Why do cats act so independent?

By Norma Jordan

A domestic cat boasts a dual personality. It can share your life intimately as a friend and companion, yet in an offered moment of freedom, proudly exhibits its independence.

A dog displays true devotion to its owner, who controls its movements. The dog asks to go outside but rarely is allowed to wander the neighborhood and streets without restraint. As the dog leaves the house, he may look back to see if his human "pack mate" is going to follow him. His mission is only temporary, much like we view a shopping trip. Home and his human owners are always in the back of his mind.

When a cat is outside, it is left to roam and fend for itself. Once the cat leaves the house, the thought that the owner may be following never enters his mind. His brain has switched to the state that accommodates his own independent feline world. Once the door is opened, his exit from the house transforms his brain, and the cat truly reverts to his natural state.

An assertive cat walks alone, forgetting its home temporarily, as he invades the neighbor's yards, fields, back streets and junkyards, exhilarating at the simplest discovery. He is in the wild state. Yet, seek him out in this environment, find him engaging in the social activities of the other street cats, and he will see you, and "turning on a dime," come to you, rub against you, and once again become an overgrown kitten. It is said that at this moment, the trigger reaction in the cat's brain switches from cat/wild ego, to kitten/man ego. If allowed, the cat can effectively maintain both stages throughout its lifetime, toggling between the two while never mixing them.

A cat really cares less if you go with him on his excursions and has absolutely no use at all for a walk in the park on a leash or a game of fetch. Yet, when he returns to the man environment, once again he becomes the purring, affectionate and seemingly dependent pet.

While a dog is group organized and sees its owner as a dominant pack member, the cat is not. In the feline world, stalking and hunting is solitary. With dogs, the human becomes the dominant pack member, providing food and shelter. The natural desire to please their human filters down as an easily trained and disciplined animal. For cats, there is no need for that link with respect to their solitary social lives. The owner is only the provider of food and shelter, becoming an opportunist's convenience.

Cats exists, not to please and obey, but to share with their humans much as they share their space in the wild state. To learn to obey, sit and stay, are non-essential for their existence. Beyond this, many debates may arise as to the displays of affection and the bonding that exists between cats and their owners. We wonder if they are capable of this exchange of devotion such as the dog might be. In essence, the cat has chosen to share its life with us and to equally respect the space that we provide for him or her, in our homes and hearts.

For years, I have known the presence of this fascinating and delightful creature that has snuggled and charmed its way into my life. I have laughed at their many antics and know that they understand my moods and are quick to console me if I am blue, eager to play when I get their special toys out. They know exactly how to wrap me around their paws. I readily live within my realm of understanding, that this is indeed an exchange of love in some form. If they are using me, I say, emphatically, let it be so!