Ask A Cat: Mingus and Dashel answer reader questions; Session 1 (How can humans support other creatures?)

Question: How can humans best support the other creatures on the Earth, like cats?

• Tree Guy

Mingus:
That’s a big question, Tree Guy, because you’re talking about all the creatures of the Earth, plus cats, who, frankly, deserve an answer all to themselves. (Maybe next time you ask a question you could think about it a little more, first.) Nevertheless, I’ll attempt an answer.
Humans can actually do a lot to support the other creatures on the Earth. Arguably, humans are in the best position to affect this change. There’s not much I can do, as a house cat, to lessen the impact of climate change, for instance. You might feel impotent and helpless in the face of such enormous problems, but the fact that you can see the problems makes you uniquely suited to take action. The fish in the fish tank aren’t going to do anything, that’s for damn sure. It’s really up to you, and “action” is the key word.
I could list off hundreds of ideas here for ways you could take action. There are obvious changes that would make a huge difference in the ability of other creatures, and the ecosystems they inhabit, to thrive on this planet. Here’s a couple: Stop suburban sprawl; broaden, expand, and connect wilderness areas to allow for larger populations and natural migration patterns, which in turn would allow more predators (like my own wild cousins) to re-enter ecosystems and perform their essential functions; prevent new pollution by switching to greener energy alternatives, and clean up the areas already decimated by pollution so the animals who live there don’t have to contest with your nuclear waste and prescription painkillers in their water.
I could use this space to go into all these methods in detail, but the truth is, you already know about them. If you don’t, you can easily use your crazy tappy-sound computer technology to find out. Thousands, maybe millions of humans have written articles and books detailing all the ways you can act to improve the world. The reason you’re asking a cat, or sitting around asking yourself, “But what can I do?” is because you want new answers to the same questions. Specifically, you want new answers that don’t inconvenience you or change your life in any way. But to support the other life forms on this planet, you have to change your own actions. That’s the only way. Want to reduce pollution from road run-off in your community? Take the goddamn bus, or ride a bike, instead of your gas-guzzling, disturbingly loud, horribly rocking and unstable car. You know. Buy organic and local instead of supporting destructive farming and business practices. You actually know what to do but you don’t want to have to change your life to see those changes materialize in the world. So, if you actually give a shit, like your insanely-complex question seems to indicate, go do what you already know you should be doing.
This all holds true for cats as well. You should be getting us local, organic food made from delicious, savory meats, like duck and rabbit and chicken. But especially duck. And never make your cat get into a car. We scream because they’re horrible things, and you should listen to us.
One of my humans is asking me to mention keeping cats indoors, to increase their average lifespan by up to 15 years while reducing the threat to birds and small mammals that live peacefully outside your home. Personally, I can’t get completely behind that idea; but if you can’t train your dumb cat to go on walks with you like a normal pet, and you don’t work hard enough to afford a home with the space to build a fun, engaging and safe outdoor area for your beloved cats, than I guess it’s a possible compromise. If you do keep your cats indoors, be sure to provide plenty of stimulation. Buy us some toys, or use some string, to create calming theatrical performances that we can ignore while relaxing for hours on end. Line up objects of different shapes and sizes on your shelves which we can methodically knock down, thus learning the basic properties of physics. Did I mention that you should buy us organic food? Especially the kind made of ducks. Tasty, tasty ducks. Give us fresh catnip as often as possible, but don’t take pictures of us while we’re high because that shit’s just disrespectful. When we’re sleeping, let us sleep. That’s how we get so beautiful. And while we’re cuddling with you, stop whatever else you are doing and cuddle. It’s the least you can do. Especially if you’re still dooming the world to corporate slavery by shopping at Walmart. Seriously. WTF is an expense report anyway? And how could it possibly hold your attention when we’re around and ready to be cuddled? Whatever it is, it’s not as important as your cat’s need to walk across that beguiling, clickety-clacking keyboard to nuzzle your face.
And that's my answer. Take it away, Dash.

Dashel:
Tree Guy, the answer to your question can be summed up by one word: love. The absolute best way to support other beings is to love them. My sister has argued for action and self-education, but none of that can happen without love. Why would a human being, obsessed with constant, meaningless activity, ever connect with wild creatures of the Earth without first encountering them? If you want to support life on Earth more fully, go out and meet Life! Take a trip to Yellowstone and gaze at the powerful figures of the bison, with their long, beautiful hair and their breath blowing fog into the chill air. Or go to your neighborhood park, or your backyard if you have one. Revel in the bouncy delight of a squirrel. Gaze into the wise, dark eyes of a crow. It is this connection with the supposed Other that will allow your mind to expand, and you will be able to see your self and your world as one being, interconnected, with every action of support for other creatures also being an act of self-love.
This is also the key to supporting the cats in your life. Love us. The more love you show us, the more confident we will be in showing our love to you. We depend on you and your love. You buy us food, which I think is probably unnecessary but seems to make my sister happy. You catch us when we flop over on the table in front of you, drunk in your essence, and fall right over the edge. We know you will catch us. You could also show your love by letting us get closer to household cleaners like bleach and clorine, with their amazing smell that hypnotizes us, like nothing else could, drawing me in like gravity draws me to the Earth, forever unreachable with its delirious promises of endless pleasure and all-knowingness! You could also let me outside. I’m a good cat, and love will see me through all travails. I am in no danger!
My apologies. I’ve digressed a bit. My point is simply that when you show love like this to a cat, we will show you love back. For instance, I show my love to my humans by making absolutely adorable little chirpy noises. I also climb upon their prone bodies, kneading them and purring with love and connectedness, and then I shake my head quickly to spatter that drool upon them as a physical symbol of our Oneness. Every cat friend is unique, like every human, and we will all show our love in different ways.
Thank you, Tree Guy, for your question, and for giving me this opportunity to speak of the love that binds the world together; and also for giving my sister an opportunity to say whatever it was she was talking about.
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