You never know where you will be when you learn something new. While my uncle was in the hospital, I met some wonderful people. One woman was from Vietnam, and we started talking about animals. She told me it was the Year of the Cat. I didn’t want to inform this kind and gentle woman that she was wrong, but I could have sworn it was the Year of the Rabbit. Trying to find a nice way to let her know, I said, “That shows how little I know, I thought it was the Year of the Rabbit.” In her very sweet and polite way, she let me know that I was correct if I was talking about China and some other Asian countries, but that Vietnam changed the Year of the Rabbit to the Year of the Cat.

Curious, I thought, and then realized I had said it out loud—after all, my manners were a little slow after long days and sleepless nights by my uncle’s side. She went on to explain that it balanced out the yin and the yang, since after all there was the Year of the Dog, so it only made sense to have the Year of the Cat. I smiled and pretended to understand all that (there was much more explanation, but some I didn’t get from the accent, the other I didn’t get because—well, I just didn’t). It does make sense, though, that the cat should have a year.

Having lived in some Asian countries where cats are eaten, I asked her how cats were looked upon in Vietnam. She said rabbits are eaten. Cats are clean and sociable animals. (Clearly she had not met some of the cats I’ve seen over the years.) She said the cat is gentle and loving of humans and that her hope is the Year of the Cat will make people become kinder and gentler to each other. (Now, I was certain she hadn’t met some of the cats I’ve known.) I had to say it, and asked her about those cats who are wild and scratch and bite. She explained there are different kinds of cats, but most cats like consistency in their lives and would prefer not to have conflict. Cats don’t do well with stress, so if they lash out, it’s most likely because of stress. “When cats are properly socialized and cared for, they will give a family much happiness,” she explained.

I couldn’t agree more. Most of the animals I’ve seen who have unsocial-like tendencies did not have a good start in life. They either came from a feral (wild) mother and often that means they will have some wild tendencies even when found very young. Many of our cats become “testy” because we allow them to get away with too much. People think cats can’t be trained, so they let them do whatever they want.

Cats can be trained, and they actually respond well to having a household that allows them to be cats but with limits. My cats like to climb, so they have places they can climb that are their places. Other places the cats have learned are off-limits, i.e. the counters and the dining room table. If you want to paw at me, you keep claws in—another thing cats can learn. Ignoring and walking away from a cat who claws for attention and loving and feeding a cat who just uses a soft paw (claws in) works well. Occasionally a squirt of water may be necessary for youngsters who have a little more energy and determination to use those lovely claws. Speaking of those pesky nails, cats also learn where they can scratch. Of course, to make this job easier on me, I don’t bother having really nice furniture, but they have their own scratching places and have learned this through training and persistency. It’s much kinder to train a cat than to declaw. Declawing is actually amputating the first digit of each toe—that isn’t fun for anyone.

With clean, social, and trained cats, a family certainly can have happiness with their cat friends. I think the Year of the Cat is something we should start in the states. The Year of the Cat is the year to be kinder and gentler to others; the year to avoid stress; the year to take the time to curl up in a sunbeam and rest. The Purr-fect Year.