What is it like to be a cat?

Until we learn to read the minds of animals, it is doubtful we will ever know the answers.

I thought I was not a cat person until one day, a grey tabby kitten began to whine outside our home. We fed it at first, apprehension visible on both sides as the thin squiggle lapped up its bowl of milk with the thirst of a person stranded in the desert. Until then, I had believed myself to be a dog person–canines are much more predictable, and in their unconditional love for their human beings is a purity none of us can attain. But cats are entirely different from dogs: Silent masters of the hunt, with mood swings that make them purr in pleasure one moment and swipe at you with their claws the next.