The Care of Latent Kittens

One

The Care of Latent Kittens by Lily S. May (c)2010


"The Care of Latent Kittens":
A proper course on planetary consciousness
and radical renewal
being offered to students young and old,
the contents of which
follow:

A. The global identification of latent kittens,

including detailed experiential procedures for said identification.
We shall, of necessity,
take into account all climes,
plus regional differences among cities, country sides and
wilderness.

B. The historical roots of latent kittens,

from the evidence of early stone tablets,

to newly discovered Medieval manuscripts,

into this time nearing the end of conventional history.

C. The choice, by each student,

of one or several latent kittens

for study and in depth biographical or artistic portraits.

D. The lessons latent kittens can teach us

about compassion, our true nature,

and the near total destruction of our habitat.

E. The conditions necessary for life

and flowering of latent kittens.

F. The radical reorganization of societies

to ensure the continued life and thriving of latent kittens.

G. The ten most important guiding points to live by

during the time of transition from our dying societies

to the time of actualized kittens,

and, for that matter, cats.

H. A schedule, with room for intervening, unforeseen events,

for carrying out the necessary transformative steps to a new world.

Immediate, non-harmful first endeavors will be a priority

at all junctures.

I. A consideration of ways to deal with those leaders of the dying order

in as humane a way as possible--

or should we say,

in as latent kittene a way as possible,

so that the transformation can be done without bloodshed.

J. The study of the most advantageous, and least damaging, ways

of disposing of, or neutralizing,

the great number of lethal weapons,

and toxic chemicals,

stockpiled in the world,

and being developed and manufactured by people

rendered semi- to totally hypnotized by fear and enslavement,

at this very moment.

K. So, too, the study of medicine from around the world:

best practices and least harmful methods

shall be sought out,

for the global fostering of latent kittens,

and the nurturing of said beings

for their new actualized period of life on earth.

Anyone interested in this course
is asked to register at Fullton Hall
by August 29th
for the fall term commencing two Mondays' hence.
Classes shall be held outdoors whenever possible,
as we shall be observing
the rich and varied habitat of latent kittens
in our own, metaphorical and real, back yards.


You are required to bring the rudimentary, but reliable, tools
of paper, pen or pencil.
(Paints, crayons, clay, cloth, thread and yarn
are also acceptable as they are no longer considered
the sole paraphernalia
of artists, women and children, or those deemed insane.)
Also mandatory are comfortable shoes or boots
for dancing and hiking
plus an openness to singing (or humming),
according to each student's personal preference.

Please contact the Latent Kitten Society for registration.

Our offices are in Fullton Hall
on the main floor,
opposite the front doors.
(We have left the graffiti on our door,
that the University eradicated elsewhere in Fullton Hall,
because the scrawls so precisely express
the rage and heartbreak
many among us are feeling,
due to recent extreme events around the world.
And because the graffiti serves as a reminder as to
the urgency
with which we undertake our studies.)


The course runs the full year,
with in-depth further study available
and full undergraduate and post-graduate degrees
being developed.
Online courses may also be developed later
if internet capability has resumed.


Due to the large number of requests for pre-registration
from the general public,
as well as University enrolled students,
we are extending registration beyond tradition
to all interested in saving and enhancing life
through latent kittendom.
As you will learn, part of caring for latent kittens
involves breaking down present artificial barriers,
and so we look forward
to offering this opportunity
for learning and evolving
to both official and non-official students alike.
Also, in an effort to allow people from all walks of life
to participate in our inaugural course,
we have instituted a pay what you can donate policy,
instead of an arbitrary fee,
that many would find prohibitive.

As some of you have expressed both amazement and/or concern

that this course is being offered at the University,
of all places,
we want to make you aware of certain background information
and developments,
that may reassure and/or enlighten you:

A. for the past five years, we have been lobbying, as it were,

several universities

to include "The Care of Latent Kittens"

in their curricula.

(As we look back,
our willingness to allow five years to elapse
between our initial plans for this course
and the present
likely stems from our having been lulled
into the general stupor affecting humanity
by the extreme nature of suffering
that blankets the earth.)


Until now, all universities have refused to consider our course,
citing a variety of polite,
and not so polite reasons,
including:


1. The fullness of their course schedules.


2. The lack of any known department
under which such a course could be given.


3. Their disbelief in the existence of latent kittens,
going so far as to ridicule the course developers,
both to our faces,
and behind our backs,
as observed and passed on to us by staunch friends
and colleagues.


4. And though we have listed this last,
it should likely be first:
their concern that funding would dry up
once governments and corporations heard about,
what they consider,
the unscientific nature of our course.


B. Following the alternating killing heat waves, torrential floods
and tornadoes
that swept this and other continents earlier this year,
leaving millions of all species dead, injured and/or homeless,
this University, plus senior members of all political parties,
as well as the police,
have all expressed an interest in our course,
thus lessening the likelihood of a crackdown on us.


C. Indeed, we have also received communiques
from several governments internationally,
and of varying stripes,
that they are eagerly awaiting news
of our progress.


However, simply because we shall not face immediate incarceration
this is not to say that our course does not require courage.
But when have we humans ever lived in a time
when courage was not called upon?
No time more so than now.
And, so, we turn,
at last,
to the countless sterling examples of how to be,
through the generous,
and hitherto often overlooked existence,
struggles,
and breadth of life of latent kittens.



With their help and our care
we move into a world we can only begin to imagine,
but one which we desperately seek.
And, in so seeking,
it is the fervent aspiration
of those of us who have developed this course
and, be assured,
of latent kittens everywhere,
that we shall open doors
unto our true natures
from which we have wandered far too long,
and in so doing shall start the urgent process
of restoring:


A. Planetary balance.


B. The conditions necessary
for the survival and thriving of all species.


and


C. The awe and respect for earth,
which will go no short distance
toward sowing the seeds of peace in us humans,
so essential to facing
the inevitable vicissitudes of life
that are placed in our path.

The Global Identification of Latent Kittens

Two

The Global Identification of Latent Kittens
by Lily S. May (c)2010


Further to our course content outline:
Section A--The Global Identification of Latent Kittens.


Due to the vast areas of conflict, out and out war,
starvation,
and degradation of land and sea,
our task, while extremely difficult,
is urgent.
With that in mind,
we have assembled teams
of researchers
plus a wide array of citizens on each continent
whose task it is
to meet with local elders and youth
to collect stories of any
and all
actual sightings and direct contact
with latent kittens,
plus specific non-intrusive identification
methods and practices.
By so doing, we hope to coordinate reports
that will start to indicate
the size, scope and locale
of the remaining latent kitten population.


Our own local team
includes several members
of our class
plus two researchers
from the Philosophy Department
who have requested and been granted
sabbaticals this year
to help in this worldwide
awareness and recovery effort.

We have identified the following areas of training
needed for teams in the field:


A. Non-violent communication, so necessary
for establishing any trust
with local peoples,
let alone latent kittens,
should our teams come across any.


B. Open mindedness to receiving
stories both scientific and fabled.


C. Humility--this is an area that is in need of much development
in humanity
and has applications
well beyond the plight of latent kittens.


(Indeed, the development of all these areas
has far reaching implications
for all spheres of human endeavor
and for the fate of all species.)


We have enlisted the expertise of several groups of people
from around the world
to help train our teams,
including a group
of radical gardeners
from a variety of harsh climates
who have years of personal experience
in the aforementioned areas
of nonviolence, open mindedness
and humility.
Indeed, this group has graciously accepted our invitation
to speak with our class
this Thursday afternoon
before setting out
on their training expeditions,
one of which, I am pleased
to announce,
will include our local team.


We expect reports from the trainers
to begin arriving in a month
and to continue for the following two.


Once our fact-finding teams enter their fields,
we have established lines of
communication
through roving groups
of international musicians and carpenters
who will collect initial findings
and begin passing these on to us
as early as this coming March.

A note for members of our local

fact finding team:
Your training commences
next Monday at 9 a.m.
in Stoney Park,
adjacent to the University.
You are to gather by the recently initiated
grassroots art project
near the abandoned monument
in the centre of the park.
Since our classes are often held outdoors,
you will no doubt see us in the park from time to time
as we continue our look at historical sightings
of latent kittens in and around the campus.


As we end today's class,
we very much look forward
to the presentation tomorrow by several students
who have taken it upon themselves
to compose anthems
in the style of folk songs from the 20th century
dedicated to latent kittens the world over.

Initial Reports from Fact Finding Teams in the Field:
As you know, some of the initial reports

from our teams in the field have begun surfacing.

We shall spend much of the day considering

the report from our local team,

but before that,

I want to take some time

to address your ongoing questions

about identifying latent kittens,

in particular,

how to distinguish them

from the turning orrrje,

that species that,

to the untrained eye and ear,

bears a striking

resemblance to the latent kitten.

So far, we have had to resort

to the use of models and photographs

in our studies

since, to date, we have not

come across any sightings of

latent kittens or turning orrrjes

in the field.

You will recall that we have paid particular attention

to two physical differences

between the species.

1. The differently coloured eyes (one blue

and one brown) of latent kittens

contrasts sharply

with the hazel eyes of the turning orrrjes.

and, in those instances when you

come upon these

species

from the rear

and, hence, are unable

to see their eyes:

2. The mottled brown through beige colouration

on the head, neck and upper back

of the turning orrrje

presents a definitive difference

between that species' pigmentation

and the more uniform hue of the latent kitten.

I'd like to add,

that with practice, you will become less surprised

upon meeting these two creatures

and more able to calmly

look at either their eyes

or head, neck and upper back

to make an easy identification.

Since the orrrjes have somehow

managed to escape

the intense lethal human attention

paid to the latent kittens,

most of us are more likely

to have already seen several turning orrrjes.

The same cannot be said

of latent kittens.

And so, we need to focus

on as many forms

of identification as possible.

With that in mind,

let us turn to auditory

differences.

Here, again, are distinct contrasts

to the attentive ear.

While both species have

their characteristic low

to medium pitch

rumbling utterances,

it is only the latent kitten

who breaks into melodious song,

for want of a better description.

One of the lasting impressions

of sympathetic humans

who have been in contact with latent kittens

is of being in a field

of harmonious sound.

Indeed, several researchers

have pointed to these

harmonious vocalizations

as the root stimulus

for humanity's outrages against latent kittens,

triggering the unfortunate behaviour

of destroying beauty

that our species too often exhibits,

and attempts to rationalize,

in our dealings with

the other.

(Perhaps it would be useful for us,

at a later time,

to consider why it is

that we find so much of the world,

including members of our own species,

the other,

and why it is that time and again,

we destroy what is beautiful in our habitat

and replace it

with buildings of stultifying ugliness.)

We shall return, later, to any further questions

you may have

about identifying latent kittens,

but for now,

let us turn to the report

from our local team in the field.

I have some surprising findings

to pass on to you, both hopeful and tragic.

To get the more tragic,

but, sadly,

expected aspects

out of the way first:

our local team has found solid evidence

that latent kittens

once actually flourished

in this very area that,

over time,

has been taken over

and made into our campus.

In the late 1800s and early 1900s,

many latent kittens were systematically

hunted down by the city's founders

in the night

and exterminated through the use

of guns, knives, and ropes

in full view of latent kittens' family and friends,

all in the name of progress and clearing tracts of land

for what was deemed to be

the more civilized use of the land.

(And, here, please permit me

to voice an emotional aside

about our culture's reprehensibly and repeatedly

using the excuse of civilizing this, that or the other

beings

through various forms of enslavement and/or murder.)

Much of the history of the ancestors

of modern latent kittens

was lost during the 20th century

as individuals scattered and hid

in attempts to save their lives.

It was only through the fortuitous discovery

of eyewitness accounts of the massacres

by the ancestors of one of our

esteemed local artists, Shalamar Johnston,

that these sad facts came to light.

Shalamar, in hearing about our research,

contacted a member of our local team

and made available

a veritable treasure trove

of original old paper manuscripts,

early tape recordings

and some of the last known computer printouts

saved and passed on by her family

who were either alive during the extermination

or privy to impassioned accounts

passed from parent to child

over several decades.

Turning from this outrage

to the more hopeful aspect of this story,

one of the researchers on sabbatical

from the Philosophy Department,

whom I spoke of earlier,

was in contact with a particularly gifted student of hers,

who revealed that he has firsthand knowledge

of a surviving group of latent kittens

living not far from the original site

of their ancestors' tragic demise.

As a result of this heartening news,

our team has enlisted the aid

of the aforementioned philosophy student

who, as we speak,

is in active negotiation with some latent kitten elders

to learn if any are willing to be in contact

with our team.

This is a very delicate matter, as I'm sure

you can appreciate,

since trust between

latent kittens and human beings

has been badly, if not nearly totally,

irrevocably

damaged.

However, the very revelation

of direct communication

between latent kittens

and a human being

living on the site of a past atrocity

is extremely heartening to us,

showing the capacity of that

admirable species

for discerning differences

within another species,

something we humans are sorely lacking

in our own intertribal, as it were,

hatreds,

let alone our prejudices about other species,

and pointing to yet another quality of latent kittens

that we would do well to emulate.

We await imminent news of the negotiations

which I shall be imparting to you

during our very next meeting.

Results of Negotiations Plus an Important Meeting

Three

Results of Negotiations Between Three Latent Kitten Elders and Members of our Field Team by Lily S. May (c)2010

I have some very positive news
to report to you today about the negotiations
between Sam Fieldstone, the philosophy student I told you about yesterday,
and three latent kitten elders.
The four met last night for several hours
at an undisclosed location.
According to Sam, the discussions were cordial,
if not out and out friendly.
The latent kittens expressed to him
how heartened they are
that our experiential course is underway
and showed a willingness,
nay,
an out and out desire
to meet with members of our field team.

(A brief aside is in order
about latent kittens' methods
of communication.
Though we humans pride ourselves on our intelligence,
we have never unlocked the mystery
of how latent kittens communicate
across species.
We just know that they possess that remarkable ability,
an ability that has been greatly misunderstood, feared and, yes,
even hated
during periods of our history.
As is always the case,
Sam was unable to report to me how the meeting went
in terms of exact words,
since we know that latent kittens do not speak in an actual language
known to humanity anywhere on the globe.
Yet somehow their utterances are made known to us,
regardless of the particular language we speak.)

The elders have, accordingly, set forth certain conditions
that they need our team to comply with
for their safety.
Sam assured them of our team's readiness
to meet all their conditions
as these came within the anticipated scope of measures
the team had planned for.

The conditions are:

1. that the meeting be held in private

2. that the place and time shall be chosen by the latent kittens
and announced on the day of the meeting to Sam

and

3. that the team remains on a sort of standby until then,
ready to meet within an hour's notice.

As you can appreciate,
all this secrecy is necessary
to ensure that the latent kittens are safe
and that no inadvertent slip of the tongue
gives away the details.
For though we are engaged in efforts
on their behalf,
there are still those in the general populace
who might view latent kittens as a threat
and try to undermine our efforts.
In addition, though the government and police
are sympathetic to our work,
so far,
we must be aware
that they may fall back into an old mindset
which could produce incalculable harm.

Once the aforementioned meeting takes place,
the latent kittens have given their permission
for our team to report back to us
and we await that report
with much interest.

Our Team's Report of their Meeting with Latent Kittens:

Our local team contacted me late last night
with the news that they had just had a four hour meeting
with the three latent kitten elders
I have spoken to you about.
As per the elders' request,
Sam also attended the meeting.
Our team has been quite overwhelmed with emotion
subsequent to their meeting
and has asked me to pass on to you
their observations
as they felt I might be able to do so
in a calmer fashion than they could,
and as they have requested a day off
for rest and meditation.
I assured them that I was ready to carry out their request
and that their emotional reactions were to be expected
and were evidence of their compassionate natures.

The meeting took place outdoors
in a large secluded garden,
the whereabouts of which remain undisclosed except to Sam
who drove the team to the garden
in the old pickup truck they have been using for transportation.
The team agreed to be blindfolded during the rides to and from the garden
to further ensure confidentiality.
As temperatures for this time of year
have remained unusually warm,
it was a comfortable night for sitting outdoors.
Our team,
most of whom had had no
or only one previous contact
with a latent kitten,
was extremely impressed
with the gentleness these beings exuded.
Much of the meeting
was spent with the elders giving detailed accounts
of their near extermination
in this locale,
one story of which we shall focus on in a few minutes.
But first I need to tell you that the stories of seemingly senseless
human brutality
weighed and continues to weigh
heavily on our team's hearts.
They found that humanity's usual rationalization
comparing us to other predators
who cull the weak
does not stand up to close examination.
For in every way, other than not creating and using lethal weapons,
it is we who are the weak ones
and latent kittens the strong.
For example,
just look at their advanced powers
of communication,
generosity of spirit,
endurance and love,
not to mention their physical prowess.
On the other hand, so great was our team's sense of despair and self-loathing
after their meeting
that they likened our own kind
to some sort of strange mistake run amok,
a species living in duality
swinging between extremes both highly creative and destructive,
a species more like an invasive bacteria
that overtakes its host,
than a mammal.

These sobering judgements
are ones we have all shared
at various points during our gatherings,
albeit with a range of different metaphors.
Because our responses to our studies are often painful
and highly emotional,
I believe it is fitting
to speak of them at this time
before continuing with news
of last night's meeting.
In the past weeks and, no doubt, in the coming ones as well
we have witnessed
and shall continue to witness
the emotional outbursts from various classmates
that we are familiar with.
When my colleagues and I were developing this course
we anticipated
just such occurrences.
And though many of you have expressed shame and fears
of having gone mad
after copious weeping
and/or shouting in rage
at humanity's actions,
we want to reiterate that your feelings
are neither shameful nor mad.
Indeed, had more of humanity
been able to feel what you feel,
we, and latent kittens, might not be in the dire situation
we find ourselves in today.

We have previously discussed the possibility
of introducing periods of non-denominational meditation
into our class schedule.
I believe this is a splendid idea
which we can begin after our lunch break.
One of my colleagues will guide us
in our first few meditations
as she has been a practitioner
of a type of centering
originating in Buddhism,
although she assures me
that any of us can participate
in this practice
whether we have been born into
a particular faith
or born
into
none.

The Sad Story of Sand's Family Caught Up in the Great Extermination of 1900:

A note in the service of clarity
before commencing Sand's story about The Great Extermination:
Latent kittens do name one another
but because their names are incomprehensible to humans,
they have suggested we call them by names familiar to us.
The three elders who met with our team
therefore chose the following names
by which we shall henceforth
refer to them:

*Sand

*Roof

and

*Ear.

Sand's great great great great great grandmother
who plays a major role in the story
I am about to relay to you
is called Boat.
(Do not be concerned about whether you can fathom the number of "greats"
attached to Boat--
all you need to know is that she was ten years old
at the time of the Great Extermination of 1900
which she managed to survive.
She then initiated a tradition in her family
of passing her story
from generation to generation
which is how Sand came to tell our team
this deeply disturbing, but illuminating, history.

Boat and her extended family
lived an ordinary peaceful life
near where this very building stands today.
They were engaged in the usual latent kitten pursuits
of developing consciousness across species
and continuing their stewardship of their surroundings.
The human population near by
were known to be erratic
and given to outbursts of temper,
but such outbursts had remained largely contained
until several years prior to 1900
when stories of disappearances
among the latent kitten population began surfacing.

It was on an early autumn night
that Boat was awakened
by cries and shattering screams from her family
and the larger grouping of latent kittens,
plus strange human shouts
and what she came to know as
the sound of gunshots.
A scene of horror greeted her eyes and ears:
humans wielding guns, bats and swords
attacked members of her family
who were resisting the assaults
by whatever means possible,
humans so beset by rage and fear
that they murdered everyone in sight
except Boat
who was partly hidden behind a large rock.
Once the humans discovered her presence,
she was in extreme shock,
nearly fainting
and was easily captured
and led away
with other latent kittens,
many as young as she or younger.
They were taken to a terrible place
of high pointed fences
where the humans alternately
starved them
or forced them into repetitive exhausting labour
both senseless and highly destructive.
As examples, Boat recalled being lined up
and made to dig deep holes,
disrupting much plant life
only to be made to fill in the holes
at day's end
amidst the dead bodies
of bushes, ground covers and hardy late summer flowers.
She also recalled having to chop into
a large mountain day after day
which she and the latent kittens felt
was a blind desecration.
The boulders and stones that resulted
from this hideous exercise
were then hauled off by other latent kittens,
under pain of death,
to undisclosed places of darkness.
Boat was never able to say
how long she was in captivity--
since her anguish distorted her sense of time.
However, it came to pass
that several other young latent kittens and she
felt a growing
determination
to seek freedom
even risking death to do so.
And so, after much careful planning,
news of which spread
throughout the captured population,
they were able to deceive their guards,
immobilize them
and break through the fences.
Nearly 300 latent kittens escaped that night,
the largest single such occurrence
during that dreadful period.
The latent kittens had agreed to scatter
once out of captivity
to make it harder for them
to be retaken.
As it happened, a war had broken out among the humans
with one camp opposing the capturing and murdering of latent kittens.
Their side prevailed, but during that period of war,
life was even more dangerous for latent kittens
as they had to stay well hidden
from the roiling bloodshed all around them.
Boat recalls walking by night
with other former prisoners
for many days
until gunfire could no longer be heard.
Here a group of them eventually settled
and, as I'm sure you can appreciate,
because they had been so desperately wounded,
much of their time was now exclusively devoted
to helping one another reclaim their lost peace.

A Glimpse of Informal Cross Species Cordiality and Sympathy

As Sand relayed Boat's story to our team,
Roof and Ear emitted cries and low pitched vocalizations
at particularly difficult points of the narrations.
They had similar tragedies to relate,
but it was a brief discussion,
almost an aside,
near the end of the meeting
that instilled some calmness in our team
which they hope to draw upon as we continue our work.
It seems that Roof and Ear have been meeting on a regular basis
with four human children
that they came upon in the forested valley
not far from the university.
They met the children this past spring
as the four played hide and seek
among the trees and rocks.
Roof and Ear were out for a ramble
after the confinement of an unusually cold March.
What impressed them about the human children
was their lack of cruelty toward one another.
Seeing this as a hopeful sign,
the elders approached the children,
who at first were astonished,
but showed no fear of the latent kittens.
Latent kittens often find that their first contacts with humans
are with children
who are at a more open stage of development
than their adult counterparts.
(Indeed, my first encounter with a latent kitten occurred when I was just twelve.)
Roof and Ear have met weekly
with these four young humans
and have gone so far as to introduce them
to some young latent kittens.
Generally they meet in the valley,
wander about,
speak of the changes in climate, the plants, trees, insects, other animals they still see traces of,
and tell each other stories of their lives.
This glimpse of informal cross species cordiality and sympathy
has helped our team immeasurably
in their determination to continue in aid of latent kittens,
this despite the despair that also arises in them.
They believe we, too, will see this example of latent kittens' openness
as evidence of the worthiness of our mission (as it were)

in the face of indifference and/or ridicule from large swaths of the populace.