Meow, Roar, Purr, etc.

So the title of this column may, in some small way, hint straightforwardly at its contents.

Yes, I love cats. Which leads to the question: do cats love me, or any of us, back? Many studies have attempted to answer this question, but I think most if not all cat owners would reply with an unequivocal and enthusiastic yes.

But is it genuine love, or merely an expression of self-preservation when a cat purrs as you stroke it? Purring can also be a reaction signifying unease or nervousness. The Science of Cat has advanced a lot in the past hundred years, as has that of all animal behaviors.

I won’t go into detail, there’s plenty on line to keep avid ailurophiles busy looking up relevant feline ephemera. It’s easy to spot an ailurophile (sounds like “allure,” which makes the term downright appealing). From the ancient Greek ailuros, meaning: cat.

You can tell an ailurophile from an early age. We’re the ones who, as kids, rooted for Tom to catch that homicidal rodent Jerry. It is we who thought the real star of Alice in Wonderland (the Disney version, at least) was not that prepubescent prig Alice, or the Mad Hatter, or the evil Queen, but rather the Cheshire Cat, plummily voice by the inimitable Sterling Holloway. We’re there for the cats, no matter how they are insulted or ill-used. We are all of us ancient Egyptians worshiping Bast.

We love dogs, but we honor and respect cats. Or as the old saying goes, “Dogs have masters. Cats have staff.” They’re not lazy, they’re smart. Who is bringing food and drink to whom? Who is cleaning up after whom? Who engages in play when they want us to? We sometimes think of cats as smaller but better versions of ourselves.

Here’s something to ponder. Cats come in all sizes. Small, large, larger, and moderately ginormous. Cat species run right across the size spectrum. Dogs, on the other paw, are size-constrained. There are no 500-pound dogs roaming the plains of Africa, or stalking prey in the Himalayas, or hunting in the rainforests of South America. There are no aquatic dogs, but jaguars hunt caiman in the Pantanal, and the fishing cat of Southeast Asia dives for its dinner. The nearest one could come to approximating such diversity would be the wild dogs of Africa, and they’re in a separate genus from the all the other canines we know.

What gets me is not so much the diversity of cats, but their similarities. Ever see a cat dozing on its back, legs akimbo, mouth lolling open? Lions relax in exactly the same manner. It’s fascinating to see a 300-pound lioness on her back tossing and turning in her sleep, exactly the same way Fluffy does on your living-room couch. An ailurophile has to fight an intense desire to get out of your vehicle, go over to Ms. Panthera Leo and gently rub her tummy, expecting her to purr in response. Except lions don’t purr (nor do tigers, jaguars or leopards), and your well-meaning efforts will likely get you invited to dinner.

Cheetahs, on the other hand, do purr. Loudly, but just like a house cat. To pet one and listen to it do that is to put you in mind of your own favorite kitty.

The point is that cats, big and small, are really the same. They scratch, they hunt, they show affection to the humans they have adopted, they spray to mark territory, they fuss with one another, and they are all, at least to me, beautiful. When was the last time you saw advertising for an ugly-cat contest? Have a look at the YouTube videos of Dean Schneider. The lions he has raised and maintains treat him just like another cat. His cats are family, not pets.

I would never keep a big cat as a pet, as enticing as the prospect seems. Not because it might not work out, but because even a habituated feline can have a bad day and bite or scratch. Not unlike a child. But when it’s a lion, the unintentional result could be — awkward. Viz Siegfried and Roy.

That doesn’t mean I would not like to try, a little bit, some day. Under ideal conditions. Because I love cats. The session with Felix the cheetah in Namibia only reinforced how much I love and respect cats. Because, size and shape and color aside, they are all the same.