Taylor Swift’s “Childless Cat Lady” endorsement of Kamala Harris1 inspired me to share some lessons that my cat taught me.
There is Always Another Spot
You can’t always make things bigger or longer, whether it’s your house or your life. But possibilities don’t need to be added, they often just need to be discovered. It’s not addition, it’s division. My cat can find infinite lounge spots within my small rowhome. Just when I thought Little Lady found every nook and cranny she discovers a new one. There are an endless number of spots because every fallen sweater or cardboard box creates a new one.
This idea of finding new spots and options is the premise of my next book, THINKING SIDEWAYS. It’s not the moves you see ahead, but the sideways moves that expand your tree of possibilities.
Take one of my favorite chess tactics, an in-between move aka Zwischenzug. These tactics force you to go beyond tunnel vision and look for a hidden possibility. Here’s one2 from my puzzles book, Play Like a Champion.
Poker players also look for new options to confuse opponents and to break free from auto-pilot. In today’s primary format, No Limit Hold Em, even situations that seem basic, like playing with a short stack contain multiple options3. Just a few years ago, people with these stacks were said to have “one move.” Not anymore. Even in a small house, with a small number of chips, or with a seemingly forced move, keep your eyes open for fresh possibilities.
Rethink Smart
Ever since I got a cat, I see intelligence and goodness in a whole new way.
It's not about how smart I am compared to anyone else, but what % of my own potential I fulfill.
For example, if I’m talented at math my “good” is higher than in singing, where my good may be simply carrying a tune—or not giving my neighbors a headache.
My own cat, Little Lady taught me this. How can I say I’m smarter than her, if I use a smaller % of what I’m capable of than she does?
Little Lady Luck
We adopted our cat on a lazy Saturday. With the holidays looming and not much on our agenda for the day, we set off to the shelter at around 2 PM. When we arrived at Morris Animal Shelter, we walked around to meet all the cats and kittens. My husband fell in love with one in particular: Little Lady. She was gentle, graceful, and surprisingly friendly considering the circumstances.
She was around two years old, and had already been at the shelter for about a week. We went to the desk to tell them we wanted to adopt her.
Around the same time, a woman in her late 20s or early 30s, entered the scene, also on the hunt to adopt or foster. She seemed a regular and a cat lover. She didn’t need a tour or any explanation and headed straight back to meet the cats. A few minutes later, while we were pondering pet insurance, she was back at the front desk: What about the Little Lady cat, she asked?
If we had come at 2:15 instead of 2 PM, we wouldn’t have our beloved cat.
My son Fabian, just four at the time, loves to retell this, and it becomes embellished over the years, with the lady now being right on our heels, and crying or trying to grab Little Lady on the way out. My son’s flair for drama didn’t change the truth: This cat mom, like Taylor Swift, was very discerning.
While we’ll never know what we missed in an adjacent world, in this case, the sliding cat door worked in our favor.
The Dream Position is a Cat
The final thing I learned about adopting a cat is that I should not have waited so long to adopt a cat.
Fun fact: Taylor Swift was born in the important swing state, PA, where I vote. Register in your state here!
1…Qe5, allowing 2. Rxf2 because of Qh2#. 2. Kg1 fails to Rxg2+ while 2.g3 allows Rh2+!
For example: limping or leaving a few chips behind instead of jamming aka “almost all-in.”
At 77 I’m still finding those nooks and crannies!
Looking forward to read Thinking Sideways!