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- #61
That is super interesting... If I think about it I do automatically think of cats as solitary animals.... x x xIn Nature, ferals barn cats, cats left to their own choices, tend to form prides like lions, only small cats include the males in their prides. The mothers share taking care of the kittens, feeding, washing and watching over all of them. This means if a mother cat is killed there is someone to raise her kits. The males also help.
The idea of the loner cat probably began when people moved into cities and didn't want to bother with kittens. Stories are usually about the adventures of one cat - Puss in Boots, Kipling's Rikki Tikki Tave the cat who walked alone. Literature is nice, but it isn't always based in truth.
No doubt parents pushed the idea, "you can only have one cat (or dog), they don't like living with other cats (dogs)." And the wicked advice which is still wandering the net that if you take a pair of cats, particularly siblings, they'll ignore you because they are only capable of loving one being at a time. The universe will demand retribution for that lie.
I can't tell you how many times I sat with my feet on the footstool and three 12 lb cats sitting on my lap, my thighs, my shins. It's hard on the knees but worth it.