With our sun currently passing through the house of Leo, what better way to celebrate than with an article about Snowball’s great big jungle cousins? That’s right my friends, we’re discussing the kings and queens of the jungle. LIONS. Naaaaaaaaants ingonyamaaaaaaaaaa bagithi baba! Grab your baby and raise him to the ceiling for all your stuffed animals to see. Not that you have any stuffed animals anymore. You’re an independent, twenty-something year old woman. Anyway! I digress.
Did you know that lions and house cats actually share some striking similarities? Crazy, I know. But not so much, when you think about it. My family used to tour with the circus a lot, and my aunt still gets free tickets whenever there’s one in town. I remember being able to get REAL close to the tigers, and man, looking at their faces was just like looking at my sweet little Marzipan at home. I was like, “this is just a giant Marzipan. A giant Marzipan who could haphazardly rip my arm off in a heartbeat, but a Marzipan nonetheless.”
Lions Love Boxes, Too!
We like to think of wildcats as these majestic hunters, but on the real, they’re just as ridiculous as our babies back home. For instance: cardboard boxes. Cardboard boxes have long since been a fascination for cats of all walks of life. We know this. Put a ding dang cardboard box down and every cat within a 50 mile radius will seek it out. Big box, small box, it matters not. The same is true of big cats everywhere. Turns out it doesn’t matter if you’re a tiny tabby or a 480 lb. lion – cardboard boxes are where it’s AT. Picture Mufasa sauntering around his domain, only to find a pile of discarded Amazon shipping packages. That’s how The Lion King should have ended if you ask me.
Both Lions And House Cats Have Their Own Kitty Language
As I’m sure you may be well aware, another big similarity between big cats and house cats is that they can both make vocalizations – meaning, they’re wee little Chatty Kathys! It is known that cats do not use many vocalizations to communicate with each other, so we have only to assume that when they’re making their little mewing sounds, that it is for our benefit; whether it’s to beg for scraps or demand our affections. So if you hear a lion at the zoo making her little lion-y noises, return the favor! She’s tryin’ to chat you up! Or get you to give her something to eat. You know, whichever.
They Share Similar Social Behavior
If you’ve got a baby at home who loves to headbutt you and run in between your legs when you walk through the door, putting your very life at risk with their affectionate shenanigans, get this! Lions do that too! I know, right? Who wouldn’t want a gigantic jungle baby shoving their face between your knees while you’re trying to make your way to the kitchen? People who don’t know what love is, that’s who.
Lions Are Big, Furry Mouth-Breathers
Just like baby cats, lions smell through their mouths. Kitties have 200 MILLION (yeah dude, MILLION) scent receptors in their little kitty schnozzies, making them excellent predators. When a cat picks up a scent that is especially appetizing or exciting, they open their mouths to get a better whiff. This is known as “the Flehmen Response”, and lions do it, too!
Wiggle Wiggle Wiggle
Of course you’ve noticed your cat do that cute little butt wiggle thing when they’re ready to pounce on a toy or a cockroach (haha! Except, you don’t have cockroaches in your house. Neither do I! HAHA!). You’ve noticed it because it’s literally one of the greatest gifts a person could experience – beholding the Kitty Butt Wiggle. IT’S JUST. SO CUTE. And guess what? Lions get in on the wiggle action as well, as a way to prepare their bodies for the big leap, which will hopefully result in a big dinner.
So basically, what I’m trying to relay here is that, our sweet little tootykins at home share a striking resemblance to their cousins in the wild. Apparently it doesn’t matter what size they are, cats are really just cats. Isn’t that precious? (Hint: the answer is yes.)
