HOME | DD
Okavanga — The Cat as a Philosopher - Deep in Thought
Published: 2014-04-22 16:53:50 +0000 UTC; Views: 585; Favourites: 23; Downloads: 1
Redirect to original
Description
Tom returns in a series of portraits illustrating his amazing mental powers as a philosopher.Tom comments, "In this study I re-enact Plato's memorable transcendental study of the mouse as a physical object or as a phenomenological projection." Quite,Tom, quite!
Related content
Comments: 12
Ah I recall this is Tom the ladder climber...beautiful cat...
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Long-ago. I met friend who decided to adopt me. She had at times a similar expression, hence the moniker "Her Majesty" (not because of attitude ; ANY cat could thus be named !) because she seemed to be 'saying' "we are NOT amused", ala queen Victoria (early to late 19th century) ...... She was also quite the philosopher !! I miss her still !
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Many thanks. Cats have that expression - some more marked than others. Tom was a master and it sounds like your "friend" was the same. I still miss my beloved boy - approaching a year now.
Cheers
David
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Below is a little bit of low-ku for you and Saint Thomas Aqatus!
Cat Buddha
Sleeping cat in sun
Dreams of nothing or fat mice
Lawn-chair Nirvana
(©1978 by Goodwin Trent)
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Good one, Goodwin! I have never managed to get into that type of verse, but that sounds just about right for Tom.
Cheers
David
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Haiku - both its charms and liabilities are found in its brevity.
I composed this one many years ago when I was more active in composing jingles (music & lyrics to sell a product or an idea). For both haiku and jingle writing, you have to put forth a persuasive concept in a very short envelope of time - literally a few seconds. I recalled this one while looking at your photos of Tom. Cats definitely have a Zen-like quality to them, especially when resting.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Indeed - Tom does go into what in Scotland are sometimes called "dwams" - he sits with a deep expression of inner contemplation, sometimes for minutes at a time, and then with a little shake he emerges into the everyday world, meows, and walks off to be naughty.
David
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
I am glad to see a new series with Tom: he really deserves to be portraited, of course Tom as any feline has this natural and inner wisdom all cats have in their eyes, this very same thing -ability- that make people react so strongly to cats: some fear them -because they read human minds like open books, some hate them -for the same reason lol!- and happily many others including you and me David love them -for a whole bunch of reasons.
My cat silently nods to both our comments.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Well, Elisabeth, cats can certainly do the wisdom bit with their looks and their behaviour. In their own way they are clever, apparently appraising the world with a cold calculating cat logic. But we must take care not to anthropomorphise their behaviour. They walk alone.
David
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
agreed David.
I think the biggest myth among cat "haters" is that they (the cats) do not really care nor bound with their slaves/owners! ...uh!
The only way to debunk this is to have a cat of course.
(on the topic of inter-species boundaries and surprises I remember this female lion who was an outcast and rejected from her group... The documentary showed her deep bounding with an antilope (yep) she would defend from her own kind (the other lions who wanted to eat her). Documentary also filmed her reaction the day her antilope friend was killed in front of her eyes by a group of predators that were too numerous for the outcast she-lion to fight each one of them to protect her prey friend. The screamt and sound she made when the antilope was killed was really heartbreaking David. Very sad but true story, the documentary must be availaible somewhere on the net, can't remember the title, though.)
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
That's an interesting story, Elisabeth - I've not heard of anything quite like that. However, we know that cats and dogs and other pets do bond to one another, so we should not be surprised if that happens in the wild.
Cheers
David
👍: 0 ⏩: 0