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Tim Dowling: I like the aloofness of cats. But my cat is not aloof enough
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/dec/02/tim-dowling-i-like-the-aloofness-of-cats-but-my-cat-is-not-aloof-enoughTim Dowling: I like the aloofness of cats. But my cat is not aloof enough
The cat has started to engage with me after all these years – but only because there’s no one else left to feed it
Tim Dowling
Sat 2 Dec 2023 01.00 EST
My wife sends me an email with the subject heading “My dream dog”. Attached is a photograph of a puppy with a strangely blunted nose, looking forlorn on some straw bedding. I have to weigh my reply carefully, because her email could mean anything from “This is an example of the type of dog I would like to get one day” to “This dog is in the back of our car right now.”
[...]
If you asked me to name the chief quality I would seek in my dream dog, I would probably choose aloofness. I’m after the type of dog of whom people would say: he keeps himself to himself. But I’ve never really known a dog like that. Only cats. And not our cat.
Up until a few months ago the best thing I could say about our cat was that it had no time for me. It made a sport of trying to trip me up on the stairs most mornings, but otherwise it stayed out of my way.
Since the last of our sons moved out, however, things have changed. The cat has suddenly decided I’m an asset worth cultivating. All my trousers now have small tears on the left leg where the cat claws me whenever it wants food, which is always.
[...]
The cat has started to engage with me after all these years – but only because there’s no one else left to feed it
Tim Dowling
Sat 2 Dec 2023 01.00 EST
My wife sends me an email with the subject heading “My dream dog”. Attached is a photograph of a puppy with a strangely blunted nose, looking forlorn on some straw bedding. I have to weigh my reply carefully, because her email could mean anything from “This is an example of the type of dog I would like to get one day” to “This dog is in the back of our car right now.”
[...]
If you asked me to name the chief quality I would seek in my dream dog, I would probably choose aloofness. I’m after the type of dog of whom people would say: he keeps himself to himself. But I’ve never really known a dog like that. Only cats. And not our cat.
Up until a few months ago the best thing I could say about our cat was that it had no time for me. It made a sport of trying to trip me up on the stairs most mornings, but otherwise it stayed out of my way.
Since the last of our sons moved out, however, things have changed. The cat has suddenly decided I’m an asset worth cultivating. All my trousers now have small tears on the left leg where the cat claws me whenever it wants food, which is always.
[...]