The nine emotional lives of cats, by Jeffrey Masson

I recently read a very nice book written by an American author that anyone who loves cats cannot miss reading.
The title itself sounds quite captivating: The nine emotional lives of cats.

The author

Who wrote this highly original book is Mr Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson: born in Chicago in 1941, Masson is a writer, a Sanskrit scholar and a psychoanalyst.

At some point in his life, this man decided to move to New Zealand with his young wife, in a house with direct access to the beach. He was (and is) a cats lover, so why not adopt one?
Or rather, why not adopt five cats?! Thus, Masson, between his kittens and the birth of little Ilan, reconciling his passion for felines and psychoanalysis, began to observe the lives of his four-legged friends in a systematic way and decided to dedicate a book to them.

The cats

Masson’s cats have somewhat unusual names: Minna, Moko, Megalamandira, Yossie, Miki. Not surprising: he’s a Sanskrit language researcher.
Masson relates about the incredible and unusual life of his five kittens, spent between the walls of the house and the beach below the villa, often out and about, among the sand dunes or on the shore, anxiously awaiting the return of the immersed “owners”. in New Zealand waters.
I quoted the word “owners” because many cat lovers know well that these mysterious and wonderful animals have no owners. Accustomed since ancient times to living alone into the wild, cats still do not submit to anyone. People are their companions in life and play. And yet they know how to love us in a unique way.

The observation of his cats and their emotions

In order to write this book, Jeffrey Masson had to observe his five cats in a systematic way: without exaggerating with rigor and scientific method, he still managed to identify some emotions that he thinks cats can experience.
Cats emotions seems to be nine:

narcissism (yes, an emotion!), happiness, attachment, jealousy, fear, anger, curiosity, playfulness, love.

Masson dedicates a chapter to each emotion and each one is explained and illustrated with examples from everyday life. I don’t want to take away the pleasure of finding out what this passionate cat lover comes up with, so I recommend you to read it and do it calmly, whenever you have time and pleasure to do it.

The mystery of the purr

I focus on this topic because it has always fascinated me. The topics of this book, however, are numerous and for brevity I have chosen the one that seems most interesting to me.
The emission of purring is typical of small felines: domestic and wild cats, ocelots, servals. According to Desmond Morris, one of the most important cats experts in the world, only these small felines would be able to purr, while big felines such as lions and leopards are not.
According to other authors such as the ethologist Elizabeth Marshall Thomas, however, even big cats would be able to purr.
In any case, it is a truly unique way of communication.
What are purrs? And how are they produced? Without a doubt, Masson writes, purring is an emotional manifestation, a way of expressing an internal feeling: therefore, it can never be false.

The purring mechanism

Purring is produced voluntarily by cats and is generated by their central nervous system.
Cats purr when they are happy (playing, eating, enjoying our cuddles) but also when they are distressed: for example, when they face with unknown cats.
What is the purpose of purring?

According to mainstream thinking, purring is a kind of “self-care”: it calms the cats who do it, those who perceive it. When giving birth, for example, mother cats purr: to reassure the little ones and to calm themselves, probably.
In any case, already during the first days of life, the kittens, while breastfeeding, emit a purr of enjoyment, thus communicating to their mother that “everything is okay”.

Human beings also perceive the sweet vibration of feline purring with pleasure and we too, as happens with cats, tune in to waves of relaxation and pleasure…
“It’s impossible to be in the presence of a satisfied cat and not be influenced by it,” writes Masson. “Stroking a cat and hearing its purr decreases blood pressure” and adds: “I believe it can also lift your spirits.”
Anyone who has lived with a cat knows what Masson is referring to when he describes those moments of empathetic and mutual emotional vibration. On the other hand, communication is also made up of non-verbal, sensorial, emotional, listening to oneself and others.

In conclusion

In conclusion, I would like not to dwell on the contents of this book any longer because I don’t like spoilers, and therefore: read it! You will love it.

Article by Dr. Giorgia Aloisio, psychologist and psychotherapist (Rome).
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