Like any elected official, the spokescat moves freely between two worlds. They are recognized for their communication abilities among the other cats, and we know them because they are always keeping tabs on their responsibilities through us.
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We never have to wonder who is the spokescat. They are the ones who remind us it’s dinnertime, or that the litter needs cleaning, or any other task that requires alerting the humans to what needs to be done.
One of the things that distinguishes the Spokescat is their hearty interest in the area in question. With many cats, there can be more than one, and they tend to specialize. There will be the cat who keeps track of the feeding stations, the cat who flags the field for a litter violation, and the cat who watches for visitors or our own arrival.
In our house, Mr. Bond is the Spokescat. (He knows there is no use in trying to get Puffy to do anything important.) If something is making a funny noise or there is something going on outside, Mr. Bond is the first to draw my attention to it.
How can we distinguish our own Spokescats? They will announce themselves. We don’t even have to know which cat is the right one to consult on a particular issue.
Showing great interest in, speaking aloud about, and making small changes to, the part of the house at question will attract the cat responsible.
As long as we are sincerely trying to figure out what they are trying to say, they will continue to say it. This is a training tool that gets sharper with practice, so any discussions with the cats where we try to explain their own issues is cumulative and will always improve matters.
The Spokescat not only gives us messages about what the cats are thinking. They can act as translators who let the other cats know what’s up. I may talk about “dinner” or “breakfast,” but the other cats won’t take it seriously until Mr. Bond announces that proceedings will begin.
With the help of a Spokescat, even matters complicated to convey become easier. If we are trying a new food, saying so when we unpack the groceries and when you feed it to them later will link the two incidents in the Spokescat’s mind and help them understand what we mean. This will help us down the road, when we tell them the grocery store is out of their favorite treats. The Spokescat will help explain that it’s not that we don’t love them.
Think of someone we know who hates surprises, and multiply it quite a bit for cat sensitivity. Cats prefer to keep in close touch with their routines, so if we anticipate and inform them, they will appreciate it.
Really.
So when we have to move furniture, change our schedule, or do anything else that will have a dislocating effect on our cat routine, we can involve the proper Spokescat into our process and streamline our communications.
The Spokescat is the cat’s union representative. We should treat them as an emissary from Catland with a diplomatic request. It’s another way of respecting their wishes and showing that we care.
And we do care, don’t we?
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There’s more about multiple cats in The Way of Cats than the article you are reading now. See more posts on the MULTIPLE CAT ADVANTAGE.
