Treecat Social Dynamics

TREECAT SOCIAL DYNAMICS
The human element of nonhumans


I always wondered about the human element of Cats falling in love with more than one person simultaneously. What if two Two-Legs closely meet the requirements of a Cat. Does he become torn between two Twos?

When a Two-Leg is already spoken for, bonded, does that mean another Cat can't taste the mindglow and at least be nominally affected by it as well? Sort of the human version of, "Damn, that cat sure got a fine girl. And if he wasn't around, I'd sure like to "bond with her" myself.

Shouldn't there be a global consciousness of Cats that already know who else favors Honor, who are ready and willing to play the role of matchmaker? And, of course, it begs the question of whether the Cat's wishes to bond is all that would matter.

Along that train of thought. I wonder if a Cat can tell if another Cat fancies his mate. <Keep your mindclaws off of my Two-Leg>

What happens if two Treecats taste the same perfect mindglow simultaneously? A Catfight? Or a rush to embrace. Considering the embrace that normally ensues seems to seal the deal.

Where does that leave the Two-Leg, who seems to instantly be affected by the Cat's need to bond even before the embrace. We sure don't need to insert more angst into a Two-Leg's life being torn between two pussies.

We don't know enough to be able to answer. RFC would have to provide it.

I suspect that the two-legs' mind glows change when they bond because of the bonding. Using your analogy of human relationships, you could compare to humans who are in a healthy and happy relationship: the person is generally happy and in a good mood, most of the time. That would remove the need for a global consciousness, since it would be clear to any other treecats that the two-legs had been adopted.

The analogy of course breaks down when you consider that, for us, that change makes the person more attractive rather than less, as with few exceptions we prefer to be around people who are also upbeat (not to mention that there being at least one other human who found that person attractive provides confirmation). That doesn't have to be the case for treecats, as they seem to be attracted to powerful mindglows of people who are also somewhat troubled. Take the case of Queen (then Crown Princess) Adrienne, who'd just been fighting her father the King. As soon as one treecat provides the comfort needed and thus changes the mindglow, other treecats would not feel the urge to adopt. Kind of like a molecule: an ion is attractive to all other ions of opposite charge, but once that ion bonds with the necessary opposite charge(s), they stop being attractive.

Another aspect is that not all treecats are attracted to adoption and even those that are won't feel the urge to adopt all humans equally. It's a good possibility that Harahap had been in contact with multiple unbonded treecats until Clean Killer came around. Same thing with Crown Princess Adrienne: she had been "in range" of multiple treecats during her visit to Sphinx, until Seeker of Dreams / Diachect came around. Though we have yet to see an unbonded treecat pass by a human, then both proceed to adoption with someone else. I'm just assuming it has happened.

ThinksMarkedly wrote:We don't know enough to be able to answer. RFC would have to provide it.

True. I'm just putting the questions in the batter's box.

TM wrote:I suspect that the two-legs' mind glows change when they bond because of the bonding.

I'll agree with that if it's served with a bit of caviar (caveat, an inside joke I share with my niece). The bond can not, does not, change a whore into a housewife, a pauper into a billionaire, or a Pavel Young into a Dudley Doright of the Manties. The core values has to already be there beforehand. The Cats have to have something to work with. I'd say it is more like the person is a "fixer upper." A notion many woman have coined for their perspective mates as well. Don't blame me, I have a gaggle of sisters.

TM wrote:Using your analogy of human relationships, you could compare to humans who are in a healthy and happy relationship: the person is generally happy and in a good mood, most of the time. That would remove the need for a global consciousness, since it would be clear to any other treecats that the two-legs had been adopted.

True, but would that prevent another Cat from sampling the mindglow of a bonded two-leg? As a single man can certainly still sample the beautiful mind of a married woman.

TM wrote:The analogy of course breaks down when you consider that, for us, that change makes the person more attractive rather than less, as with few exceptions we prefer to be around people who are also upbeat (not to mention that there being at least one other human who found that person attractive provides confirmation). That doesn't have to be the case for treecats, as they seem to be attracted to powerful mindglows of people who are also somewhat troubled. Take the case of Queen (then Crown Princess) Adrienne, who'd just been fighting her father the King. As soon as one treecat provides the comfort needed and thus changes the mindglow, other treecats would not feel the urge to adopt. Kind of like a molecule: an ion is attractive to all other ions of opposite charge, but once that ion bonds with the necessary opposite charge(s), they stop being attractive.

I don't know how the analogy breaks down. Some aspects don't fit perfectly, but the gist of the matter is certainly there. Marriage, or even dating, does oftentimes change a person for the better. And, I've often heard from women (sisters included) they hate when they spend the time and energy on a fixer-upper who now begins to appeal to other women because of them. It has happened to me with women. You fix them up and now they're appealing to every guy on the block. Human nature is human nature. My point is that I can't see any reason a bonded two-leg's mindglow still isn't being sampled by another unbonded Cat. And, of course, why that Cat wouldn't know that mindglow is perfect for them as well, "had they met under different circumstances."

TM wrote:Another aspect is that not all treecats are attracted to adoption and even those that are won't feel the urge to adopt all humans equally. It's a good possibility that Harahap had been in contact with multiple unbonded treecats until Clean Killer came around. Same thing with Crown Princess Adrienne: she had been "in range" of multiple treecats during her visit to Sphinx, until Seeker of Dreams / Diachect came around. Though we have yet to see an unbonded treecat pass by a human, then both proceed to adoption with someone else. I'm just assuming it has happened.

None of that surprises me. It should even be intuited. Soul Mates are like lightning, it rarely strikes in the same place twice. It also could be the Cat himself has to mature or lower or raise, or come to terms with his own expectations. Sometimes you don't know what you want until she comes sauntering into your life.

This conversation makes me realize that there may be a notion of a widowed Cat. Should a widowed Cat be more tuned to bonding, or less so? Would a "widowed" two-leg (both kinds of widow, bonded and marriage wise) appeal more or less? "Once bitten, twice shy."

Anyway, ThinksMarkedly, good conversation!

cthia wrote:True, but would that prevent another Cat from sampling the mindglow of a bonded two-leg? As a single man can certainly still sample the beautiful mind of a married woman.

I don't see any reason why they shouldn't and don't sample bonded two-legs' mindglows. I don't think we've observed treecat dialogue about this specifically, but Death Fang's Bane's (Stephanie Harrington) memories and wishes were well-known among treecats. It's possible it all came from Climbs Quickly, but I don't think so. Stephanie would have spent a lot of time with other treecats and her powerful mindglow would have been observed by many, sufficiently so to cause other treecats to seek two-legs for adoption.

What I think happens is that the mindglow changes subtly saying "this two leg is in a loving adoption bond and does not require more comfort." This is what I meant about the human relationship metaphor breaking down, but basic chemistry not: a human that is in a relationship is often more attractive than those that are not. Your anecdotes of "fixer-upper" are a good example and they don't even need to be a conscious effort by one partner, and simply a result of being in that relationship in the first place. It can even be simpler because of the corollary: if someone is single for long, is there something wrong with them?

Then again, my metaphor about chemistry also breaks down after a point: chemical reactions exist.

ThinksMarkedly wrote:

cthia wrote:True, but would that prevent another Cat from sampling the mindglow of a bonded two-leg? As a single man can certainly still sample the beautiful mind of a married woman.

I don't see any reason why they shouldn't and don't sample bonded two-legs' mindglows. I don't think we've observed treecat dialogue about this specifically, but Death Fang's Bane's (Stephanie Harrington) memories and wishes were well-known among treecats. It's possible it all came from Climbs Quickly, but I don't think so. Stephanie would have spent a lot of time with other treecats and her powerful mindglow would have been observed by many, sufficiently so to cause other treecats to seek two-legs for adoption.

What I think happens is that the mindglow changes subtly saying "this two leg is in a loving adoption bond and does not require more comfort." This is what I meant about the human relationship metaphor breaking down, but basic chemistry not: a human that is in a relationship is often more attractive than those that are not. Your anecdotes of "fixer-upper" are a good example and they don't even need to be a conscious effort by one partner, and simply a result of being in that relationship in the first place. It can even be simpler because of the corollary: if someone is single for long, is there something wrong with them?

Then again, my metaphor about chemistry also breaks down after a point: chemical reactions exist.

You know, I always thought a human's mindglow isn't glowing unless he's thinking. When Harahap was interrogated, his mind was at work thinking, assessing, and sizing up the interrogators, and even making observations about the differences in the Cats' sizes, etc.* Perhaps when humans are busy—like when they are dillydallying or woolgathering—their mindglow isn't peaking? There probably won't ever be a bond initiated if the Two-Leg is asleep.

I also wonder if a Memory Singer can share a mindglow with the collective.

*It is interesting to know Nimitz is one of the larger Cats. Which is intuitive, since he's, "Greedy Guts."

Ariel is historically a male name. But in the last something odd years in English speaking countries it has been used primarily as a female name, so says the internet. Someone had to correct me that Beth's Cat, Ariel, is indeed male. Every Ariel I've known is female, although I've only known two. Three if you count Disney's Princess, The Little Mermaid.

But I digress. Do we have any known cases of same sex bonds? I can't think of any. Surely there must be, or do Cats prefer to bond with the opposite sex? As far as we know.

Do Treecats prefer to address their two-legs by their human or Cat name? Do they address two-legs by their Cat name when communicating with other Cats? Is Honor mainly known as Dances on Clouds amongst the Cats?

Anyone recall Harahap's Cat-given name?

An aside: It would be hilarious if Harahap ran into Georgia Sakristos and they fell in love? Between the two of 'em, they have a bazillion different names. They're both chameleons. LOL

cthia wrote:Do we have any known cases of same sex bonds? I can't think of any. Surely there must be, or do Cats prefer to bond with the opposite sex? As far as we know.

when Princess Adrienne is adopted by "Seeker of Dreams" most of the cats present at SFC are male as are the Sphinx forestry service personnel.

but in more recent times Monroe who adopted Prince (later to be king) Roger. Monroe of course also adopted Beth's fiance while in the process of avenging the murder of his two leg.

Dauntless wrote:

cthia wrote:Do we have any known cases of same sex bonds? I can't think of any. Surely there must be, or do Cats prefer to bond with the opposite sex? As far as we know.

when Princess Adrienne is adopted by "Seeker of Dreams" most of the cats present at SFC are male as are the Sphinx forestry service personnel.

but in more recent times Monroe who adopted Prince (later to be king) Roger. Monroe of course also adopted Beth's fiance while in the process of avenging the murder of his two leg.

Ah! Thanks Dauntless.

The longer a two-leg lives, the better the chances of getting Alzheimer's. Can a Cat get Alzheimer's? What becomes of the bond if a Cat, or their two-leg, gets Alzheimer's? Can a Memory Singer get Alzheimer's?