Cats: Caressing the Tiger Page #5

who was sitting on your shoulder.

Remember?

Yeah.

And I took a picture of you with the

kitten sitting on your shoulder,

and only half the picture came out.

She really is a good guy.

So soft and so pretty, isn't she?

Some scientists believe cats touch

people more than other pets do,

literally and figuratively.

Their lithe and graceful movements

are non-threatening.

And the cat's shape and size are

basically the same as a human baby's

for most people, an automatic

invitation to nurture and love.

She is beautiful.

Aw. I'd love to hold you call

day and all night.

I really would.

Another world touched

by Joan and her cats

is a residential school

for autistic youngsters.

The cause of autism is not fully

understood and currently

there is no known cure.

Locked largely in a world of their own

the children are

extremely difficult to reach.

Some, like John, erupt uncontrollably.

Easily frustrated,

he often reacts with raging tantrums.

While no one pretends the cats

are a miracle cure,

they regularly bring about

miraculous breakthroughs.

How can you tell me what color

they are if you don't look?

For John, the cats open a

window on a bright, new world.

...game with me.

I know.

I think you're playing a game.

John, if she's red, then I'm from Mars

Do I look like I'm from Mars?

No.

No! She's brown.

And what color are her eyes again?

Blue.

That's right.

How about looking at the eyes?

How about looking at them? Oh, okay.

Did you want to give her a kiss? Okay.

Etta

Etta, what have I got?

Etta becomes very agitated

as you can see from her

rocking back and forth,

a constant motion.

And the more she rocks, of course,

the more agitated she is.

I can take the cat over to her,

and at first she may thrust it away.

But if I'm persistent,

sometimes I have to withdraw a

little bit and come back to her.

But if I'm persistent,

the cat can stop her.

Later, Joan will try again.

What have I got?

Cat.

Is this a nice cat?

Do you like this cat?

I see them relating to the cat so much

more openly, so much more freely,

than they do to other people.

They can trust the animal.

With every individual I've worked with

they have eventually reached out,

and I think it's

because there is again that sense of

communication the says,

'Trust me'. I won't hurt you.

Is she saying give her a kiss?

Do you want to? Okay.

Do you want me to turn her around this

way and give her a kiss back here?

A little closer. Good. Okay!

Joan senses she can

approach Etta again.

By holding the cat and focusing

her attention on the cat,

she will stay still,

and she will talk to the cat.

She's with us for

several minutes at a time.

How about saying, 'Hi, kitty.'

Hi, kitty.

Good!

Hi, kitty.

Good! Okay!

We're talking about therapy.

We're talking about hands-on,

and we're talking

about one-on-one and up-close.

We're also talking about cats

that are capable of creating

interaction or curling up

in somebody's arms and saying.

I'm all yours.

Right this minute I belong to you.

You're special to me and I love you.

So hold me and feel good.

It was said that a long time ago,

probably in our own Golden Age

as gatherer-hunters,

that we could talk to the animals

and they would talk to us.

And I think part of understanding

"felinese" is that we can learn

the cat's repertoire

and have a deeper communication

and communion with our cats.

Love for cats is part of a universal

love for all creatures,

which impels us toward

a reverence for all life.

Subtle, amusing, enigmatic... regal

and serene...

cats remain ultimately independent

of their human companions.

They move among us as

half-wild creatures,

the only domestic animal man

has never fully conquered.

Plain or fancy,

barn mouser or lord of the hearth,

they have fired our imagination.

But, we wonder, did we adopt the cat

or did tabby simply deign to share

his life with us?

In the end,

it is a tantalizing mystery,

one that we, being mere humans,

can never hope to solve.

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes