Lui is a cat and we in his eyes – we humans – are primates. Bipedal monkeys to be exact, as well as prone to use only a couple of senses (few, compared to its sensitivity) and fill our house, and our life, with things: that’s what the cats say, beings present on earth even before we arrived and protagonists of a History that had a peak of success in Ancient Egypt (the goddess Bastet had the head of a cat) and one of failure during the Middle Ages when in some parts of Europe entered into tasty recipes. Meanwhile, it has also created bonds with humans whose results are equal to those of a perfect domestication. The techniques used, told through the feline point of vieware the heart of How to tame a human (Giunti), written by Babas (stage name of Barbara Capponi, a Milanese artist based in Rome) and illustrated by Andrea Ferolla.
They have close ties especially with women, it says.
The assumption is that a newborn baby is as big as a cat at birth. Some say that women choose cats because they are reminiscent of babies. Cats argue otherwise.
Cats conquer us with their eyes
They, who with respect to the dog allow themselves to be tamed little, succeed instead in full with we.
They use many techniques. I would say that the three phases with which domestication is complete include that of “showing oneself”: that is they know that it is enough to look at them and it is done, the attraction for their beauty is inevitable. Follows that of the fuss. They purr, cuddle, rub against you: Isn’t physical contact from a cat irresistible? Finally, they bring the rituals into play: they walk you to the door and they welcome you when you come back. They are very ceremonious. Someone follows the ritual of watching TV on the sofa with us. Mine loved the movie Born Free.
The final coup de grace of this bond?
When she sleeps on us: That little warm weight is adorable. They, in us, instead adore the hands: we are great carers.
Barbara Capponi, aka Babas, is a visual artist who moves between drawing, writing, photography. For this book, written with a light hand, you collaborated with the illustrator Andrea Ferolla.
Cats love our beds
“Bedding is one of the indisputable wonders of the human world,” the cat “says” in his book.
From cushions to baskets, from chairs to sofas. The top, however, remains him: the Latvian, a large padded space and where you can do everything. When it is prepared, for them it is the event in which they can make a contribution by jumping from layer to layer and arranging them with enthusiasm. On the Latvian idle, they hunt for bumps that move beneath the surface, hide from hassle. The most welcoming bed, however, remains the one preheated by men who “being restless creatures cannot stay still for long”. As soon as we get up, they immediately take our place and then pretend to sleep: is it there?
How to tame a human of Babas, Joints, pp. 144, € 15.
Cat rules are technical
I read that a rule for the feline is to make it clear immediately that the doors do not close.
It is a technique! They stay on the thresholds as much as possible. And if we persist in closing it, they meow that they want to enter. Once inside, if we close it, they meow that they want to go out. They repeat the operation until the goal is reached: to bring us to exhaustion.
And U.S?
We will leave them open and love it more.
Can the cat teach us to be independent?
It can teach us to live in the present, to relax. The cat is a great teacher of tenderness.
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