SparkNotes

Lessons from a Dead Cat

Last week my mom called me and started talking in that dreaded voice. It was uncomfortable, halting, distracted...the “someone just passed away” voice. That someone was the family cat, Chester.

I'd known Chester since he was a fluffy, fits-in-the-palm-of-your-hand kitty. So to hear he was dead was unbelievable. My mind said, “You mean when I come home he won’t be there to see me? Riiiiight. He’s been slinking around our house for fifteen years, and now he’s just not there? I don’t believe you!”

After a few days of moping around, I realized I was crying not for him, but for myself. Chester had been old and sick, and his death was no doubt a relief to him.

I decided it was within my power to make myself feel better. Why fixate on his absence when I could celebrate everything worthwhile he gave my family? So, for your consideration, I offer some life lessons I learned from Chester. Maybe these will be helpful to think about on that sad day when your dog, cat, ferret, or beloved hermit crab passes away.

1. Always show you’re glad to see someone. One of the best things a pet can do is to run up, eyes a-glimmer and tail flapping, to greet you when you get home. This behavior says, “I love you and don’t care that you disappeared for hours without feeding me—seeing you makes me happy to be alive.” What if seeing friends were like this? How much more fulfilling life would be if we greeted each other with shimmering eyes, wide smiles, and physical affection—although don’t try rubbing your gums on your friends’ legs or licking their palms.
2. Don't stay angry. It's easy to get on a pet’s bad side, but impossible to stay there. If you step on its tail, refuse to let it play outdoors or—the worst possible sin—pay more attention to someone else, your pet lets you know it's not happy by ignoring you. Unlike humans, however, animals give the silent treatment for a maximum of three hours—basically until they get hungry or bored. Then they return to loving you as if nothing happened. And you don’t even have to engage in one of those annoying “that really hurt me” conversations. If only people were so simple....
3. You want something? Be cute to get it! What, you still ask for things? Animals teach us a more effective way: charm. Charm can be demure, goofy, or too-cool-for-school, depending on what you need and how fast you want it. Chester was a charm expert—which explained why he weighed 20 pounds at one point.
4. Do what you enjoy, even if you look like an idiot—people will love you for it. Perhaps the most profound lesson a pet can teach you is the importance of pursuing your interests to the fullest. This lesson isn't obvious at first, because animals' interests don’t frequently overlap with ours. (As much as I enjoy chewing on crumpled paper, squeezing into absurdly small boxes, and sitting on books when people are trying to read them, I wouldn’t call those passions, per se.) But how often do we hold ourselves back because we’re worried about looking foolish? Take a lesson from your pets. Yes, they look moronic during half of their waking hours, but everyone loves them for it! It’s liberating to see creatures giving all their energy to seemingly trivial activities—and humans are creatures, too. So go for whatever it is you want! Even if you look foolish sometimes, people will be inspired to see someone pursuing her passion without fear of judgment.

What life lessons have your pets taught you? What do they do that makes your life better? And what ridiculous passions does your cat or dog indulge in?

By: Joe_Lynch

Topics: Life

Tags: cats, life lessons, death

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