Tuesday, April 8, 2014

G Is For Galeanthropy


Galeanthropy –noun, the belief that one is a cat.

What’s really amazing to me about this is the fact that we, apparently, need a word for this situation.  There are enough people out there who believe that they are cats that a word has been created for it.

What’s even worse is that, in spite of the fact that we have flocks of these faux felines floating around, I haven’t met a single one.

More to the point, I now can’t stop wondering if there’s a word for a cat’s belief that he is a dog. Because I’m pretty sure that’s just one of the many problems that my cat,  Princeton P. Kitty, is suffering from.

Not only does he think he’s a dog, but a dog of questionable moral character.

See, the cat, unfortunately, is a liar.

This was made abundantly clear when Opie and I first started to get serious about our relationship and made the all-too-critical step of introducing our animals.

The thing is, when 2 dogs meet for the first time, there is a little struggle to see which one is dominant.  The submissive one frequently drops onto his back and shows his belly, demonstrating his submissive nature.  So, upon meeting Opie’s Rottweiler mix, Bubba, Prince took a few cheerful swipes at his head, then dropped to the floor and showed his belly.

But, as I mentioned, the cat is a liar.

He was not showing his belly as an act of submission but to lull Bubba into a false sense of security.  Because the second that Bubba would scamper over, thinking he was in charge, and put his nose down on Prince’s belly, Prince would smack Bubba in the face.

Which would have been bad enough if Prince had done it once…but he did it about 16 times.  And Bubba fell for it EVERY SINGLE TIME.

What, I wonder, is the word for THAT?




Can't you just tell this cat is plotting SOMETHING?





10 comments:

  1. This post blew me away! Thanks for sharing. Nice to connect and follow through a to z http://aimingforapublishingdeal.blogspot.co.uk/

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  2. I have never heard of people who think they are cats. Now that was my education for the day. My granddaughter when she was four, however, thought she was a horse. I wonder if there is a word for that.....maybe imagination! Loved your cat story

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    1. My niece used to pretend she was a dog but I'm pretty sure she knew it was make believe.

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  3. The belief that someone is a cat...oh, there's a name for it, all right. "Galeanthropy" was not the first one that came to mind, though. ;)

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  4. This is too funny! I can picture your poor dog being conned by the cat...

    Yvonne

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    1. He still tricks the dog all the time...let's just say the cat is pretty smart and the dog, well, not so much.

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  5. This post made me think of the Greys Anatomy episode where the bloke that thinks he's a cat comes in to the ER for treatment....how they all judge him for looking the way he does.

    Cats are pretty sneaky. Never trust a cat.

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