Back to reality, with just one universe and space-and-time something, as they should be. Hey, I’ve got a question for you. Yeah, I’m changing subjects.
You humans are territorial, aren’t ya? For example, you’ve got certain chairs in the dining room or areas on the cushiony sofa that are yours and only yours to sit on, right? And if someone else should happen to plop herself down in any of those locations, then? Well, I’ve seen the shocked look and disturbed reaction on your faces. Come on, admit it. It’s rather upsetting, isn’t it!
You sleep on a certain side of the bed, and that side is yours. Yes or no? If you share a closet, one part is exclusively yours and is not to be invaded by the clothing of someone else. At the eating place, you sit in your chair on your side of the table. You park your car in a fixed spot on a regular basis and that is your spot, only for your car. At those workplaces you go heading off to every morning, you have your own designated space that is for your stuff and is not to be disturbed, rearranged, or even touched by others without your specific permission to do so.
Or how about if the neighbor’s dog wanders over into your yard and boldly does his bathroom thing on that nice, green grass you spend so much time trimming, watering, and taking care of? Is that an okay kind of deal with you that you would pay no attention to? Hmmm. There are many more examples, but I think you get the point, don’t you? That’s your grass in your yard around your house and it’s not a public toilet!
Well, us cats are territorial too. Depending on whether we’re the more homebound types or the independent-minded varieties, these territories of ours can range greatly in size.
When we live in groups, then typically each cat of the colony has his preferred and distinct territorial area within the total shared space. Us males tend to mark out bigger regions than our female counterparts, and sometimes up to ten times the size of the other gender. Some might suggest that we’re being greedy and selfish by doing so, but hey, we’re simply guided by our instincts on this matter. Sorry about that, but I tell it like it is, okay?
So we can live in peace together as a group, we of course intelligently identify neutral areas within our domain. These can be crossed over and freely used by any member of the clan without any special permissions or permits to be granted, or toll fees that need to be paid.
This promotes peace and wellbeing in the household and its surroundings and thus allows us to avoid a lot of unnecessary arguing or fighting over every little part of our defined boundaries. You’re probably thinking that we’ve really got our act together after hearing that, and yes, you would be correct for arriving at that sensible conclusion.
On the other hand, if some other, non-clan-member feline enters into what is considered to be our territory, there is a certain protocol that should be carried out to first warn, and then if required, remove the disrespectful invader from our premises.
For example, we’ll start out with some serious, fixed staring that should let the intruder know that we’re extremely upset over his presence. If that doesn’t work, stage two brings about some repeated high-volume hissing, and we might even include some deep-throat, growling sounds for special effects to boost the expression of our displeasure.
Finally, if all the previous have failed to shoo away the stubborn invader, we may be forced to flip out our claws while screaming repeatedly with high-pitched sounds. As you can imagine, this generally severely rattles the nerves of all but the boldest opponents, including close-by dogs and humans too!
With that, we go into the approach-and-attack mode and do whatever is necessary to defend what is ours. It’s not a pretty sight to see, or hear. But when duty calls, you’ve got to respond since both your sacred territory and your very reputation are at risk in these undesirable situations. You humans understand what I’m saying here, right?
And by the way, we’re usually loners in these kinds of efforts and don’t have what’s called a “pack mentality” for defense or hunting. At times though a blood brother or sister will lend us a paw and go to battle with us. The others of our faithful clan most always will at least show up in a hurry and gather around. They will likely take no action themselves, but offer a much appreciated, visible, moral support during our times of trauma.