The Cat's Job by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller

Author:Sharon Lee & Steve Miller [Lee, Sharon & Miller, Steve]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: fantasy, cat, Science Fiction, liad, sharon lee, korval, pinbeam books, steve miller, liaden, kinzel
Publisher: Pinbeam Books
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

10th Life

A Column

In Search of Feline Personality

by Archibald M. McGee

Assistant Director, IFPER

In almost every society devised by human beings there is an emphasis on position. The relationship of one individual to another and to society at large is very carefully calibrated; rank has some prerogatives not allowed those without rank.

One of the most curious attempts at ranking is the invention of the Western mind. I don't mean the rather obvious ranks of military designations: those have equivalents everywhere.

The invention I'm thinking of came about in the mid to late 1880s as a tool of the psychologist and later were refined more and more until today they are seen by the mass of humanity (at least in the Western world) as a real measure of potential importance. Yes, the invention is the measurement of Intellectual Quotient. The device is the I.Q. Test.

The funny thing is that man is not content to rank himself within his group, but then must also rank himself in relation to the other creatures abounding in this world of ours.

So, having proven that one man or woman may have more of whatever it is that I.Q. Tests measure than another, scientists proceeded to use the tests, in varying forms, on animals.

Thus we discover that young chimpanzees have an I.Q. quite on the same order as that of young humans. Also, we find that dolphins may (or may not) be at least as bright as an average man, or that a horse is somewhat smarter than an elephant and somewhat less smart than say, a chimp.

Assigning ranks of importance can give a professor something to do, but it doesn't work in the real world, especially not for tests developed through college students silly enough to get themselves into the testing rooms of the universities. Although there may be some utility to I.Q. tests, what they are not good for is measuring the relative abilities of a small full grown cat and a small child. Apples and oranges, the old math reminder, is appropriate here.

Cats are our concern in this column. Of all the creatures man has attempted to measure, cats may be both the most appealing and the most unwilling to cooperate. While the cat is probably the most alien intelligence on the face of the earth after the dolphin, the cat at least shares the same environment!

What we are proposing is an anecdotal base for the start of real research into communicating with cats on a reasonable basis. Most people who have lived with cats have run into the cat's disconcerting ability to put across a viewpoint. A cat will complain if ignored or leave the area if it wishes not to be bothered. It will tell you quite loudly if it needs food, or if the litter pan needs to be cleaned. Cat also show a remarkable ability to learn things. They can open closets, turn doorknobs, learn schedules, work together cooperatively, become accustomed to a wide range of habitats, and discover the place a person will step next and occupy it first.

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