Why We Love Cats

I have never heard anyone say they were allergic to the lions in the zoo or that tigers made them sneeze, but mention that you have a cat in the house, and someone will say they are allergic to them and reach for a Kleenex. Some people may be truly allergic, and there is scientific evidence that particles, dander or skin flakes in an animal's fur (and notably a cat's fur), can cause an allergic reaction in certain susceptible individuals.

Conversely, there are reports of mental health benefits to having a pet. Research shows that dog and or cat ownership can boost well-being and mental health conditions; or at least people think they benefit, with three-quarters of pet owners reporting that they enjoy health improvements because they live with a pet.

For whatever reason, I love cats, and cannot remember a time in my life when I didn't have one. I do have a very early memory of holding a kitten in my arms and throwing him down the stairs when he scratched me. I must have been 5 or 6 at the time. My mother said I was trying to prove the old maxim that cats always land on their feet. (He did.)

My husband used to say that he hated cats, but in a quarter-century of marriage, we never had fewer than one—and usually two or three—at any given time. I am trying to recall how or why we acquired them all. I know I used this excuse a number of times: "But what could I do? He followed me home!" In this, I was often aided by a co-conspirator, our daughter, who would nod in agreement with fingers crossed behind her back.

I have often said that I like cats because no two are alike in personality. But we had one who seemed to have no personality at all. He just ate and slept. We named him "Mitty" after the character in the 1947 movie The Secret Life of Walter Mitty because we were sure he must have a secret life somewhere that we knew nothing about.

Thankfully, my husband was quite tolerant of my love of cats and had even been won over by some of them, especially the orange and white striped ones, called Tiger One and Tiger Two. Tiger One had been such a clown, and loved to play, chasing anything that moved. He would watch basketball on TV and jump at the screen when the ball was loose. Watching him was often more fun than watching the game.

He brought such joy to our lives, but it was inevitable that we would lose him. I was brokenhearted, and couldn't stop crying when he succumbed to cat fever.

I was reminded of this just recently when another cat, called P-22, our celebrity Puma in Griffith Park, had to be euthanized after being hit and severely injured by a car. He had led a lonely life as a bachelor, unable to find a mate in the limited territory that he roamed, bisected by the 405 and 101 freeways.

P-22, may he rest in peace, would leave no progeny, but his legacy would be of far greater value. There is now an international campaign to build the world's largest "wildlife bridge" across the 101 freeway in Agoura Hills. Thousands of people attended a celebration of his life in Griffith Park, his old stomping ground. And we have all been reminded that we must share the Earth with our fellow creatures.