There is a book called Worry and Nervousness: The Science of Self Mastery. I don't know a thing about the book or its author, except that its author must not own cats
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Zuul actually got so neurotic about OH MY GODS AND LITTLE FISHES, I CAN SEE THE BOTTOM OF MY FOOD BOWL (even though it's a pinhole view and the bowl is otherwise full) that we eventually *adopted another cat* to give her more stimulation and get her to stop being quite so stressed-out.
(She had been in a state of constant low-grade war -- with her on the losing end of her larger, fitter brother -- since kittenhood, so when my ex and I split up, we each took one cat. Gozer was the happiest he'd ever been -- he had His Human all to himself, and he loved it. Zuul, strangely enough, even though she LOATHED her brother and would rarely even sit on opposite sides of the same piece of furniture, got really codependent and needy and unhappy. She didn't actually want to be Only Cat, she wanted to be Top Cat.)
Now, the kitten we adopted is 3 years old, and is taller, stronger, faster, and fitter than she is . . . and she still can bop him on the forehead when he's being too obnoxious about running toward her and leaping over her to indicate a desire to play. She is Top Cat, and that makes her very happy.
And she's a LOT less neurotic about the food bowl . . . although we eventually had to switch to a timed feeder, because free-feeding just was not working with her weight issues.
Some people assert that animals don't have personalities, much less anxieties and neuroses. I generally roll my eyes and laugh derisively, at that point.
But, yes -- she still does the "TIMMY'S IN THE WELL!" impression if one of us walks into the room and the bowl is empty, even though she knows damn well that it drops 3 times a day without human intervention . . . but she's a lot more chill about it, strangely enough, rather than checking and re-checking and being unhappy about it all the time.
(She had been in a state of constant low-grade war -- with her on the losing end of her larger, fitter brother -- since kittenhood, so when my ex and I split up, we each took one cat. Gozer was the happiest he'd ever been -- he had His Human all to himself, and he loved it. Zuul, strangely enough, even though she LOATHED her brother and would rarely even sit on opposite sides of the same piece of furniture, got really codependent and needy and unhappy. She didn't actually want to be Only Cat, she wanted to be Top Cat.)
Now, the kitten we adopted is 3 years old, and is taller, stronger, faster, and fitter than she is . . . and she still can bop him on the forehead when he's being too obnoxious about running toward her and leaping over her to indicate a desire to play. She is Top Cat, and that makes her very happy.
And she's a LOT less neurotic about the food bowl . . . although we eventually had to switch to a timed feeder, because free-feeding just was not working with her weight issues.
Some people assert that animals don't have personalities, much less anxieties and neuroses. I generally roll my eyes and laugh derisively, at that point.
But, yes -- she still does the "TIMMY'S IN THE WELL!" impression if one of us walks into the room and the bowl is empty, even though she knows damn well that it drops 3 times a day without human intervention . . . but she's a lot more chill about it, strangely enough, rather than checking and re-checking and being unhappy about it all the time.
-- A <3
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