines of cats. Today about one-third of the world's population is infected with , but most people who have it will never know it.Jul 13, 2016  https://new/emory.edu