Meow to everyone. I am Midnight, a cat who rules, and one who answers many many questions from humans in my column, Dear Midnight. Over the years I have noticed the same "problems" being presented again and again. Most of these so-mewed "problems" are caused by misunderstanding between kitties and inexperienced humans.
In the past, human who wanted pets obtained dogs. (There is no accounting for tastes.) Dogs get along with dogs. This is because dogs act just like simple-minded humans, and the people understand them. Now, in this more enlightened age, more humans than ever before are chosing to live with cats. The mews are out, and everyone knows that we cats are the best pets to have.
We cats are not like simple-minded humans, though. We are cats, and we have some traits that come with being cats. When humans don't understand this, it leads to misunderstandings and hurt feelings. I feel that if you are going to share your home with a cat, you should let the cat be a cat. Actually, you have no choice. We cats will be cats whether the humans like it or not. So rather than beat your heads against the wall trying to change us, you should accept us as we are. This is the purpose of this class: to explain cats and cat behavior to new cat "owners".