I was going to write about how, after viewing the photo of Jia Tolentino on the jacket of Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion, I assumed that the book’s essays would be banal, based on the following illogical belief: If beautiful, then not intelligent (and the more exotic-looking, the more unintelligent).
But I decided not to, as I worry that this personal prejudice casts me in an unflattering light. This might lead others with a similar prejudice and a belief in its equally illogical corollary—i.e., If not beautiful, then intelligent—to assume that I am the latter, and I can make no such claim.
Instead, I am going to write about my prejudice regarding dogs and cats: that cats are smarter. (And generally more beautiful. My personal prejudices about humans are obviously not generalizable to animals.) But the other day this prejudice was shattered when Guyot, a formerly intelligent Siamese cat, couldn’t figure out that to get out of the rain, which was causing him evident distress. All he had to do was jump down from the arm of the deck chair and cover a distance of approximately 1 foot/0.3 metres to get under the awning. Instead, he mewled plaintively until I came to the rescue by picking him up, transferring him through the air approximately 1 foot/0.3 metres, and setting him down under the awning.
Someone is sure to note the absence of logic connecting this anecdote to the shattering of my personal prejudice regarding cats and dogs. There was no head-to-head comparison with a dog, so who knows whether a border collie, on the other arm of the chair, might not have behaved even more stupidly, in whatever way, shape or form that might have taken? Logic doesn’t enter into this post in any way, shape or form, however—oh, wait a minute, some just time-travelled in from 1979—but I suspect that if a border collie had been present, it would have herded Guyot to the dry safety of the awning.
My only consolation is that I read somewhere that Siamese are the dogs of the cat world. It is possible, therefore, that the shattered pieces may glue themselves together in the presence of real cats, after which my once-again intact personal prejudice can climb back up on its high horse, that most majestic of creatures (after cats, and possibly border collies).
I think there is likely less variation between individual cats than there is between individual dogs. Dogs have been domesticated so long and some are incredibly stupid and others, like my Rosie, are too smart for their own good and become anxious worriers. Most of my cats, though, have been lovely smart creatures who didn't let the world bother them too much. Unless I ran the vacuum, in which case they would then tear up a whole roll of toilet paper to punish me. Both dogs and cats have been known to lick my toes while I sleep, though, and I don't think that's very smart at all.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I would rather have toe lickers than toe biters; my other cat falls into the latter category. And since my last pedicure, my La La Lavender toes seem to have caused the toe-biting to intensify.
ReplyDeleteI love you on your majestic high horse! I share your bias, that cats are superior. Sure, cats can't herd sheep, but then they're not silly enough to want to do so. Cats are definitely more beautiful too. Nothing like a beautiful soft cat purring on our laps. Sigh. I miss having cats.
ReplyDeleteOK. Again, somehow I don't know when you post, and I show up WEEKS late to the party. In other news, OMG OMG who cares about dogs/cats when I was such a Supertramp HO in 1979 and have to watch this video right now?
ReplyDeleteIB, I'm even later!
ReplyDeleteI didn't know that Siamese cats are considered the dogs of the cat world. Is that supposed to be a compliment to Siamese cats?
If you're a dog person :)
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