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We don’t live
in the United States, we live... Village cats are special. No, you hipster, you--I don't mean people-cats. I mean cat-cats. I mean the ones you see sleeping in a Bodega five feet away from a radio blasting away at full volume. And dig the bookstore cats that wander from customer to customer, looking for a few pats, or the chatcha shop cats that walk out of the shop and cruise about two yards away and then stroll back. These are cats that have grown up in the Village environment and have adapted incredibly well. They aren't afraid of strangers, they don't mind loud noise, and crowded, cramped quarters are just fine with them. Face it--they've adapted better than we have. Visit a cat owner and notice that the cat walks TOWARD you the instant you set foot inside the door. Not only have they adapted to oodles of strange peoples, they DIG it. They like the attention, the novelty, and the socializing. Cats in the wild live in family groups that grow up to 30 in number. These are called "prides." Despite being solitary predators--not pack animals, like dogs--they are inherently social. The relationship between a dog and its owner is that of pack leader to follower. The relationship of cat to human is parent to child. We are surrogate mommies to them, even if you're of the male persuasion. Cats dig people as their extended family. We are the cat's "pride" of humans. Whereas the mortality rate for humans in the Village is higher than in less cancerous environs, Village cats generally live longer. They live about five years longer than cats in other cities because Village owners, at least in WEST Village, spend lots of bucks on special foods and trips to the vet. Not only do our cats live to be 20 instead of 15 years, but since they are mostly indoor cats, they live even longer than the majority of domestic cats. Most suburban cats are allowed to go in and out of the house as they please. Very nice for the cat, we think, but consider that such cats have a 50 percent mortality rate, due to traffic accidents, feline leukemia, and predators. Yes, everything from coyotes to undomesticated cats will prey on our gentrified feline buddies. Feline leukemia is a nasty killer as well. It is the cat's version of AIDS. It wasn't around much three decades ago. Then the major outdoor disease was distemper. But feline leukemia came out of nowhere and now any cat that regularly romps around outdoors can pick it up a variety of ways. Nonetheless, there are certain drawbacks to owning a cat. There are some things that a cat will NOT change in its behavior. YOU have to change to accommodate the cat. Even though cats sleep 20 to 22 hours each day, in those few waking hours, they need attention. If their busy Village owners are only home for a few waking hours every day, and those hours aren't devoted to the cat, there will be retribution. Village cat owners who saved their vinyl LPs from their salad days know that those cardboard album covers make excellent scratching surfaces. Village cats take great pleasure in tearing up those old Chicago and Guess Who albums not only because it sharpens their claws but also because of the delightful response they get from their human. "NO! STOP! ARGH! I've had that since high school!" Attention at last! Cats don't care how the attention comes. Screaming, begging, weeping--that's all good stuff. It's like theater. Cats dig psycho-drama. Fortunately, they replaced vinyl records with CDs. Now if they could only come up with a technological alternative to fabric-covered couches. The old couch format is too susceptible to cat claws. Link Yaco has written comic books for several publishers. He is currently working on a couple comics-related paperbacks. He has been a copywriter, technical writer, newspaper journalist, and magazine entertainment writer. He has a Masters' degree in Telecommunications and was a technical manager at MIT for five years. Link lives in West Greenwich Village with his wife, Susannah, a Senior Vice President at an independent film company. Check out his web page here Read last week's column Visit Link Yaco Home Page COPYRIGHT 1999 LINK YACO. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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richard e. schiff,
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I
know this Village cat that makes me appreciate the rapid
advances in the technological sector. Let me explain. I have to
start at the beginning.
