Theme
5:55pm December 26, 2011
[Photo of Fey. A grey cat with white whiskers. In this photo you can only see her shoulder and part of her head. You can just barely see the hollowed-looking area where her eye goes.] I wish other people saw Fey how I see her. It’s not like she never does anything cute. But when people first meet her they go “Awwwww keeeeeeeety. Is a kyooooooot leeetle keeeety.” And… even milder forms raise my hackles a bit. I know she’s got beautiful fur, I know she can be cute sometimes. But when that’s all anyone ever says about her, well… that’s different than just noticing these things. It’s the way they say it and the fact that they say nothing else, especially given that they’re in a real life relationship with her and not just looking at photos or something, that bugs me. (But honestly even photos show more than they see.) To me she is an old woman who commands respect. She’s intense and often radiates purpose. She’s wise and understands things I don’t. She can get crabby and bite when I don’t understand what she’s trying to tell me. And she does try to tell me things – using absolutely every last communication tactic at her disposal. She’s keenly perceptive and was the first person of any species to work out how to get me moving when I freeze (which means she has more innate expertise in that area than any medical professional I have seen so far). She has chronic pain but still tries to bite gently if you touch her in a way that hurts her. In fact she has every gradation of bite that exists, from putting her teeth lightly on your skin (a warning – and fuck anyone who says “awwww, she’s plAYYYYYing!”) to sinking her teeth in (what happens if you try to make her take a pill). She’s strong-willed and stubborn when she’s got her mind set on something. And she does have a mind and does use it. She’s a cat and she knows she’s a cat and that gives her an intense layered depth. She can love with all that depth too and anyone she loves is grateful for it. She is not a biological machine without thoughts or feelings of her own. She is not a stuffed animal. She knows she isn’t and will not stand for being picked up and forcibly cuddled any more than you likely would. She is not a miniature human with fur. She is not a child, human or kitten. I don’t understand what thoughts pass through the heads of people who can’t see any of this. It’s there plain as day for anyone who knows what to look for, even strangers. It’s like most people walk around with a system of thoughts in their heads that make cats into toys or baby substitutes or cool but inferior beings or anything but who they are. It makes me feel ill to think about it though. It’s the lack of depth, compared to who she is. I wish more people could know who she is.

[Photo of Fey. A grey cat with white whiskers. In this photo you can only see her shoulder and part of her head. You can just barely see the hollowed-looking area where her eye goes.]

I wish other people saw Fey how I see her.

It’s not like she never does anything cute. But when people first meet her they go “Awwwww keeeeeeeety. Is a kyooooooot leeetle keeeety.” And… even milder forms raise my hackles a bit.

I know she’s got beautiful fur, I know she can be cute sometimes. But when that’s all anyone ever says about her, well… that’s different than just noticing these things. It’s the way they say it and the fact that they say nothing else, especially given that they’re in a real life relationship with her and not just looking at photos or something, that bugs me. (But honestly even photos show more than they see.)

To me she is an old woman who commands respect. She’s intense and often radiates purpose. She’s wise and understands things I don’t. She can get crabby and bite when I don’t understand what she’s trying to tell me. And she does try to tell me things – using absolutely every last communication tactic at her disposal.

She’s keenly perceptive and was the first person of any species to work out how to get me moving when I freeze (which means she has more innate expertise in that area than any medical professional I have seen so far). She has chronic pain but still tries to bite gently if you touch her in a way that hurts her. In fact she has every gradation of bite that exists, from putting her teeth lightly on your skin (a warning – and fuck anyone who says “awwww, she’s plAYYYYYing!”) to sinking her teeth in (what happens if you try to make her take a pill). She’s strong-willed and stubborn when she’s got her mind set on something. And she does have a mind and does use it. She’s a cat and she knows she’s a cat and that gives her an intense layered depth. She can love with all that depth too and anyone she loves is grateful for it.

She is not a biological machine without thoughts or feelings of her own.

She is not a stuffed animal. She knows she isn’t and will not stand for being picked up and forcibly cuddled any more than you likely would.

She is not a miniature human with fur.

She is not a child, human or kitten.

I don’t understand what thoughts pass through the heads of people who can’t see any of this. It’s there plain as day for anyone who knows what to look for, even strangers. It’s like most people walk around with a system of thoughts in their heads that make cats into toys or baby substitutes or cool but inferior beings or anything but who they are. It makes me feel ill to think about it though. It’s the lack of depth, compared to who she is. I wish more people could know who she is.

Notes:
  1. withasmoothroundstone posted this