There’s (Mostly) No Such Thing as a Bad Kitty

Some of you may know that my human posts weekly at CatChannel.com, and that this week she featured Binga in a story called “The Bad Kitty Dilemma.” I wanted to bring this up because I actually do think she made a really good point this time around. The money quote? “Cats have no sense of right and wrong. They have needs, and they have wants — and they don’t understand why they shouldn’t go out and get them.” A lot of humans don’t get this, so I thought I’d examine it a little bit more, from a feline perspective.

There really is no such thing as a bad kitty (well, except maybe for Binga). We cats live beyond the place humans (and dogs) know as “good” and “bad.” Unlike dogs, we are not hampered by what humans think. We cats are not people pleasers. And unlike humans, we don’t have a made-up moral code we feel we must stick to. We are truly free beings, living in the moment and going directly to the source. This is why punishment does not work on a cat. Where a dog or a human feels the deep cut of disapproval (from the dog owner, society or self), we cats merely see inconvenience. Being told we are bad, either by words or action, does not reach us. Giving a cat something better than what he is currently doing — now, that is something that will make us turn our heads! So always remember, if you want us cats to stop doing something, give us an option that is more appealing.

Frankly, I think we kitties should be lauded and not censured for our no-nonsense, go-getter attitudes! A lot of times, humans don’t achieve their full potential because they worry about what other people might think, or they have a false sense of guilt. Do you realize how much humans could accomplish if they didn’t care about everyone else’s opinions or whether they “deserved” what they wanted? In fact there are humans that forge ahead like a kitty — and you know what they’re called? No, no, no, not psychopaths — CEOs! And every cat is a CEO of his or her own home. Of course, this might be a teensy bit problematic in a multi-cat household, but given a chance and enough vertical space, we will establish a corporate hierarchy.

If humans want to get ahead in life, they should emulate us cats.
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