A Success Story: Effective Communication With Cats

 

 Shahrak-e- Gharb (The West Township) in Tehran is a rather modern neighborhood with beautiful villas which is sometimes referred to as the Beverly Hills of Tehran. While the inhabitants of this community try to indulge themselves with the rather peaceful tranquility of their homes, they are often annoyed by the numerous vagrant cats which, apparently also having a good taste, they too have chosen the neighborhood for living. I live in one of these villas with my family. We have an outdoor pool and we fill it in summertime where the kids get a chance to take refuge in the water from the scorching sun during the sultry summer days. The kids were enjoying using the pool until my youngest son spotted a cat reaching down to water and drinking from the pool. From that day, they refused to use the pool arguing that the health of the street cats was under question. I offered to increase the chlorine dosage, but the solution was of no avail as it was promptly rejected by the family. All of a sudden the lively atmosphere surrounding our pool, the sound of the subdued music in the yard, and the frolicking of the kids vanished.

We were faced with a big problem. We seemed to be helpless and left at the mercy of some little cats. First we were thinking of how we could prevent the cats from reaching the pool. This solution was obviously immediately dismissed as there is hardly any physical barrier that cats cannot surmount.
We then thought we might be able to scare the cats away by dubious means. Cats are smart animals and we thought if they felt they were not welcomed in a house, they would not return (especially after being properly scared away!).But we thought this solution might also fail as you could always run into new thirsty cats that did not have the prior experience of having been scared away.

As we were pondering on the issue and considering various other alternative solutions, we realized we were not analyzing the problem from a cause and effect perspective. We saw only our side of the problem and completely disregarded the poor cats that in the heat of the summer also needed water to quench their thirst. In fact our non- empathic approach to the problem had ignored half of the problem i.e. the cats and their need, which in turn, obscured the possible clues to the solution. We realized that the cause of the problem was not the cats, but their thirst, which could easily lend itself to solution. Through this illumination, we suddenly realized the whole enigma and, of course, a handy and easy solution was immediately conjured up.

We prepared a nice and brightly colored pot and filled it with water and placed it in the exact spot where the cats would normally squat for drinking water from the pool, and waited anxiously. To our surprise, and naturally to the delight of the kids, we observed two cats emerging from the bushes and, after scrutinizing the new situation and a little bit of hesitation, started drinking water from the  pot which was in fact much more convenient for them.

Liveliness returned to our pool, and I, having succeeded in establishing an indirect dialogue with the cats, have ever since discovered why we often fail in our communication with human beings with whom we have far more common interests and have far better ways and easier means of communication than we have with cats.  

Mohammad Razipour
Manager, Business Development
Kayson Company
No. 2288 - Iranzamin Bldg, Iranzamin St.,
Shahrak Qods, Tehran 14656 Iran

Tel : +98-21-8807 2501-9
Tel (Direct): +98-21-8807 2531
Fax : +98-21-8808 1560
Email : mrazipour@kayson-ir.com
Website: www.kayson-ir.com