You may be a cat lover or cannot stand to be around them. Perhaps you’re partial to dogs, horses, birds or snakes. In my opinion they all have something to teach us humans–if we are willing to listen. If we are willing to really listen deeply and interpret their advice which is given freely without judgment, if, and only if, we are able to interpret what any of these amazing creatures are truly conveying.

I have been around animals all my life and I’m still learning from them and about them. Currently I have a 20 pound, orange and white, long haired, Maine Coon cat, named Charles T. Dickens–Charlie for short. Since I’m a writer I thought this a good name and he is a little dickens a lot of the time. I truly believe that Charlie is wiser than I am. If he had opposable thumbs and could talk, I would be in serious trouble. I have many Charlie stories which he and I will share with you as we blog along together.

For now, I’d like to review some feline traits that I have noticed over the years. All of you dog, horse, bird lovers, bear with me please. Better yet blog with me and tell me about the traits of your favorite animals. I believe that if we humans incorporated some of the traits of our beloved animals we might have a better life–at the very least we would be happier as we go through our day. And, we would be able to stay in the present moment rather than be upset over the past and anxious about the future.

FELINE TRAITS…

• Fiercely independent
• Unconditional indifference at all times
• Regal bearing–they know who is king/queen and are not shy about reminding the humans in their lives
• Self absorbed in a good way. They know how to look out for #1.
• Always authentic–what you see is totally what you get.
• Aware that time is precious, so therefore they do what they want when they want. It justlooks like crazy behavior to a human when a cat jumps up, scooting sideways across the floor, arching the back in a “U” shape and then dashing headlong across the room. They may bounce off a wall or two in the process but do not fear.
• Curiosity–actually did not kill the cat as that old saying goes. Curiosity gets us in Trouble, makes us look more intelligent, gives us information we wouldn’t ordinarily have.
• Intelligent–goes without saying. Count on one finger how many times the humans outsmarted me.
• Keen sense and awareness of all that is going on around them – unless of course they are napping
• Clean and orderly, keep themselves looking nice at all times–good at preening, prancing because they know they are cute, handsome, pretty.Felines are like fog they come and go silently, here there and then over there…but how did they get over there?
• Good at getting into things that they want to investigate – if a feline animal could write,they would put many journalists out of jobs with their investigative instincts
• Great instincts
• Heightened sense of smell and taste
• Extremely sensitive to noise, especially loud noises or those not recognized immediately
• Playful – when they want to be
• On the hunt continually
• Affectionate when they feel like it. They will not be coaxed to do something they really do not want to do–because it’s all about them–and don’t you forget it!