Let's hear it for evolution!
My junior cat, Adelaide, loves to be outdoors. I have to restrict her explorations to those times when my next door neighbor is not at home - for I have observed this neighbor being quite, let’s say “unkind”, to Adelaide.
Said neighbor went out a wee while ago. So I allowed Adelaide to go outside.
In truth Adelaide made the decision. She kept coming up to me, mewing, and then leading me to the back door. I am easily persuadable when the coast is clear.
Adelaide bounded out. I watched her as she raced around, leaped up a tree, leaped back down, and raced some more.
“Sheer joy?” Maybe.
More importantly Adelaide was fulfilling her evolutionary destiny. That destiny is to be a hunter.
My dear cat was chasing, catching, and sometimes killing some of the many little lizards which abound here.
I wept not for the lizards.
Evolution is morally neutral.
And without the feline Adelaides of this world we could be overwhelmed with lizards!
Said neighbor went out a wee while ago. So I allowed Adelaide to go outside.
In truth Adelaide made the decision. She kept coming up to me, mewing, and then leading me to the back door. I am easily persuadable when the coast is clear.
Adelaide bounded out. I watched her as she raced around, leaped up a tree, leaped back down, and raced some more.
“Sheer joy?” Maybe.
More importantly Adelaide was fulfilling her evolutionary destiny. That destiny is to be a hunter.
My dear cat was chasing, catching, and sometimes killing some of the many little lizards which abound here.
I wept not for the lizards.
Evolution is morally neutral.
And without the feline Adelaides of this world we could be overwhelmed with lizards!
I read about a theory this week that it was the human discovery that meat was more digestible when cooked that led to more protein getting to our brains which in turn led to the growth of our brains to a point where we could speak, reason and display empathy.
ReplyDeleteNow, I always feed my dogs and my cat cooked dog food and cat food. So, how long before our dear friends start talking to us?