Beyond the Known

My husband and I are proud to say we are 100 % cat-owned, and our herd has recently increased to five fine felines. For me, the fascination with felines started in the crib. Tom was a confirmed canine-ophile until I introduced him to the wonders of cat-love.

Dogs are wonderful companion animals, and I like them too. I love their altruism, their willingness to sacrifice themselves for others, and their dogged determination to please. But I’ve never felt it easy to live with a saint. Cats are humans in fur coats, and I understand them better because they live out all the same emotions and motivations their bipedal servants do.

Let’s face it: dogs have masters, cats have staff. Ours live the kind of life I’d like to live. Long naps, followed by meals, followed by more naps, followed by some excitement looking out the windows at the birds and squirrels who frequent our yard, followed by bedtime. Sounds like a lifestyle I could definitely get used to: no alarm clocks, no traffic, no stress. No wonder cats always look so d**n relaxed. I’m sure I’ve never heard of a cat with hyper-tension or migraines.

Historically, cats have been worshiped and vilified. In ancient Egypt, the cat-headed goddess, Bast, was loved and to kill a cat in that country was grounds for execution (Hear Hear!). Herodotus recorded a story about a Roman centurian who drove his chariot at break-neck speed down a crowded street in Egypt, killing a cat. The mob pulled him from his vehicle and strangled him on the spot. Unfortunately, Western society, under the ignorant aegis of the Catholic Church, declared cats to be allied with the so-called devil, and the wholesale destruction of cats brought on an enormous growth in the European rodent populations. It is now known that the Black Plague was caused by a bacillis in the rat flea and the stupidity of killing cats brought about the deaths of millions in the Middle Ages. Nowadays, cats are no longer looked upon as divine or evil, but very loveable companion animals.

It has been determined by some scientists who have studied the feline mind for many years, that the average adult cat’s mentality approximates that of an 18 month old human. How this assessment was arrived at, I have no real data for, but from a purely personal POV, I can say that sounds just about right. Cats, when kept in the home, and cared for by humans, especially if the care given is loving and generous, become eternal children. As all children do, they are prone to a variety of emotional states, and are quite capable of relaying to us that they are happy, upset, p***ed off, or just plain scared. Animal trainers often say, using the right techniques, training cats to do tricks is no more difficult than training dogs or pigs. Cats need a special type of motivation in order to get them to do things on purpose, and this we have discovered for ourselves over time.

Geoffrey Moussaieff Masson, in his seminal book “The Nine Emotional Lives of Cats: A Journey into the Feline Heart”, lays out a detailed examination of the facts surrounding cat life and their feelings. He does not anthromorphise cats. What he does do is use observation and experience as one of the cat-owned, to explain them. According to Masson, the list of cats’ emotions he has observed include: narcissism, love, contentment, attachment, jealousy, fear, anger, curiosity and playfulness. One of the interesting items the author confirms in the book is that cats feel no guilt. What a wonderful thing. Wow. I could use that ploy. If the dog breaks something, you can see it in his downcast eyes and bowed head. If the cat breaks something, he walks away unscathed. If you cannot use guilt or offering an animal the opportunity to please you (which cats think is only for dogs), what can you do? You have to convince the cat that doing whatever it is you want them to do is something THEY will also want to do. Of course offering little treats for a job well done has its place, but it’s primarily a psychological battle between human and feline. And I’ve been on the losing side a long time. Between my husband and myself we have 4 university degrees but I’ve seen an 8 pound cat outsmart us just trying to get her to take a pill.

Our cats have mirrored Masson’s research pretty much to a T. They have run the gamut from love and playfulness, to jealousy and anger every time a new feline has joined the herd. There are all kinds of little dramas and interactions being played out amongst them every day. Alliances are drawn up only to be broken when one oversteps his or her boundaries with another. Food is sacrosanct - don’t steal or push the other nose out of the dish. Certain observation posts are considered personal territory: the kitchen window seat is an often hotly contested spot, especially if the sun is out. Our Blue Point Siamese, Lady Kiya (aka Kiki), loves to glower down on us from her supreme location on top of the cupboards over the fridge. Sammit, the dowager elder, has held her position as Alpha Feline in the household since her arrival, and even the two males, Salem and Kipling, no better than to push their luck with her. At almost 17 pounds, Sammit doesn’t take any s**t. She has an attitude and she isn’t afraid to use it. But with humans, she is laid back, loving and marvelously patient about accepting her two insulin shots a day. Yup, it’s a little feline Peyton Place here sometimes.

If we accept what can be quantified in research and observation about cats, can we accept other, less scientific information about our furry friends as well? Renowned psychic Jeane Dixon wrote a book called “Do Cats Have ESP?” and in it, she posits the view that she has personally seen evidence of some sort of sixth sense exhibited by various felines. She cites numerous examples of ‘homing cats’, as well as cats who have saved lives and even one who was able to warn her person that they were about to experience a series of seizures, brought on by injuries in a car accident. Even scientists have coronating research that cats are good barometers for incoming earthquakes. How they are able to determine that one is coming, the scientists are still working on. (I suspect there is a true scientific reason for this, and not a supernatural one). Cats are used as visiting animals in hospitals, children’s wards and seniors complexes. Many older ladies enjoy cats because they are easy to hold and small, just like babies. And the sound of purring has a truly sedative effect on the tired, the sick and the dispossessed. Many nursing homes in Canada and the United States have started keeping indoor ‘house’ cats because the residents enjoy the connection with the pets and pets make a house a home (I know of a local nursing home chain which maintains a ‘house cat’ in each of its locations and the residents are thrilled). One nursing home in the U.S. has been documenting the fact that a dying resident will receive the constant attention and quiet companionship of the ‘house cat’, who will remain with the person, on their bed, until they pass on. Cats are also popular visiting animals in homes for autistic children, as the kids seem to find it easier to relate, at times, to the non-demanding attention of a cat.

Another author has taken the issue of ESP even further in her book “Animals and the Afterlife.” Kim Sheridan is an American lecturer and workshop leader, and founder of the Compassion Circle, an organization that seeks to comfort those who have lost pets to death. Sheridan’s contention is that animals have souls just the same as humans do, and that they have a place in the world beyond life on planet Earth.http://www.AnimalsAndTheAfterlife.com. Those of us who have loved and lost any pet, recall the bittersweet tears and memories of our four-footed companions. Visit her website, www.AnimalsAndTheAfterlife.com.

With all the undemanding love and kindness cats extend to us, it still shocks me to see that there are those out there who choose cats or kittens to abuse, rather than to love. Two recent episodes printed in the local newspaper have been indeed upsetting and the sentences handed down laughable. Elliott Leyton, a famous FBI profiler, and the author of “Hunting Humans’, has drawn an uncomfortable parallel between animals abuse and murder and serial killers. Savages like Ted Bundy, Albert Desalvo, Charles Starkweather and others apparently started their career in cruelty by hurting and abusing animals.

Buying or adopting any pet has some important responsibilities attached. Neutering is first on the list, and in the case of cats who might use their claws to shred the furniture, declawing might also be in the cards. But so are yearly shots, flea bane, anti-parasite medication, and the right kind of food, cat litter and other necessities of life. Our personal view has been that keeping a cat indoors is the best way to maintain their health and extend their lives. Not to mention keeping the neighbours happy (nobody likes to plant their flowers and discover the neighbour’s cat has been using that spot for their latrine….). As a result of this decision, some cats in our family have been able to reach the ripe old age of 20 years. Vets, if questioned about indoor or outdoor, will specify that indoor is better, safer, healthier and happier for both cats and humans alike. Outdoor cats can bring in contaminants, insects, parasites, and other problems, all of which can affect human health as well.

The local SPCA is one place to start if planning on bringing a feline into the home. Older cats are harder to adopt out because everyone seems to think kittens are so much cuter (they definitely DO hit a 9.5 on the cute-o-meter). But keep in mind many older cats are already neutered and declawed, happy to live indoors and heart-rendingly grateful for the chance to have a new life with a new family. We have adopted four of our cats between 1988 and 2008 from the shelter and all were wonderful additions to our home.

Breeders, provided they are reputable (i.e. not running kitten mills with unhealthy or over-bred animals), can offer felines of specific types. Our Blue Point, Kiki, came from a Siamese breeder outside Saint John, NB, and she is unbelievably bright, active, curious and at time, possessed of an almost human-like personality. Look through any cat book and there are dozens of gorgeous breeds to select from.
But, in truth, ALL cats are special. Like humans, personality is what is most important. Don’t listen to the old rhetoric about cats being aloof, cruel (because they can catch birds and mice), or that they shouldn’t be permitted in the crib with the baby. Nothing could be further from the truth. Cats are all about love. And the more you give them, the more you get back.

It’s paws for thought…..

Only now are Atlantic Canadians beginning to learn about a real-life X-Files incident that took place in their own backyard in 1967. Perhaps Canada’s Centennial year forced all other news stories to the back burner, but the small Nova Scotian village of Shag Harbour has never forgotten the day when something from out of this world came calling.

Any chronology of the October 1967 incident starts with the first set of witnesses - an Air Canada flight crew piloting a DC-8. They made the first UFO report, but they were soon followed by stargazers setting up a telescope at Eastern Passage, fishing crews off Sambro and Digby Neck, Halifax natives who contacted the Chronicle-Herald about the UFO they saw, a professional photographer and his friends in Lunenburg Village, RCMP officers in Weymouth, and finally a group of witnesses in Shag Harbour itself. At first, some witnesses thought the ‘dark object’ was an airliner which had crashed into the waters, but as it drifted on the surface of the sea, its very presence set off a chain of events - and brought together military forces from both Canada and the US to contain the story and maintain as much secrecy as possible. Literally hundreds of witnesses, on mainland Nova Scotia and out at sea, had seen ‘something’ and silencing that many people was not going to be easy.

Authorities that night, including the RCMP, the Coast Guard and local fishermen, initially accepted the idea of a crashed airplane at first, and mobilized themselves accordingly to mount a search and rescue effort. Those arriving on the scene saw no downed plane, but ships approaching the location discovered a thick yellow foam floating on the water. One witness who touched the foam said it left his hand feeling oily, but it was not like aircraft oil. It also had a strange scent - but not mechanical in nature. Many hours later, Canadian Navy divers arrived to search the shallow waters - and began recovering pieces of aluminum colored debris - debris which mysteriously disappeared in Navy custody and was never seen again!

Don Ledger and Chris Styles, the authors of “Dark Object, based on the Shag Harbour incident, spent years researching this incident - a story which took them from the military and RCMP eye-witnesses, to Canadian government documents - some of which are still classified and unavailable for current researchers. Ledger and Styles began their voyage into the unknown by tapping the knowledge and expertise of fellow MUFON member Stanton Friedman. The former nuclear physicist had moved to Fredericton, NB in 1980, and was using the city as his base of operations. Friedman’s books: “Crash at Corona” (with Don Berliner - perhaps the most definitive volume on the Roswell case), and “TOP SECRET/MAJIC” (which details the machinations of a secret American top level organization that may well have been working to prevent the general public from knowing the truth about Roswell and other “close encounters” of the alien kind), are well known.

The problem of getting access to vital government papers and talking to witnesses is not a new one for Stan Friedman, and he knew from his own experience what Chris and Don would be up against in their research. It’s an occupational hazard in the business of uncovering information pertaining to UFO events. With research visits to 19 different documents archives, such as the Trueman, Eisenhower, Kennedy and Reagan Presidential Libraries among others, and several Canadian archival holdings in Ottawa, Stan learned through experience the value of patience and tenacity. As he says, “Not all agencies are unhelpful. Some routinely lie. One needs to use all the weapons available.” It was while he was conducting his own research and attempting to gain access to and utilize government documents that he discovered that the American government, in particular, keeps much of their paperwork on UFO incidents classified and not available even through the Freedom of Information Act. This begs the question, of course, if there is nothing to hide - why not permit complete access to these documents to those researchers who want them?

Stan has stated that his method of research comes from his days as a nuclear physicist, working for such industrial giants as Westinghouse Astronuclear, General Electric Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion, and McDonnell-Douglas Aerospace. In nuclear physics, one cannot afford to make mistakes or use data to come to a preconceived conclusion. Stan also notes higher education and a career in the sciences may actually play a role in the acceptance of the idea of UFOs: “I think most people accept the notion that Man is not alone in the universe. Polls have shown not only that “Believers” outnumber non-believers, but that the greater the education, the more likely they accept both UFO reality and the existence of aliens. The more one knows about the universe and how big and old it is and how there doesn’t seem to be anything special about Earth and the sun, the more likely one is to say that we are not alone. After Watergate and other examples of government misrepresentation, people are much more ready to accept that governments are covering up…Astronauts are much more ready to ask than to speak out. Gordon Cooper told me of his sighting. Bill Anders was very very interested, but very tight lipped, Dr. Mitchell has spoken out about what he has heard from others.

NASA itself has given out very little information about UFOs. Many reports of observations by astronauts are by their very nature classified.” Stan gave Chris, and then Don, his writing partner, the impetus and the suggestions as to where to start their own research trail. And, even though it appeared at times their trail had gone cold, they were fortunate enough to uncover enough details through first hand accounts from government documents they were able to access, and from the people who were in Shag Harbour those fateful days and nights in October 1967 to know they were onto something special. Their book, “Dark Object”, with a forward by famed UFO writer Whitley Streiber, sets out not only the facts of the case, but the events taking place during their own research into it. Chris had for years been intrigued by the story, and discovered that the press never really got close enough to the Shag Harbour incident to report on it in detail. That’s partly what spurred him to begin his own investigation. But, there was also the fact that he sensed he was onto “something” odd as he came up against problems with getting relevant government documents and talking to evasive witnesses - even those who’d seen the ‘dark object’ themselves. Documents for research through the Library Loaner system from Records Group 77 and 24 were difficult to obtain and were often ‘sanitized’ - in other words, controversial material had been removed before Chris and Don were able to see them.

And, as though taken from an X-Files script, a scenario developed during the course of their investigation in which witnesses were warned off from talking to them, and Chris was actually accosted several times by unknowns who wanted him to cease his research into the incident! And, while taking photos at Shag Harbour and a couple other locations, they found themselves the objects of attention by mysterious individuals who never identified themselves.

Later investigations by Don and Chris would turn up the startling information that the UFO not only crash landed in an area where a top secret American-Canadian hydrophone underwater listening installation called SOUSOS, was stationed, but that Canadian and American navy vessels were anchored over the UFO and had to stave off the attentions of a curious Russian sub which entered the area in question. The Canadian Navy divers, one of whom spoke confidentially to Chris and Don in a personal interview, explained that divers were taking photos of the “Dark Object”, retrieving the odd yellow foam and other artifacts. The artifacts or collected materials were then removed and supposedly sent to the Naval Armament Depot in Dartmouth (which has been confirmed by a confidential military source) - never to be heard of again. Information about SOUSOS was “outed by Dr. Dan Middlemous, Professor of Strategic Studies at Dalhousie University in the mid 1980’s.” The sheer number of eye witnesses, drawn from local area fishermen, the RCMP, the military and others, belies the usual debunkers’ claims that those who view UFOs are untrained observers and therefore their stories are not believable.

Here were highly trained law enforcement and military personnel, along with men who’d spent their entire working lives on the sea, as well as other civilians, none of whom had anything to gain personally from admitting what they’d seen. In fact, Chris and Don discovered a reticence among the military people to even discuss the matter beyond a certain point. Don cites concerns about losing their pensions as the one of the reasons the former military people were less than forthcoming about the ‘dark object’, but he also points to the “…‘giggle factor’ that surrounds the investigations of UFOs”.

“Dark Object”, “Crash At Corona” and “TOP SECRET/MAJIC” can be purchased at Chapters and other book chains. Don’s second solo writing project, “Swissair Down” is also available, and chronicles the events surrounding that fatal air crash off Nova Scotia. Contact him at www.donledger.com. Stan Friedman can be reached at his web site www.v-j-enterprises.com/sfpage.html. All three researchers, Don Ledger, Chris Styles, and Stan Friedman, say they will continue to pursue as many answers as they can find, and refuse to allow governmental stonewalling to discourage them. Perhaps, like Fox Mulder of the X-Files, they know “the truth is out there.”

P.S. According to www.screenrant,com, a remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still is in the works with Keanu Reeves starring as Klaatu (played by Michael Rennie in the classic original).