To Groom or Not Groom, That Is the Question

Cats, as I believed I extolled in my ad nauseam article about cats on July 13, groom themselves about 30% of their lives. Now Doreen and I groom Lamont, Patchtricia, and Pawline with a brush a good deal every evening, but we cannot bring ourselves to groom them with our tongues as they do with each other. We love our cats but there are limits.

Now the philosophical question (it is amazing how many philosophical ideas come from these cats) is as the title suggests, “To groom or not to groom that is the question.” Have you ever seen a truly motley cat, ungroomed, unkempt, or disheveled? No doubt this condition occurs but certainly not on a common level. Cats by nature seem to be the most comely and persnickety of creatures in terms of their appearance.

Then follows the next metaphysical question, “’Tis it nobler to groom oneself than another?” We observers of cat behavior note that cats seem perfectly if not more disposed to grooming their fellow cats as themselves. With our three cats we frequently observe and veritable bacchanalia of grooming of each other. Licking commences with enthusiasm and alacrity. There in nothing in human experience I can find such selfless behavior. Therefore, are cats morally superior to their human counterparts?

Perhaps cats are natural Zen Buddhists. Though I believe we can find corollaries with all major religious and spiritual philosophies. Though when an Australian interviewed the Dali Lama and told him a job about asking a pizza maker to make him one with everything, the Dali Lama didn’t get it. However, I believe the Dali Lama’s cat was in the next room laughing hysterically.