The stuff that dreams are made of
Play
Dogs twitch, cats knead and Oscars leap from their tanks
I’M SURE of one thing: humans are not the only living beings who dream when they sleep.
Even Oscar my oscar dreams, even though he’s a fish. Researchers have found that this intelligent species goes through sleep cycles somewhat similar to people, even reaching the cycle normally associated with dreaming.
I have no idea what Oscar dreams about, but his dreams – and the dreams of other oscars – must be very vivid. Fish keepers have learned, to their sorrow, that you have to keep an oscar’s tank covered. Otherwise, in the middle of the night, the fish takes a flying leap, the last he ever takes.
Maybe the fish is dreaming of freedom. Free of the limitations of a tank, he swims in an endless stretch of water, going where he wishes.
I think I know what my dog dreams about. As she sleeps, she lies on her side or on her back, her paws twitching.
Some people say that a dog who moves its feet and legs around as it sleeps is dreaming of chasing rabbits, but I doubt that my dog is doing that. As far as I know, she’s never seen a rabbit in her life.
Her greatest pleasures in life, though, are trips outside the house, the longer the better.
I imagine her dreaming happy dreams where she romps down a street without fear of motorcycles, cars, big dogs or children. Free of a restraining leash, she follows her nose wherever interesting smells take her.
Among the cat-herd, I think I know what two dream about. Both Yoyo the brat cat and Menohra the flying kitten love to knead. As I lie on the sofa, they climb on me, rhythmically massaging me with their front paws. Yoyo prefers my neck and scalp; Menohra is more of a lap cat, heading for my stomach.
They knead away. They’re not asleep, but their eyes stare into the distance, and they’re unaware of anything except the pleasure they’re obviously receiving from their exertions.
Usually adult cats don’t knead, but new-born kittens must. When they nurse from their mother, they have to press against her stomach to push the milk out. As they grow older and slowly begin eating “real” food, they forget this need to knead – but some don’t.
Researchers think that cats who continue to knead as adults may have been separated too soon from their mother. Perhaps a kitten needs time to nurse and then time to separate from its mother.
I know that Menohra was separated from her mother when she was only three weeks old. The baby, whose eyes had been open for only two weeks, had been entirely covered with glue from a rat trap. Luckily a rescuer found her before she died.
As for Yoyo, I don’t know when he was separated from his mother. He came from a breeder who never told me what his custom was regarding kittens. Some breeders take the kitten away from its mother as soon as it begins eating solid food; others even earlier.
Still other breeders believe that a kitten should remain with its mother for four months, not only so that the kid can get the most benefit from her milk but also so that it can learn from her how to be a cat.
Whatever happened to Yoyo and Menohra in their childhoods, I think I know where their mind goes as they knead me.
They’re back with their mother, when life was so simple that all you had to do was push against her side for warmth, comfort, nourishment and safety.
