Requiem for a Great Cat

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/requiem-for-a-great-cat

by Hooke • 3 years ago

83 51 3 years ago

newyorker.com

penny11k• 3 years ago

When your cat loves you so much, it wakes you up at 5am just to make sure you're still alive.

LargoLasskhyfv• 3 years ago

There is a solution to that. Be a night person, sleep during the day.

Makes things so much easier :-)

xarope• 3 years ago

I'd like to rephrase this as "When your cat loves you feeding it so much, it wakes you up at 5am just to make sure you're still alive and able to feed it real-soon now".

jayd16• 3 years ago

Mine doesn't want to be fed and I don't think it's worried about me...but it does want me to know about the birds chirping outside. Yes, little one, I can hear them too.

Smoosh• 3 years ago

it wakes you up at 5am

by loudly vomiting up a furball onto the carpet.

qbasic_forever• 3 years ago

Better than quietly doing it in a hidden spot so you find it days later, lol.

erulabs2• 3 years ago

Cats are often said to reveal their personalities subtly, over time. This was not the case with Bea, who startled our guests with her explosive hospitality protocol. She would dance on the kitchen counter, jump on visitors’ shoulders, lick their hair, and explore their ears, all the while issuing whispery meows and pigeonlike chirps. It goes without saying that she was magnificent.

I think that's exactly what humans love about cats. They really have personalities. Unlike any other domesticated animal, cats aren't tasked with any job. One often thinks about mousing cats, but that turns out to have much less historical evidence than humans just... loving cats! Having pet cats and human civilization appear to be essentially the same thing. The book "The Lion in the Living Room" is excellent if you're interested in this topic, and talks about P-22 at length. Even if you're not a cat person, it's a must read for LA residents or anyone interested in anthropology.

My cat Cleo is dramatically different than Bea, and she is also magnificent!

ilyt• 3 years ago

I prefer cats over dogs because they kinda live alongside me, instead of having their human as some kind of object of worship/pack leader.

Doxin• 3 years ago

Having a cat is like having a roommate. Having a dog is like having someone who's very sure you're best friends forever and ever. There's something to be said for either.

wskish• 3 years ago

There really should be a word for “personality” as applied to a cat. “Catitude” is the one that comes to mind for me.

frodetb• 3 years ago

"Catitude" is a good one. One might also say "felinity". Or "kittyhood". Or "purrsonality"!

I've only watched the movie version, but all these feel like they were words spoken by a character in CATS the musical.

Stratoscope4• 3 years ago

Anyone who has lived with a Tortoiseshell Cat knows another word for this: Tortitude.

steveBK1232• 3 years ago

Our tomcat passed too soon, a few months back. He was basically a puppy dog in demeanor, following my wife around the house from room to room. He would howl after she left the for the day, and greet her at the door on return. He was like a little old man with a bedtime routine, and as soon as the alarm clock went off, he mosyed up to her pillow for his face rubs.

We have a younger cat we adopted as a kitten that he really raised like his baby the first two years, before she rebelled and became a loner.

Lately it's been interesting watch her adopt some of his former, very specific traits months after his passing and sort of assert herself as the alpha of the house.

prawn2• 3 years ago

My past cat was like Bea, but in addition would lie across my shoulders while I worked at the desk, and chirp into my ear. I've never tried replacing him because I think the chances of getting another cat like that are low.

lynx23• 3 years ago

Same here. When he was still young, my cat used to sit on my shoulder while I was trying to get computer work done. He passed away almost 2 years ago. I haven't been able to get another cat yet because I am pretty convinced he was something really special and I am unlikely to be as lucky a second time.

erulabs2• 3 years ago

Haha that’s so sweet. I’ll just say my cat is the opposite - earning her affection is really special; anyone she chooses to love has already loved her for months. When she finally cuddles up - ah!

So just like people - you’re right - you’ll never find another cat like that - but you’ll find something especially different!

Stratoscope4• 3 years ago

You had the privilege of living with a wonderful cat.

But I have to disagree on the chances. You know cats. So I think the chance of you being with another wonderful cat is very good!

A lot of it is how you raise them.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/YW4twLBBvu6bMrKq7

Stratoscope4• 3 years ago

A few years ago, someone wrote to me here on HN something like this:

F*** cats. They are all the same. If you lose a cat, just get another one.

Obviously this person did not know cats.

FpUser• 3 years ago

"The comedy of catness lies in the juxtaposition of organically sinuous movement with the drab rectangularity of human habitation. "

My brain collapsed while trying to digest this. Still I love cats.

davemp2• 3 years ago

For some reason I can’t get over the word “juxtaposition”.

Whenever I come across the word, it’s a pretty strong signal that a writer/speaker is simply trying too hard. Similar to the abuse of the word “unctuous” by food writers, it’s a deceptively narrow word that tempts people into seeing where they can fit it in.

derefr2• 3 years ago

"Unctuous" essentially just means "oily, but it's a good thing." But since that's a pretty rare property for a food to have, there aren't many ways to say it, or things to say past just "unctuous" — which makes it seem kind of opaque and ritualistic as a descriptor.

It's similar to how we have a lot of ways to describe things smelling bad, but relatively few words to describe things smelling good beyond "fragrant" or maybe "aromatic."

operatingthetan• 3 years ago

It's been a rough week for my cat and best friend Nomi since last Thursday when he started showing signs of back pain, lack of appetite and GI distress. Over the week he's lost the use of his tail and back legs which is scary, but we are doing tests and working on figuring it out. I feel bad he had to spend the week in critical care, but he would have died because his kidneys were failing from dehydration. He will be back home tomorrow and I can't wait. I've been visiting him at the hospital every day.

steveBK1232• 3 years ago

Good luck, hoping for the best.

yawnr• 3 years ago

Give Nomi some scratches from a stranger. Wonderful of you to care for him the best you can.

beebeepka2• 3 years ago

Been there. Watching the love of life slowly fade was the most painful thing in my life. Cancer, failing kidneys and liver. She was visibly in pain for a while.

I miss her so much. I even managed to shave my beard with her on my shoulders. I still wonder how we managed that

carabiner• 3 years ago

All cats are beautiful.

HopenHeyHi• 3 years ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8i2WPxXxS4

at_a_remove• 3 years ago

One of the things I enjoy most about cats is that I do not have to fear that their enjoyment of my company is slavish or out of fear. Cats will like you or not, but they will not do so because they feel compelled to do so. With dogs, their devotion is too easy, almost slavish, and for some reason end up feeling like they fear that I would transform into the dog version of Simon Legree.

On my short trips, I sometimes stop by an odd store which is a combination of tourist trap (literally hundreds of varieties of bizarre sodas, Route 66 memorabilia, antiquated candies, homemade fudge, and so on) and a basic farm store, with feed and grain and other farm supplies. Apparently, a young cat had made himself known to the store by wandering in and boldly catching a few mice to display to the humans inside as a portfolio. Spec work for hunters. He had since become the shop cat, relentlessly patrolling. This was unknown to me until I saw this cat wandering about as I turned an aisle. A little surprised, I bent down and said "Hello," then to be rewarded with a leap and an armful of purring cat. The proprietors then told me the story of how he came to be there.

He is still there and is still happy to see me, but ignores other people, in the way cats do.

Stratoscope4• 3 years ago

This is one of the best cat stories ever!

You may enjoy Three Little Kittens:

https://archive.org/details/ThreeLit1938

bravura2• 3 years ago

The Naming of Cats

T. S. Eliot, 1939

  The Naming of Cats is a difficult matter,
       It isn’t just one of your holiday games;
  You may think at first I’m as mad as a hatter
  When I tell you, a cat must have THREE DIFFERENT NAMES.
  First of all, there’s the name that the family use daily,
       Such as Peter, Augustus, Alonzo, or James,
  Such as Victor or Jonathan, George or Bill Bailey—
       All of them sensible everyday names.
  There are fancier names if you think they sound sweeter,
       Some for the gentlemen, some for the dames:
  Such as Plato, Admetus, Electra, Demeter—
       But all of them sensible everyday names,
  But I tell you, a cat needs a name that’s particular,
       A name that’s peculiar, and more dignified,
  Else how can he keep up his tail perpendicular,
       Or spread out his whiskers, or cherish his pride?
  Of names of this kind, I can give you a quorum,
       Such as Munkustrap, Quaxo, or Coricopat,
  Such as Bombalurina, or else Jellylorum—
       Names that never belong to more than one cat.
  But above and beyond there’s still one name left over,
       And that is the name that you never will guess;
  The name that no human research can discover—
       But THE CAT HIMSELF KNOWS, and will never confess.
  When you notice a cat in profound meditation,
       The reason, I tell you, is always the same:
  His mind is engaged in a rapt contemplation
       Of the thought, of the thought, of the thought of his name:
            His ineffable effable
            Effanineffable
  Deep and inscrutable singular name.

thecupisblue• 3 years ago

Related - internet working group RFC, the naming of hosts (https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc2100.html):

    The Naming of Hosts is a difficult matter,
        It isn't just one of your holiday games;
    You may think at first I'm as mad as a hatter
        When I tell you, a host must have THREE DIFFERENT NAMES.

    First of all, there's the name that the users use daily,
        Such as venus, athena, and cisco, and ames,
    Such as titan or sirius, hobbes or europa--
        All of them sensible everyday names.

    There are fancier names if you think they sound sweeter,
        Some for the web pages, some for the flames:
    Such as mercury, phoenix, orion, and charon--
        But all of them sensible everyday names.

    But I tell you, a host needs a name that's particular,
        A name that's peculiar, and more dignified,
    Else how can it keep its home page perpendicular,
        And spread out its data, send pages world wide?

    Of names of this kind, I can give you a quorum,
        Like lothlorien, pothole, or kobyashi-maru,
    Such as pearly-gates.vatican, or else diplomatic-
        Names that never belong to more than one host.

    But above and beyond there's still one name left over,
        And that is the name that you never will guess;
    The name that no human research can discover--
        But THE NAMESERVER KNOWS, and will us'ually confess.

    When you notice a client in rapt meditation,
        The reason, I tell you, is always the same:
    The code is engaged in a deep consultation
        On the address, the address, the address of its name:

                It's ineffable,
                effable,
                Effanineffable,
                Deep and inscrutable,
                singular
                Name.

swader999• 3 years ago

Steve French.

agentwiggles3• 3 years ago

I've always loved the mysticism around the Names of things. It shows up in fantasy magic systems, it shows up in religious texts, it shows up in political discourse, it shows up in just about any decent programming text.

Because we recognize, as creatures of language, that names have real, true power. There is something so magical and cool about the act of assigning a name to anything, it shapes the way we think about that thing.

In some of my favorite stories, finding somethings "True Name" gives you some form of power over it. That combination of sounds and syllables that lets you grasp something's essence, understand it, hold a whole abstraction in your mind at once - of course that would be something of great power!

I also love the correspondence to mathematics. Think of Maxwell's equations for electromagnetism for an example, or the long quest for a "Unified Theory of Physics". Maybe names need not be words, exactly. Maybe names can be equations, or snippets of music, or any other lossless compression of some deep concept - where, by knowing the name, you gain an understanding of the whole of something without losing anything in the reduction.

Anyway, spiritual mystical hokey pokey mumbo jumbo, I know - but certainly fun to think about!

petemir2• 3 years ago

If you didn’t read it yet, you are going to love “A wizard of Earthsea”.

Edit: but you seem like you did.

hbarka• 3 years ago

Wildlife crossings, when an we have it in our American consciousness?

In the Netherlands, there are 66+

https://unusualplaces.org/natuurbrug-zanderij-crailoo/

Other places in Europe: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jan/23/how-wild...

ajb• 3 years ago

In the UK, we mostly use tunnels, which are cheaper - at least, if you are installing them when the road is built. Just stick down some tubing and you're done . I'm not sure if any are large enough for deer though.

ycombinete2• 3 years ago

I was hoping this would be about Virtue the cat from The Weakerthans' song [0].

[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmkNPOBWdGs

revolvingocelot• 3 years ago

That's "Virtute", from the Canadian city of Winnipeg's Latin motto, "unum cum virtute multorum": "one with the strength of many".

Not from Winterpeg or anything, just long-ago research resulting from my personal insistence that the guy from Propagandhi wouldn't be making spelling mistakes

ycombinete2• 3 years ago

Oh my. I've loved this song for over a decade now, and not once did I see that it wasn't Virtue! Thanks to you for the correction.

jt2190• 3 years ago

Here’s a 2013 picture and a little writeup about P-22, the “great cat”:

How this photo turned a reclusive mountain lion into a Hollywood icon (2022) https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/p22-holly...

ChrisMarshallNY• 3 years ago

This is my favorite cat: https://discworld.fandom.com/wiki/Greebo

He probably could have kicked P-22's butt.

Requiem for a Great Cat

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