Living With The Cat - Chapter 5

Under all possible domestic cats, the race of the Maine Coon is without any doubt the biggest! There are Maine Coons with a weight of over 15 kilograms and a length over all including the bushy tail of more than one meter. Whenever people visit me, they are impressed with my cat Gino. And he is not fat at all. He is just big and full of mussels. I can leave the front door wide open. Nobody would come into my patio. Even the dogs of our street respect him and stay away.

It was a big change for Gino, when we came from Middle Europe to Brazil six years ago, but now he got very well acclimatized. As there is no winter time, he doesn't show this wonderful winter coat and the very impressive mane, but he is still a semi longhair with a very different coat to all other cats here around. It was not at all the first time, we moved. I always had a life like a gypsy. This kind of life only a Maine Coon can accept.

Because there is something very special about Maine Coons. Normally cats have their territory and they really do not mind that much, who opens the tins for them. Maine Coons are different, they don't grow any deeper connection to the territory, but they have a firm connection to their owner. By the way, I never had the impression to be the owner of my cat. He is staying with me, because he likes the way I am treating him. I can take my cat, visit a friend or go out for fishing, he loves to travel or go by car. Whatever we do, it is all right, when we are together. He is not depending on me, but he is the kind of an adventurous cat. Of course I can leave him at home, but I always tell him: "I'll be back in some hours." ... or tomorrow.

I had heard about a woman, who had a Maine Coon in Germany and after five years she gave the cat away to another neighbor, because she had to move to another city. Just fourteen days later, the Maine Coon died. Reason was a broken heard.

Another thing special I experienced is that people suffering from cat allergies never had problems with Gino. Maine Coons have special oil, which coats their fur.

So if you are interested to buy a Maine Coon, be aware what you are going to do. This race lives almost twenty years. When your kids are grown up, the cat is still there and still trying to be your good friend.

Regine Hehn is a cats enthusiast and practitioner. She owns and maintains New Cat Care.

http://newcatcare.com

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The "Cat" and the "Dog" Energies of Social Interaction

A young and attractive woman walks into the Starbucks to get a quick drink before her lunch meeting. As she pays for her drink and walks towards the exit, holding her cup of late, a young gentleman follows her. He takes a few moments to introduce himself and throws a compliment her way. The girl smiles, but she feels uncomfortable by his boldness, she doesn't want to be rude so she thanks him politely. She increases her pace, hoping that he gets the hint that she might be in a hurry and won't bother her further. The guy continues with his pursuit by asking for her phone number. At this point the girl brushes him off and quickly walks away.

Does this scenario sound familiar? Whom do you sympathize more, the guy or the girl? Who do you think made a mistake? How would you behave in a similar situation? What went wrong? The truth is that there is no right answer to all these questions. The two people described above may not necessarily be wrong for each other and could potentially even be great together if they met under different circumstances. What really happened was that their energies didn't match. She had "cat energy" and he had "dog energy" and we all know what happens when dogs meet cats -- they chase them!

If you ever owned a dog, perhaps you already know how dogs behave when you take them out for a walk every time they see another dog walking by. They stop, their attention turns towards the new dog, their ears perk and sometimes they just run for it. That other dog is very fascinating to them and they are extremely eager to meet them. Now, what happens when a guest comes to a home that has dogs? The dog gets excited, wags its tail, and sometimes even jumps on people. There is nothing wrong with that, it's just the way dogs are. Whenever they sense a new energy in the room, they want to find out about it as soon as possible. When they get used to the new energy, they calm down.

What about cats? As a cat owner myself, I can tell you that cats are completely opposite. They do not feel comfortable with the new energy. They need their time and space to get used to it, and until they do, they will sit quietly under the couch and intensely stare at the new person who just walked in. When they are ready to get to know you, they will come out and be friendly. Again, there is nothing wrong with being a cat. It's just who they are. They get very overwhelmed with new smells, new environments and they do not feel comfortable with unfamiliar energy. That doesn't mean cats are not curious about new people. Cats are very curious animals and they love our company. They just need more time to get to know us.

Now, having said that, can cats and dogs potentially live in harmony? Of course they can, if they learn and respect each other's boundaries. It may not be realistic to explain this to a cat or a dog, but it might be a helpful analogy for humans. Why is it so important to know about this? Because this makes us more aware of our instincts, fears and desires, as well as the fact that somebody else may very well be completely different from us in that sense. This awareness can help us a great deal when we interact with one another for the first time.

Keeping the two energy types in mind, being mindful to ourselves and others, how easier could it be for us to approach someone we're attracted to and not take it personally when others are being too shy to talk to us? Most importantly, whichever energy you think you might have, there is nothing wrong with it. Not all men have the "dog energy" and not all women have the "cat energy." Also, it is very common for our energy to change depending on where we are and who we meet.

Katherine Bouglai.
Personal Relationship Coach.
Visit my home page.

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