The power of the cat [View all]

https://english.elpais.com/culture/2025-08-02/the-power-of-the-cat.html

The power of the cat

Are the estimated 700 million felines on Earth the sacred animals of our times?

PEDRO ZUAZUA
AUG 02, 2025 - 00:00 EDT

They scratch the sofa, cover the house in hair, sleep around 15 hours a day and wake their owners at dawn for no apparent reason. They complain when they see a closed door, as if they were always on the wrong side of it, show disdain for the toys purchased for them and love the boxes in which they arrive. They are so independent and maniacal that, when one of them is particularly loving, they get called a cat-dog.

There is no reason nor objective criteria behind the assertion that a cat is adorable. Nonetheless, they are. Or at least, they appear to be.

Felines are at a high point in the history of their relationship with humankind. Videos and memes in which they star have taken over social media, they play leading roles in ad campaigns for luxury brands and cars and legions of volunteers care for those who live in the streets, investing time and money into their well-being. Last summer in New York, hundreds of people went to the movies to watch 73 minutes’ worth of cat videos. In Toronto, there’s an annual walk for those who wish to contemplate pussycats in the windows of their homes. The most-visited exhibition in 30 years at the Manggha Museum of Japanese Art and Technology in Kraków, Poland, focused on cats, attracting 57,186 people. In Athens, a plump orange-and-white cat named Titan has come to have his own entry on Google Maps, just a few feet from that of the Acropolis.

There are three world cat days: February 20, August 8, and October 29. There is but one day dedicated to world peace.

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