Anthropomorphizing Our Pets

On a seperate thread about the intorduction of new cats, it was noted "And you guys are right about anthropomorphizing - but I can't help it".

I wanted to relay a story about YY and not hijack the thread so this is a new one. :)

I think we all anthropomorphize our pets to a certain degree. Since we think of them as our babies (or most of us do anyway), it is hard not to. I try to think like a feline in regards to YY's needs but I am not sure I always succeed and cats are such good mimics - it is why they learn so quickly I think. most can see something done once and they know how to do it. (They should all go into medicine - see one, do one, teach one is one of our rules at med school, lol)

Anyway, last night, a friend was visiting. I sometimes call her Glady Kraitz because she is nosier than I tend to be. (Gladys being the nosy neighbour on Bewitched). I have a neighbour with Alzheimer's who lives alone and we all tend to watch out for her. So, my friend aka "Gladys" was watching activity at this neighbour's home, asking "I wonder if everything is OK" and she had her nose practically glued to the window. She got me to wondering so before I knew it, my nose was also parked at the window.

Before long, "Gladys" said to me "Look at the cat!" There was YY, her nose planted firmly to the window, standing on a chair so she too could look out the window in an almost identical fashion. I wish I had the camera at that point. It was too cute!

bIG WORD,CALL ME BLONDE,BUT WHAT DOES IT MEAN??

anthropo=human
morphizing=morphing

i.e. making human

I try not to do this to Odin...I have an Anthropology degree and we talked alot about this in our physical and social anthropology courses. I hate to see apes and monkeys anthropomorphized.

thank u :thumbs up

I don't mean it in the literal sense Raingirl, lol Just in how we treat our pets - that we need to try to think like a cat and take their needs into account in our interactions.

By default, cats will watch you and want to do some of the things you do - like looking out the window, lol - Simply calling her my baby anthropomorphizes her to some extent but she still has all her felines wiles. ;)

That is my arguement for why humans are not the "highest" creatures. They can understand us, do whatever we want even if it's not trained into them, adapt to us, and just because they can't speak ENGLISH, people think they are stupid. Well, we can't bark or meow any sentences to them either. I know Jemma has at least 50 howls I totally don't understand. She sits there sometimes and lets out these short howls one after the other and when I look at her, she stops and I look away, she starts again. No idea and it drives me nuts. I have learned a few- she has one particular one for "dog park" and one for "daddy is home" and another for "my ball is under the sofa". It has takes her a lot longer to train me than I have taken to train her!!! ;)

Boo is MUCH simpler and better at expressing himself so I understand (he points).

I know what you mean Prin. YY - being a Siamese - has a growing vocabulary that I do not understand. I get some of it. I know what "I'm hungry", "it's time to get up" and "Let's play" or "I bet you can't find me" means in Siamese mrrrows but I am prob frustrating my poor baby in that there are some phrases I just do not comprehend, lol


YY is now trilingual - she understands English and French and speaks and understands Siamese. ;)