Is Anthropomorphism Bad For Your Cat?
Greetings!
I’m happy to report that Jasper and Max seem to both be doing well. It’s been 11 days since Max used the corner of our front room as a litter box. Jasper has mostly been very much JASPER - interactive, demanding, shadowing my wife, and not putting up with any cr%p from Max. We had a couple of days where he was off but we figured out right away that we’d accidentally fed him cat food containing salmon. The fact he threw up and seemed to not feel well for close to three days confirms (again) that he is allergic or sensitive to salmon. It has now been purged from our cabinets.
This will be the last newsletter under the name of Tails & Twists. Next week, you’ll receive Captivating Creatures. I will likely experiment a bit with subtitles, formatting, and section titles until they feel right and easy to understand.
Future issues will likely contain sections that include a greeting/update, a comic, a “What About ____” section featuring interesting facts about a specific creature, and frequently an original story or article.
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This Week
Only for my subscribers! Here is a sneak peek at an article I’ll be submitting to Medium next week.
Is Anthropomorphism Bad For Your Cat?
“Aren’t you a handsome boy?”
“Look who’s cranky today.”
“Don’t look at me in that tone of voice.”
“Don’t be shy, sweetie.”
Do any of these sound familiar? I think a majority of cat owners tend to think of their little furry ones in human terms, at least some of the time. In fact, even typing the phrase “cat owners” felt wrong. My wife and I consider ourselves more like their moms than owners. I certainly don’t “own” my human children.
Most of us cat people (probably all animal lovers) naturally anthropomorphize our pets. So we are all on the same page, the clearest definition of anthropomorphism I found was in Psychology Today: “Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human characteristics or behavior to non-human entities, including animals.” We do this because, as humans, it helps us relate to and understand our cats.
We can’t really understand what it is like to be a cat, what it feels like to be able to jump up to 6x our own height or to have a sense of smell 14x greater than we do. Since cats are in many ways mysterious to us, our brains help us understand them by humanizing their behaviors. If our little buddy isn’t eating, we might assume his stomach hurts or that he doesn’t like today’s food selection. We may think running towards us means our little princess likes us and is happy to see us while running away means she doesn’t like us or is scared of us. Peeing on the carpet might feel like our big handsome boy is getting revenge for trimming his nails the night before.
For the most part, seeing human characteristics in our cats causes no harm, and allows us to bond more closely with them. This doesn’t just apply to cats, but possibly all things in nature. In fact, in 2021 the Biological Conservation journal published a systematic review addressing the idea that there is a link between anthropomorphism of nature and pro-environmental attitudes. This basically means that the more we see animals and plants as having human characteristics, the more likely we are to act in positive ways toward them.
Think about it, the more we see our cats as beings needing care, protection, nurturing, and love in a warm, cozy environment, the less likely we are to let them run free where they are more likely to be harmed by other animals, vehicles, pesticides, and other chemicals. If we think of how irritating mosquito bites are to us, it may help us remember their monthly flea treatment. If we don’t see them as wild animals needing to hunt for their own food, then we’re likely to feed them and keep them inside. This is safer for our cats - and the songbird populations.
In many cases, anthropomorphism leads us to fairly accurate perceptions. Maybe our cat’s stomach does hurt, or she is afraid of certain people. If we use such perceptions to continue observing their behavior, then we will hopefully figure out what’s going on.
While anthropomorphism is generally beneficial, there are some dangers with it, too. Sometimes we can assume too much. If our cat shows symptoms of illness and we treat him with human medication, it could work out fine, but it could also be fatal. If we assign human motivations to bad behavior, like when we assume specific acts are because of jealousy, revenge, or a bad mood, we’re probably way off base.
For instance, if our little princess gives us the cold shoulder after returning from vacation, it’s easy to imagine she’s angry and getting even with us. Although I can’t say this is never true, when considered from a cat’s perspective more than a human one, there is more likely something else going on. She may be extremely stressed by the change in her routine or scared by something that happened, like a thunderstorm. She also might be feeling very insecure because her person left.
If we attribute her antisocial behavior to a human motivation, we don’t get the chance to figure out what is really wrong and could even make the problem worse. Our instinct might tell us to leave her to her little fit, ignore her, and figure she’ll soon get over it. In reality, she might need exactly the opposite - a lot of love, quality time, and reassurance that everything can go back to normal.
It’s fine to believe it’s important to our cats that they are brushed before they start their day, that their licking means they love you, and to cover them with their favorite blankie before bed. What’s not fine is noticing a change in behavior, assigning it a human motivation, and treating it as such. Cats have their own complexities that don’t always match up with those of humans. Viewing a change in behavior as a puzzle to be solved, or a language to be translated, is ultimately better for us and our cats.
Full Speed Ahead
What About… Moles?
Pest or Perception?
Have you ever walked out into your yard to find fresh molehills dotting your lawn? What is your reaction? For many, the sight causes anger and fear of damage to their grass, bushes, or trees. Others, like me, think, “Yay, happy moles!” This is because the truth is, moles are a sign of a healthy environment. Their tunneling behavior aerates the soil and helps with drainage. Moles eat many garden pests such as slugs, cranefly larvae, and grubs, which create higher risks of damage to your plants than the low risk of root damage from moles themselves.
More mole facts:
Contrary to popular opinion, moles are not blind. They have tiny eyes providing basic vision. They do not have external ears, as dirt and debris from their underground lifestyle would just clog them up anyway. Their main sense is that of touch, provided by Eimer’s organ, an organ unique to moles that is located in the skin of mole noses.
A species of semi-aquatic mole known as the star-nosed mole boasts 22 tentacle-like appendages containing 25,000 sensory receptors within its Eimer’s organ.It is the Guinness World Record holder for the fastest mammalian eater being able to detect and ingest its food in an average of 230 milliseconds.
Another adaptation moles have for dealing with life underground is smooth, velvet-like fur that easily bends toward the back or the front of the mammal, depending on which way it’s moving. This is unlike most mammals whose hair grows towards the back of the body.
Moles tend to be about 4-7 inches (10-18cm) long and are found on all continents except South America and Antarctica. There are dozens of mole species that can be found in varied environments - grasslands, sand dunes, woodlands, swamps, and wetlands. The Russian desman is a semi-aquatic mole having webbed feet for efficient swimming.
Moles are omnivores but earthworms are a staple of their diet. Scientists have found that moles have rooms within their tunnel systems specifically used for earthworm storage.
Moles also have a special way of preparing earthworms for consumption. They basically use their paws to squeeze along the body of the worm from front to back to get rid of both external and internal dirt.
Female moles are considered intersexual, which means having characteristics of both sexes. They have evolved to have testicles attached to their ovaries resulting in an anatomical feature known as an ovotestis. The ovotestis is not able to create sperm, but it does increase the amount of androgens, male hormones, available. It is speculated that this is a survival mechanism enabling females to be about the same size with the same strength and amount of aggression as males.
There are other animals with “mole” in their names that are not moles. They include mole lizards, mole rats, and mole crabs.
Moleskin fabric is not made from moles. It is a thick cotton fabric. However, the European mole was once used in fur trading and had some favor within the British High Society. It was never especially practical though due to the small size of moles.
References: National Geographic, LiveScience, Discover, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Hartley Botanic.
Wherever you are, I hope you are safe, warm, and comfy. This weekend maybe take a few minutes to notice what the wildlife, trees, and plants around you are doing. We are noticing more birds and even a few little green shoots emerging from the still often frozen ground.
Peace,
Dakota
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