Toxic Felinity

I think we are all familiar with the reputation of cats:  mean, scary, aloof, completely unloyal, basically heartless.  This must change.  Even though this commonly held stereotype is the absolute truth, it is nothing more than a social construct.  With some coaxing and re-training, a cat will gladly greet its owner just like Dino from The Flintstones.  It won't take much to get cats to go out and get the morning paper.  With a minimal amount of therapy, cats would love to be put on leashes and taken for walks.  It is our culture that is the problem, and the impersonal and selfish attitudes we have pushed onto cats; the problem is not them-it's us.  We all need to be more open.  We cannot afford, as a culture, to show surprise at a dog who just sits in a window enjoying the sun and completely oblivious to its owners, nor can we betray any surprise when and if we see a cat playing Frisbee with its owner in the park.  The two may practically act, look, and think totally differently, but that is really just because of arbitrary stereotypes culture has imposed on the two animals.  It is high time we as a culture stand up and acknowledge that the differences are all in our heads.  Being the best, most evolved humans means denying the most real and obvious differences between species and genders.