|
|
|
Cat Facts: Editor's Letter Stop and Smell the Rain By Beth Adelman for Cat Facts |
 It started raining hard last night, but we left the windows open to enjoy the cool air. As the rain began, Yang Yang swiveled his ears backward so they faced the window, taking in the sounds. Then he jumped up on the windowsill, pressed his nose against the screen and actively sniffed, taking in all the ways the scent of the air changes just as the rain starts, and then after it has been raining awhile.
He seemed so fascinated that I went over to the window and sniffed a bit, too. I smelled ozone, and then the sharp scent of car fumes, and then a cleaner smell of water with a faint hint of leaves. I heard the soft sound of rain on the trees outside my window, the percussive sound of rain on the pavement below and the crinkly sound of cars driving on a wet road. We humans tend to experience the world mostly by sight. But cats' eyesight is designed for hunting, not looking, and they tend to experience the world mostly by sound and smell. When I try to hear and smell what has captured my cats' attention, I am always rewarded with an experience in another dimension -- one I would never have noticed if I did not live with cats. |
© Studio One Networks
