Felis silvetris catus
gatto domestico

LA RECENSIONE

I have always wondered what thoughts animals have, especially those we keep at home, accustomed to living in nature at a wild level.

A few years ago, I adopted a cat, yes, a house cat that lives with me in my apartment.

In fact, I am against forcing animals to live within four walls, but the house cat has been humanity's companion for millennia. Initially, it was out of necessity because it kept mice away, and then, with the passing of natural evolution, a sincere and mutual affection was born: the so-called companion animal came into being.

After years of study and thanks to the advice of a zoologist, I have come to understand that the engine regulating the lives of animals, and cats in particular, is a dependence on amino acids.

Unlike humans, who regulate their life cycle with conscious awareness, animals develop a dependence like addicts. When the level of taurine in cats' blood decreases, an uncontrollable urge to obtain food kicks in, and they search for the scent of taurine contained in meat just like addicts search for their dealer.

The key lies entirely there; lacking the conscious awareness of humans who decide to have lunch at 1 PM because it's lunchtime, the mechanism, the result of millennia of natural evolution, is at least mathematical and chemical.

The house cat is particularly fixated on taurine, constantly searching for it, and even on a full stomach, it would consume it in large quantities.

It catches prey but doesn't eat it immediately; it plays with it like it played with its mother during the first days of life or like it plays with our hand or a ball of yarn. Here lies the imprint of the game. Indeed, this animal is a playful addict, and it is through this lens, using these two adjectives, that the psychology of the cat can be partially understood.