One of the most finely designed of hunting carnivores, the cat has been refined over the ages to become the creature we know today. Unlike the gregarious canine carnivore, the cat has taken the road to individuality and self reliance. It hunts, alone, using its well-honed arts of stealth, ambush and lightening foray. There is little difference between the domestic feline and its wile relatives, and so we see in out pet cat a character that it shares with the wild cats of the Scottish forests and the tigers that haunt the mangrove forests of Bangladesh.
The cat displays the disdain, nobility and bauteur of the knight errant or samurai, and like them is a polished exponent of the martial arts. At the same time, the cat is ever elegant and neat in all its movements. Whereas the dog is prone to humble fawning before human friends, the cat gives love and friendship more cautiously and on an even-handed basis. A cat's respect and affection must be earned. The friendship of a cat is no less firm than that of a dog, it is just more considered.
Behind the handsome face and piercing gaze of the cat there is always that tantalizing, inscrutable something, the exotic and secret centre that harks back to an ancient connection with sacred cults and the black arts. Cats, I think one can say, are truly magic.
Contents:
* Origins and Domestication
* The Design of the Cat
* Balancing Acts
* The Cat in Motions
* The Senses
* Behavior
* Intelligence and Communication
The cat displays the disdain, nobility and bauteur of the knight errant or samurai, and like them is a polished exponent of the martial arts. At the same time, the cat is ever elegant and neat in all its movements. Whereas the dog is prone to humble fawning before human friends, the cat gives love and friendship more cautiously and on an even-handed basis. A cat's respect and affection must be earned. The friendship of a cat is no less firm than that of a dog, it is just more considered.
Behind the handsome face and piercing gaze of the cat there is always that tantalizing, inscrutable something, the exotic and secret centre that harks back to an ancient connection with sacred cults and the black arts. Cats, I think one can say, are truly magic.
Contents:
* Origins and Domestication
* The Design of the Cat
* Balancing Acts
* The Cat in Motions
* The Senses
* Behavior
* Intelligence and Communication
