Conference misery::feline_v1

181.0. "Feline Burnout" by LISZT::HART () Fri Dec 06 1985 16:37

     This article is a reprint from the  University  of  Connecticut's

DAILY  CAMPUS newspaper, dated November 13,1985.  It was sent to me by

my daughter, who appreciates my love for cats.





                            FELINE BURNOUT



               by Diane White (a syndicated columnist)









      *  Does your cat sleep most of the time?



      *  When she's not  sleeping,  does  she  lie  around  listlessly

         staring into space?



      *  Does your cat sometimes, for no apparent reason,  dash  madly

         from  one  end  of the house to the other, then collapse in a

         heap?



      *  Does she perk up at the sound of a can opener then  turn  her

         nose up at the contents of the can?



      *  Does she need catnip to relax and have a good time?



      *  Does your cat go on unexplained meowing jags?



      *  Has she lost her sense of humor?





     If you answered 'yes' to any one of the above questions then your

cat may be suffering from feline burnout.



     The everyday stresses placed upon cats are at an  all-time  high.

Cats  are  expected  to  be  companions,  playmates, child-surrogates,

entertainers,  even  therapists.   The  result  is  that  many   cats,

overburdened  with responsibilities, required to wear too many 'hats',

are burned out.



     Take the case of Tom (not his real name).  Tom had always been  a

vital,  active cat, outgoing and playful, interested in other animals,

in people, and especially in ripping his owner's furniture to  shreds.

Then  slowly,  almost  imperceptibly,  he began to change.  Finally he

withdrew and hid, emerging only at night, when, in  the  hours  before

dawn,  he  would sit on his owner's head, dig his claws into her scalp

and meow.



     "It almost seemed," Tom's owner's said, "that he  was  trying  to

tell me something."



     Indeed  he  was.   The  source  of  Tom's  problem  came  out  in

counseling  with  a  feline  burnout  specialist.  it seems that Tom's

owner read  somewhere  that  a  good  way  to  wind  down  from  there

high-pressure  job  was to sit in a comfortable chair stroking her cat


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and talking about her problems.



     Relaxing for the owner perhaps, but not for the cat.  Tom  didn't

want to hear all his owner's troubles.  He had enough of his own.  Oh,

it looks easy, lying around, being fed and  petted  and  played  with,

having  your every need catered to.  How many times have you looked at

your cat and said, enviously, :Boy, what a life"?



     But try to see it from the cat's point of view.  she has her  own

life  to  live  in addition to her job, or jobs.  Humans who selfishly

place too many demands  on  their  cats  are  openly  inviting  feline

burnout.  Not every cat is cut out for a career.



     Feline burnout appears in many forms.  In some cases it may  seem

like  simple  boredom,  in  others  like  hysteria.   Sometimes it may

surface as catnip-dependency.



     And it can occur for any number of reasons.  Loneliness can cause

it, but so can too much stimulation.  Cats need companionship but they

also need time to be on their own, their own personal space  in  which

they feel free to express themselves as cats.



     Once you identify feline burnout, what can you, as an  owner,  do

to alleviate it?



     1.  Try  to  become  more  aware  to  your  own  compulsive   and

         too-demanding patterns.



     2.  Nurture your cat, don't expect your  cat  always  to  nurture

         you.



     3.  Try not to be judgmental.  When she tracks kitty  litter  all

         over  your  clean  floor,  when  she  rips  holes in your new

         pantyhose, try to understand that she may only be  trying  to

         make contact with her true self.



     4.  Change your  schedule  completely  to  make  your  life  more

         "cat-centered".



     5.  Place a large brown paper grocery bag in the  middle  of  the

         floor.  Place a pinch of catnip inside it.  Stand back.

And make a trip to Bertha's Kitty Boutique, allowing the cat a chance to 
pick the items of his or her preference..

Tom

... not to mention an all-night sniffing spree in a butcher's shop or
fish market rented for the occasion....

Steve Kallis, Jr.

Or, get your cat a helper to make it easier for her to take care of YOUR
needs.  Sometimes two or three (or even more) helpers are required to share 
the load...

Hmmm.

I always wondered what the problem was.  I'm sending Tigger and Einstein
to the office and spending my day in front of the Window or Wood Stove. 
Then, when they get home, they can fix me dinner and I'll lie on the floor
at their feet while they scratch me behind the ears and tell me their problems.

It seems only fair that a role reversal should occur in order to understand
the plight of the burned out feline.

My customers will probably understand the cat more than they understand me!