I’ve never done a cat story on the No B.S. Fridays. Considering how popular cats are on YouTube and Facebook, I should be ashamed of myself. Here’s my first (and last) cat story.
I lost a battle of wills with a cat, but it taught me something about human laziness.
We used to own a cat… Or should I say, my WIFE owned a cat?
I didn’t have a lot of love for this cat. It was this kind of fussy, primadona type thing.
And it lorded over us like a tyrant.
Man, the things we had to do for this cat. Especially around food. It would only eat one flavour, of one brand of cat food. Nothing else.
And so if you ran out and they had none at the shops, you were stuffed. You couldn’t just get her another brand of catfood – even a different freakin flavour. It was that one tin or nothing. I can still see that tin in my mind.
Anyway, so we tried to break her addiction one time. It just got ridiculous. And it was also one of the more expensive options.
And so I put a different tin out for her. I put it down, she looks at it, and then comes back over and starts meowing at me.
“Yeah, yeah. You’ve got food. It’s there.” And I go back over and tap her bowl. “See?
She comes over, takes a sniff, and then looks up and starts meowing again, and rubbing itself all over my legs.
Repeat.
I figured that she would give in at some point. Sooner or later it would get that this is her food for the day. She’d come around to my way of seeing things eventually.
But she didn’t.
The meowing goes on and on.
And so I think, I’ve got to take a stand here. If we cave now, the cat knows it’s got us. We’ll labour under its yoke for the rest of our days.
I need to show it who’s boss. And it just needs to accept that this is its food, and we, the humans, get to decide what that food is.
And it’s not like we’re not asking it to eat glass or anything. Just some perfectly good, middle of the range cat food. She doesn’t even have to catch it.
I thought my negotiating position was strong. The cat would come around.
But the cat kept at it. Constant meowing. Running beneath my feet as I was walking places. Trying and get up on the keyboard. It knew how to drive me crazy.
We go back to the bowl. Same story.
And now I start to doubt myself. Maybe she doesn’t actually realise it’s food. Or maybe she has a genuine reaction to something in it. Maybe the cat’s gluten intolerant? Wouldn’t surprise me with that cat. Probably doesn’t agree with her chakras.
Maybe this isn’t an ambit negotiating position after all. Maybe she not trying to psyche me out.
I take my doubts to bed. Leave the cat locked outside the bedroom.
When I get up in the morning, the food hasn’t been touched, and it’s the same game all over again.
Unbelievable.
I let it go on until well in the afternoon, and then I crack. I don’t want to be neglectful. I don’t want to end up on A Current Affair as the kitty-torturer guy. The cat needs to eat.
We go back to the old tin.
Happy cat.
I’m thinking about this, because we go out for dinner with an old friend the other night, who for years has been a committed vegetarian. She orders lamb.
Turns out, she had started eating meat again, because she just need the iron and B12. (I didn’t even realise there were 12 Bananas in Pyjamas.)
She said that no matter what she did, no matter how many iron supplements, or kale and spinach super smoothies she had, she just couldn’t absorb the iron.
She said it was like her body was passing on the broccoli, and holding out for the steak.
Just like my cat.
She’d eaten a lot of meat as a kid, and I guess her body had become conditioned.
Or it’s like my friend’s two year old who went through a phase of eating nothing but blueberries. Talk about an expensive habit.
It got me wondering. I hadn’t seen this side of human / animal nature before. There’s a part of ourselves that’s actively holding out for the easiest option – the most energy rich food, or the lowest energy path.
It’s not just that we have a preference for these things, but there’s part of us actively resisting other options.
Maybe this made sense for pre-civilised biology. Don’t go filling up too much on all those vegetables and bugs. Hold out for the mammoth steak. Go get yourself a mammoth steak.
And so if you’re trying to correct a bad habit, it’s not just that you end up somewhere bad through successive failures to exercise will power.
It’s that part of you actually seeks out the bad habit, and actively resists better habits.
Think sugar. It’s not just that you’ve developed a sweet tooth, because over time you’ve generally gone with the sweeter option. It’s that you’ve got a taste for the energy, and now not only do you crave it, you actively resist other options.
Sugar habits are hard to break.
To me, this changes how we should think about shaping our conditioning for success. Not only do you need to tame that part of you that prefers, but you also need to tame that part of you that resists.
So in the case of sugar, not only do you need to train yourself to be able to say no, or take the less-sweet option when it’s available, but you also need to train yourself out of actively resisting healthier diet choices – vegetables, mammoths etc.
To me, this is a bit of a revelation.
Maybe it’s all two sides of the same coin, but I feel like there’s something interesting here.
And that is, if we want to grow, we need to recognise that inertia is not our only obstacle. Part of us will always be resistant to growth…
… like a fussy cat, content in its power.
What do you think? Do we ‘actively resist’ the things that are good for us?
How do we train that side of our selves?
How do you tame a fussy cat?
Andrew says
John, for someone so insightful I can’t believe you thought you owned a cat. It is the other way around. Dogs have masters. Cats have staff!
Traveller says
How true Andrew. I laughed out loud when I read your comment ( I really did!).
Currently it’s my wife that’s doing the travelling – in the UK. Not really travelling, she’s working, looking after her mother. So I’m left at home starting a new business. Just me and the cat.
Previously the cat attached herself to my wife (Staff 1!) and wouldn’t come near me. My wife said the cat was fussy, like John’s, and gave me explicit instructions before she left. However, we live in the country so the cat’s only other choice for food is to catch it – in competition with the local wild cat. So now she (the cat) is very friendly with me (Staff 2!) and eats everything I give her. But it took some time and effort. We’ll have to wait and see what happens when Staff 1 comes back.
John’s point is so true. If things aren’t working you not only have to move onto something new (I’ve always been changing so that’s not so difficult for me), but you also need to let go of the old. While building my new business I keep harping back to the old – looking for contracts. But I know that doesn’t work any more, so I have to break the habit, stop looking back and focus on the new.
Thanks for the insight John.
donna says
John, I soooo relate to your cat story. Inherited my beloved grandmothers cat which refuses to eat anything but the most expensive two brands she was brought up on. Tried numerous time like yourself to change this to no avail – would not even go near it little lone try it! She won’t even go for the canned tuna we eat which unbelievably would have been cheaper! I know that this is not the point of your post, but had to have a good laugh about how similar our stories are. 🙂
PS I would not give away the precious furball for anything.
Rosa Emanuel says
Yes John I agree, most average people in society, seem to give up what they want most, for what they want for the moment. They then become conditioned to that status quo.
curiouslysallycheng says
Hi Jon… Cats & Food.. OK, you got my attention 🙂
Have you read of the study that they made on 3 generations of cats? The first litter were split into 3 groups. Group 1 – natural food only, like raw chicken etc, group 2 – canned food only, group 3 – processed dry food only. Each group then had their own litter keeping with the same food group. By the third generation, the group that had only processed dried food had the most health problems, second the canned food, and third, the healthiest group was the one with the natural food.
Could it be that your cat can actually tell the difference between “real” food and “food” that is mixed with other food-like ingredients that isn’t good for consumption using her animal instincts? (By the way, you know their face when they are fed raw chicken? They lose their MINDS, they love it so much they almost forget to chew!)
What about humans? Does everyone know that supermarket “fat free” yoghurt is loaded with sugar and gelatine made of animal bi-product? The exploitation of gluten-free living – gluten free bread (not all, some)/gluten free cookies, all taking advantage of the average person really trying to improve their diet. Hey, did you know bananas are gluten free and made of banana! Bacon… is labelling themselves as gluten free!?! But there is actually a preservative they use to make bacon in Australia that gives me a tummy ache.
Not long ago in Europe an alcohol brand had to recall all their stock because it was intended for the US market. Because the ingredients had an “unsafe” level of chemical that was used to make anti-freeze. It is illegal in Europe but apparently perfectly legal for human consumption in the US.
My point is, maybe in the civilised world we have been desensitised of our animal instincts. The labels tell us we can eat it so we eat it. Unlike your fussy cat, we can’t sniff out good and bad very well.
So maybe we need to rely more on education. In a world where more and more things or people are disguised as wolf in sheep’s clothing (gluten-free cookie), we have to equip ourselves by educating ourselves. Like when Dymphna shares her knowledge on property investment, I am educating myself so I know how to make the right decision for me. Like George shares his knowledge on cashflow through stocks, I am being educated so I can make the right choice for me. With eating real food that nourishes my mind and body, that’s something I’ve taught myself through lots of self research so I can make the right choice.
Robert Kiyosaki said something like the greatest computer is sitting between your ears 😛 I’d say he’s probably right. I guess that’s why I joined Knowledge Source 😛 Thanks for reading my rant I feel better 🙂
Kathy says
As a long time cat owner, I laughed so hard when I read the first part. All my cats have been exactly the same, exactly as described, fussy primadonna things that lord it over us. But I’ve loved them all anyway, you can’t put a price on a pet.
Anyway, I completely agree with the premise of this article with regard to humans. We have become so far removed from the natural world and what’s good for us that we now fear the sun (ooh, skin cancer risk, scary), completely forgetting that the sun is the bringer of life to this planet, and our ancient forebears pretty much anywhere, Roman, Greek, South American Indians, Phoenicians, Viking etc., quite rightly worshipped the sun in this context.
We would rather feed our tiny babies drugs, (thus conditioning them up to think that there’s a pill to cure everything that might befall them), rather than let a fever, which is the body’s natural response to infection, run its course.
We’re far too much removed from our natural instincts and trusting the wisdom of our own bodies to heal itself.
Anyway, just wanted to say that I’ve always fed my cats raw mince (kangaroo) with the occasional tin to supplement and dry food for their teeth. If they didn’t eat it (usually the tinned stuff), they went hungry, wasn’t going to waste a perfectly good tin of cat food.
Also, just as a point of interest, I used to put sugar in my tea and coffee, and just decided it was time to stop doing that and gave it up cold turkey. Funnily enough I don’t miss it.
Mick says
This whole anti-sugar crusade is bullsh*t. I’ve had a revelation recently that you need sugar and carbs to perform better as an athlete. Put sugar, carbs and chocolate into my system and I perform much better in running races. So far athletes, sugar is a must, as they need an energy source. Humans know that through evolution and are therefore attracted to sweet foods. Sugar is only a problem for fattie couch potatoes who can’t spend the energy that they are taking in.
Paul says
Sadly, most humans are just plain stupid! Sorry, but they are.. Did we labor for so long and come this far in life to still not understand a most basic life principal, whether animal or human? Real food (Fresh and organic) will always be the right choice for your life’s success. Anyone that thinks sugar is good for you is an idiot, the scientific evidence is there for all to see. Processed foods, chemicals, additives, colors, flavors etc.. = Poison. And yes John, this includes tins of cat food. There a very few decent pet food supplies on the market. But if you care about your pet, its best to purchase a mix of organic meats and supplement them with vet approved dry and wet cat foods that are specifically designed to support the animals well being. My pets couldn’t be healthier or happier.. As with ourselves. You only get one body so what you put in to it, I think is crucial to your health and longevity. Its as simple as your ABC’s as the saying goes. Most people are just lazy and selfish, if you are one of these people you will probably never get it.