Nature Blindness Hinders Our Relations With Cats

Nature Blindness Hinders Our Relations With Cats

by Michael
(London, UK)

"Those poor nature-blind people, poor dears, if only they knew what they were missing.."

Nature-blindness hinders our relations with cats; a long and perhaps almost unintelligible title. This is what I mean. A lot of us are nature-blind. A lot of the people who visit this site are not. One is Ruth from England. She is nature-sighted. All of us can be nature-sighted. The term was used by Simon Barnes in his article in the Times today 24th September 2009. I used a different term, "disconnected people" with the same underlying meaning in another article, The Declawing Disconnect.

People who are nature-blind are very close to being nature-sighted. It is just a hair's breath away. Just around the corner. After all nature is all around us but if you are nature-blind you don't see it or connect with it. You don't see and experience a lot of what living is about.

Being nature-sighted is the ability to connect with nature and with ourselves as we are born of nature. Modern life pulls us from this and in doing so it also disconnects us from our cats and at one extreme it results in cruelty to cats and the declawing of cats (one and the same thing) when combined with other unhealthy habits and training.

As Simon Barnes says, once you are in touch with nature and are nature-sighted you will always be able to enjoy it and you will never hurt animals again because you will have empathy with them. You will see and smell the simplest things in nature and receive pleasure from the experience.

How do nature-blind people become nature-sighted. Well I am not sure but I am sure that these are some of the things we can do:

  • Spend some time to simply be in nature. This could be almost anywhere. To sense all of it is important.
  • To slow down a bit and reflect
  • To ask some profound questions about our lifestyles
  • If we have a cat sit next to him/her, stroke her, spend time with her and do it all gently and not in a rush. It can take time to connect with nature because nature works at a natural and much slower pace generally.
  • As Simon Barnes says an affinity with the wild world, nature, is in us all, it is part of us and the human condition. We should spend time to tap into it and enjoy it.

I say all this (and it might seem very unrealistic and impractical to some people) because I am convinced that it can help to "reposition" the mindset of some people who dislike cats and who are at least apathetic about them (and of course all animals).

People who dislike cats brand cat lovers as pink fuzzy headed animal rights activists and the concept of animal rights is tainted by these people - unjustly. People who fight for animal rights are nature-sighted. I argue that they see the world more clearly and they see the whole world not just the man made bit, which so often fails.

It is particularly important now to become nature-sighted to begin the process of learning to live in harmony with the planet rather than abusing it. And that goes to all animals on the planet including cats.

Nature-blindness hinders our relations with cats because it means we are blind to the cat's character which is wholly natural. And if we are blind to the cats character we misunderstand the cat and learn to be fearful of the cat and then learn to hate it.

I believe that nature-blindness is the major reason why people mistreat cats or at least base their relationship with cats, wild, domestic or whatever, on the wrong footing. It leads to or encourages abuses such as (there are many more):

People who are nature-blind should be nature-sighted not because it will improve their relationship with cats but because it will improve their life.

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Nature Blindness Hinders Our Relations With Cats

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Sep 26, 2009 Hi Kathy join the merry band of natured-sighted people
by: Michael

Yes, I can tell right away even by the tenor of your comments and the way that you write that you are nature-sighted and a "connected person"!

It's tough for us connected lot 🙂


Sep 26, 2009 Kathy
by: Ruth aka Kattaddorra

Kathy,I'm so glad to 'meet' you as you are obviously a nature-sighted person too ! I think it's lovely the Blue Jay talks to you.
Animals, birds, even fish, don't need words to communicate with us I don't think.
Every Winter we have a Robin coming to our garden to be fed and we always sing a duet ha ha sounds mad I know but he sits on the fence and I sing a bit out of the Phantom of the Opera and he joins in ! Thankfully one side neighbour is nature -sighted too and the other side, a young couple who have 2 children and 2 lovely little dogs are very live and let live.
We are so lucky to live here.


Sep 25, 2009 great
by: kathy

My sentiments exactly. Today and yesterday a Blue Jay tried to speak to me with a human voice. It was amazing. I hear them where ever i go. Its almost as if they follow me. I have learned to read my cats moods through his body language and his expressions and the position of his ears. Animal totems have become a huge part of my life. I totally am anti-hunting. When i hear about someone having their cat declawed i get sick to my stomach. Its in the nature of the cat to claw on things. If you can't accept that you really don't love cats for the animals that they are. I consider myself a steward of the earth. I love all animals. I always have and i don't see that changing any time soon. Great article, I loved it. THANKS


Sep 25, 2009 Jane
by: Ruth

Well fancy 'meeting' you here Jane ! Thank you for the compliments which I do return as you too are a very nature-sighted person !
Michael you are so right, nature-sighted people do suffer a lot,we suffer on behalf of everyone and every animal we can't help.I know if we don't convince someone not to declaw their cat, even after we've used every fact and shown them every article and picture we can,we feel really dreadful at what the cat has to face and suffer.We won't physically see that cat suffering but we do feel it. Failure to stop it is just devastating !I want to go and bring that cat to safety !
I hope and pray that one day everyone will accept every animal as they come,pure and perfect, not to be adapted.


Sep 24, 2009 The blind and the pain of guilt
by: Jane

Excellent article and a top hole shout out for Ruth who has levels of compassion for animals that many people could not even imagine.

I believe that those who are nature-blind are those who have either never been around animals and made a connection to them or sadly, those who have been around animals and discovered huge internal conflict when a connection could have been made - they say animals are the perfect mirror to we humans. The pain of animals can connect strongly with emotional pain held by humans, for some that is too much to handle, so they disconnect. It's the most dangerous of all the disconnects, because once human emotional pain is highlighted to an individual, they can become defensive and aggressive because they are vulnerable. I think this is why so many who promote declawing and those who defend declawing their cats are so fierce and angry when they are challenged by the nature-sighted. They have seen the pain they have caused and it hurts them. Their blindness is caused by guilt and shame.


Sep 24, 2009 Thanks Ruth
by: Michael

Thanks Ruth. We are two nature-sighted people. We see it all but feel more than nature-blind people. I think life is more difficult for nature-sighted people or at least it can be.


Sep 24, 2009 Nature-sighted
by: Ruth

Thank you Michael, what a lovely article this is !! I'm sorry for people who are nature-blind because they miss out on so much,they must have an empty space in them somewhere.They are the ones who say 'Well I don't like animals but I wouldn't hurt them' Is there a third option to nature-sighted and nature-blind ? Is there a nature-cruel ? These are the people who hate animals and hurt them on purpose or the ones who feel nothing for their pain. As in the ones who have their cats declawed even knowing the truth about what a cruel crippling operation it is.Nature-blind don't know it's cruel, they can't put themselves in the cats 'shoes' but once they know how cruel it is, they don't do it.
My sister is also nature-sighted,we were lucky enough to have the kindest, gentlest, animal loving mother ever !She loved people too and plants and would go without herself, to help a person or an animal in need. So we grew up with her good example.Our father was a 'Victorian' real man sort, who thought it was unmanly to love cats,I think many men used to feel that way, thankfully nowadays most men realise they are more liked by showing their love of animals.
All we can do is show nature-blind people by example, what they are missing out on and hope one day they will join us in being nature-sighted.
I do enjoy all your articles Michael, they are so very deep and interesting and you are most definately nature-sighted !


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