On cats

Actually, that should be Cats with a capital C, because I just came back from seeing the show (at the theatre Chat Noir, ironically). However, now that I already typed it that way, let me ease you into the topic first.


Cats, Felis catus, is, according to Wikipedia “a small carnivorous mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and its ability to hunt vermin and household pests”. True as this may be, it mentions nothing about the fact that cats also occasionally values the human for its companionship, though I doubt the cat thinks much of us as useful in terms of hunting vermin or household pests (unless you count dogs – which a cat naturally would do – a human might be useful to keep the dog away when the cat needs ALL of the couch for itself).

I’ve never had a cat. Not really. But there have been a number of cats that have had me.

For some reason, I seem to attract them. When I grew up, stray cats would frequently follow me home, and then stay for days – often settling themselves underneath my bedroom window (though never any of the other windows – always mine) where they would cry until I woke up and took pity on them. Several times, we’ve been able to reconnect a runaway cat with its owner because the cat adopted me as a sufficient substitute until their regular human got their act together and tracked them down. Then there was the cats that really were stray – one of them a tiny kitten which till today it kills me to think about, because I have no idea what happened to it (we found the mother dead not long after, so its prospects weren’t all that good).

When I first moved to the US, I was intrigued by the fact that “my family” owned two dogs and two cats. For someone who has never had pets, but always liked animals, this was a nice, new experience. These cats, Tina and Precious, were both extremely shy, but after a while, Tina realized that I would do what the other family members rarely did – pet her for hours and hours. Thus, she started to approach me, whenever I watched TV. She would meow until I gave her attention – which either meant that I made room for her to jump into the couch or lifted her up. Then she would lie there, looking all bored, like she was doing this since it apparently meant so much to me… I miss my cats (and the dogs too. Oh, and the people).

Another cat I’ve recently encountered is “Simon’s Cat”. Check it out on youtube if you haven’t already. I first met Simon’s cat in its book, though, which is out just in time to make a brilliant Christmas present to any cat lovers in your family. Reading this books also means I’ve completed the first of my nine required ones by December 31st.

And, finally, “Cats”, the show. Oslo has had a number of great musical productions the last few years. Either that, or the city has always had them, but I just didn’t notice until recently… Over the last couple of years, I’ve seen “Singin’in the Rain”, “Les Misérables” and now “Cats”. In addition there is still “Mamma Mia” and “Jesus Christ Superstar” I have yet to see. They have all been translated into Norwegian, which for the most part I think have been done splendidly (and this is coming from the “I hate translations”-gal). Also, the cast have been very good – how anyone can dance like that and still sing is beyond me! One fun fact – a former school mate of mine was in several of these productions (and tonight’s “Cats” as well). It’s even more impressive when you know he comes from the same little hometown as me, and he is as old as I am, and now he’s a professional singer/dancer in these big productions.

His performance, and that of the other cast members of tonight’s show, was as professional and marvelous as ever, and it never ceased to impress me how catlike they were at all time – even during intermission, when they were moving about among the audience, letting people pet them. “Cats” is a little strange compared to other musicals, though, seeing as it’s so low on plot. Basically, it’s just a string of sing/dance acts to portray different cat personalities. As long as you don’t expect a complex story (though frankly, if you do, musicals are probably not your genre anyway), it’s all right.

Finally, I'd like to share another drabble. It's from a past project of the Burrow, and there are 9 other drabbles accompanying the same picture (of a sleeping kitty), so if you like cats, I highly recommend paying our website a visit (there are of course also non-cat drabbles there, in case you're allergic or something).

Monday morning; but we are at the cabin, so it is not a Monday like any normal Monday. It is a Hunting Monday. Unless it is a Rainy Monday, in which case it is a Sleeping Monday.
All day long I lie here, listening to my humans walking about, talking, making coffee, washing in their strange fashion - outside, with soap and ice cold water, as the cabin has no plumbing. Why go through all that trouble?

I stretch and look through the window. Sleeping Monday it is.
Tomorrow is Tuesday. Maybe a Hunting Tuesday? Unless it is a Rainy Tuesday.