Fuzz Therapy

When I was at school, I missed my cats dreadfully. The first time I visited the cat-owning home of a Greencastle resident, it was one of the most uplifting and relaxing days in that first year of school. I treasured the times I could visit various friends in the community with cats and would sometimes scramble for a reason to see them (and by that I really mean the cats...). My girls and I started to refer to it as fuzz therapy. When I was feeling stressed, overwhelmed, and rather alone, this part of me ached for a warm, fuzzy little body to snuggle close to and feel the thrumming of a happy purr and relax to its therapeutic sound. People maintain that dogs can sense your mood and all that. I'm not much of a dog person so I don't have anything to say on that, but I believe that cats can also sense your moods. I have had many experiences where I'm just feeling really bummed, sad, and depressed, and those are the times my cats are especially attentive and come curl up right against me, purring sweetly. I suppose you could argue that I have a very good connection with the cats I come into contact with, and especially my own cats, but I don't think it's just that.

A short while back my boyfriend commented on the openness and unself-consciousness I display when I'm communing with cats, which got me thinking about the subject and ultimately led to this post. (I suppose much of what I'll be commenting on here can be applied to dogs as well, but I'll stick to cats in this post as I am a cat person and do not interact in nearly as intimate a manner with dogs.) In observing myself, my family members, and various friends and how they respond to cats, I've noticed that most of the time there is a marked vulnerability and openness in the way people interact with cats, and especially kittens. The baby voice automatically comes out, the nonsensical words and sounds, the cooing, the silly smiles, and of course, squatting on the floor and generally making a small spectacle of oneself. Why is that?

In thinking about it, I believe it is because cats (and other animals) are so much more simplistic than we are. For the most part, they do not understand what we are saying beyond possibly a few short phrases, and it is the tone of voice and the physical manner of the person addressing them that matters. People instinctively know to soften their tone and adopt a calming attitude with cats. That intimacy introduces an element of vulnerability in the person. When people commune with each other, there is always a certain amount of reserve and a degree of masking present, a slightly guarded manner involving hiding behind words, laughter, and gestures. With a cat, such measures are unnecessary. A cat won't judge you by the words you use, by the things you've done, or by the way you view yourself. Instead, a cat exudes a warm affection and the desire for unreserved love and attention back from you. A cat can be completely accepting of who and what you are, wanting only the comfort of being with you.

Because words don't matter and the individual instinctively knows that the cat won't understand much of what they say, they automatically adopt a much more open manner of voice than they would use with most of the people they communicate with. People can tend to cover and hide a certain amount of the emotions they feel as they talk with someone else, and prefer to convey things in just words, rather than be vulnerable enough to really show what their feeling in their tone and manner. As a cat cannot understand those words we hide behind, all pretenses drop away and the person exposes themselves in a very vulnerable and intimate way with the cat. The feeling and the tone of voice is all that matters and all that is unnecessary and masking is unconsciously dropped as a person interacts with the cat. In addition to all this, a person is often much readier to be absolutely ridiculous and uninhibited when they are playing with a cat than they are with other people, crawling all over the floor, waggling their heads, wiggling fingers and toes, flipping their hair, and doing all kinds of  absurd things. In fact, the way a person tends to act with and treat a cat is very similar to the way a person is with a baby. (food for thought.)

I will readily admit that I love to see how others interact with cats, and I especially love to see when guys will respond just as openly and sweetly to cats as girls do. To me, seeing a man go all soft and silly and loving with a cat is one of the most endearing sights I've ever seen. To give no care to how unmanly they must look and sound; talking silly talk and nonsense sounds, goofing around and playing, and especially cuddling with a cat, is possibly one of the sweetest sights in the world. The level of openness and tenderness a man can demonstrate with a cat is a good indication of the level of tenderness and openness he can show to his woman and eventually any children he may have. Likewise I suspect that though a guy may feel a bit of jealousy at the sight of how affectionate a girl may be with a cat, he is probably also thinking of how sweet she looks and imagining the sight of her with a baby in place of the cat.

If music wasn't such a huge part of my life and if I hadn't already decided that my passion lies in music therapy, I would totally pursue something in "fuzz therapy." I know people already do stuff with dogs. Or at least I've heard of stuff with dogs, but I don't know many details. Perhaps dogs can be more reliably trained than cats, but I would love to experiment with bringing cats to people, or vice versa. For those who are already cat lovers, there can be nothing as wonderful and touching as the chance to snuggle with a soft, purring cat and to feel that unspoken closeness with it. For those who are unsure of themselves with cats, I think it would be very interesting to see if they could learn how to be vulnerable and learn how to approach a cat. Not that I'd really want to be involved with criminal therapy or anything, but I actually think something like this would help. At least to some extent. But anyway, I'm basically rambling at this point. So in conclusion-- I adore cats, I cannot imagine a life without them; I love seeing a man go all soft and silly with a cat; and I think cats bring out a deep vulnerability in people who allow themselves to respond to the cat.