Of felines and humans.

Sometimes, we humans think we are unique in the animal world, in ways which, actually, we are not. There is a tendency to attribute to humans a special set of values and behaviours which, of course, we think, no animal could ever have. Recently, I have come to observe how similar another animal is, to us, in what, to me, were surprising ways.

At our house in Kuala Lumpur, we have five cats – well, one mother cat and four kittens. We didn’t actually buy these cats…the mother turned up one day, and miaowed in search of food…and we, touched, perhaps, gave her some. She has stayed ever since.

Now, not long ago, I noted something very sweet about the mummy cat’s behaviour. Whenever I put out food for her and her family of kittens, she would not eat anything. She would sit off to one side and let her kittens eat, watching them warmly. She was never seen to eat, until her kittens had had their fill. Sometimes, this meant that they left nothing for her…but she would not complain.

This was quite affecting to see. It seemed to speak of a motherly love, of the cat, for her kittens. She was putting their needs before her own. This is something which a human mother might readily do, of course – but it was a surprise, to me, to see a cat…an animal with quite a small brain…do so.

On another occasion, I saw another behaviour which is very familiar from human conduct. One of her kittens, has what I would call a bad personality. He is always hissing at everyone – be it human, or animal. He even hisses when he seeks food from us. It is a nasty little hiss and sounds quite offensive, in a way. Well, one day, he hissed at his own mother. She reacted swiftly by hissing back at him, then swiping him, stiffly, with her paw. He was knocked back.

This again, seemed very “human”. It was of a mother scolding her child and then slapping him, for his poor manners. Again, I found it unexpected, since the behaviours were exactly akin to what one would find in a human, in similar circumstances.

It is observations and reflections like this that lead me to understand that we should all be much more kindly to our fellow animals in this world. They are much more like us, than you might believe. Yes, they are simpler – but they often share common “emotions” , which allow us to see parts of ourselves in them. It would not surprise me if there were not some common nature and set of responses, spread widely throughout the animal kingdom. I have seen enough of such, in our cats, to believe so.

If you have any interesting animal stories, please share them below.

Thanks.

Posted by Valentine Cawley

(If you would like to support my continued writing of this blog and my ongoing campaign to raise awareness about giftedness and all issues pertaining to it, please donate, by clicking on the gold button to the left of the page.

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To learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, 10, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, 7 and Tiarnan, 5, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html

I also write of gifted education, child prodigy, child genius, adult genius, savant, megasavant, HELP University College, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, Malaysia, IQ, intelligence and creativity.

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Why did The Star not publish my letter?

As long term readers will know, I have had quite a few letters published in Malaysian newspapers. I have raised many issues in their pages, usually on various social issues, of some kind. A few weeks ago, I sent The Star (of Malaysia), the letter below. It was never published. The question is: why? The contents are socially helpful and would, if acted on, change Malaysia, for the better. Yet, someone, at The Star, preferred silence on the issue. The letter follows:

Malaysian taxi drivers lack road knowledge.

In London, licensed taxi drivers have to pass a special exam, called The Knowledge. This involves learning 320 routes through London and the location of every single landmark and place of interest within a six mile radius of Charing Cross. A London Black Cab driver never gets lost, never fails to know the way and gets the customer to their destination every time. Malaysian drivers, however, are a rather different breed. Many of them seem to have no knowledge of Kuala Lumpur at all.

Recently, I have become accustomed to taxi drivers not being able to find their way, to a well known location, in Kuala Lumpur – even if they are parked only a couple of kilometres away. I sometimes have to ask four or five drivers, before I can find one who knows the way, even though the road I am asking them to go to, is a main one. It seems that people are starting to drive cabs, without any detailed knowledge of Kuala Lumpur’s roads. This should simply not be allowed.

Sometimes, drivers pretend to know where somewhere is, just to get the fare. However, part way into the journey, it becomes clear that the driver is lost and has no clue where to go. How can this be called a “taxi service”? If Malaysia is ever to be considered a developed country, it must have a developed transport system – and taxis are part of that.

The solution is simple. Taxi drivers in Malaysia, should have to learn, in detail, every road, every route, every landmark and place of interest, in the bounds of the city or area in which they are licensed, before they are ever allowed to drive a cab. Furthermore, if a cab driver gets lost – or pretends to be lost – they should have no right to charge the customer, for the unaccountably long journey. Were these suggestions to be implemented, Malaysia would finally have a taxi service that meets the customers’ needs. Incidentally, it would also leave a much better impression on foreign visitors, who, at present, can only conclude that there is something incompetent about Malaysia’s taxi services. Is that the impression Malaysia wants to give, to the world?

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What do you think of my solution to Malaysia's ignorant taxi drivers? Please comment below, if you wish.

(If you would like to support my continued writing of this blog and my ongoing campaign to raise awareness about giftedness and all issues pertaining to it, please donate, by clicking on the gold button to the left of the page.

To read about my fundraising campaign, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/01/fundraising-drive-in-support-of-my.html and here: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/01/fundraising-drive-first-donation.html

If you would like to read any of our scientific research papers, there are links to some of them, here: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/02/research-papers-by-valentine-cawley-and.html

If you would like to see an online summary of my academic achievements to date, please go here: http://www.getcited.org/mbrz/11136175

To learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, 10, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, 7 and Tiarnan, 5, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html

I also write of gifted education, child prodigy, child genius, adult genius, savant, megasavant, HELP University College, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, Malaysia, IQ, intelligence and creativity.

There is a review of my blog, on the respected The Kindle Report here:http://thekindlereport.blogspot.com/2010/09/boy-who-knew-too-much-child-prodigy.html

Please have a read, if you would like a critic's view of this blog. Thanks.

You can get my blog on your Kindle, for easy reading, wherever you are, by going to: http://www.amazon.com/Boy-Who-Knew-Too-Much/dp/B0042P5LEE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1284603792&sr=8-1

Please let all your fellow Kindlers know about my blog availability - and if you know my blog well enough, please be so kind as to write a thoughtful review of what you like about it. Thanks.

My Internet Movie Database listing is at:http://imdb.com/name/nm3438598/

Ainan's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3305973/

Syahidah's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

Our editing, proofreading and copywriting company, Genghis Can, is athttp://www.genghiscan.com/

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited. Use only with permission. Thank you.)