Do you trust your instincts?
Fight, Flight or Freeze. That’s what they say living creatures are programmed to do, isn’t it, when faced with danger? Sadly I don’t think Louis Catorze received the memo; the silly sod wouldn’t know danger if it kicked him up the arse.
I have witnessed his Fight, Flight and Freeze in action at various points in his life, but Fight is most certainly the default Catorzian setting. When he meets dogs, larger cats (mind you, they’re all larger than him) and foxes, he’ll gladly take them on.
Flight is reserved for situations such as, erm, a teaspoon dropping onto the floor, or Cat Daddy reaching for the dreaded guitar. Yes, I know it would make far more sense for Catorze to choose Flight in the presence of potential predators, instead of cutlery and musical instruments. But that’s Catorze for you.
Freeze is something that we see very rarely in a cat as rambunctious as him; he’s never still, unless he’s asleep. However, Freeze makes the odd appearance when we shout “No!” at something we don’t want him to do, such as sticking his face in a cup of tea or digging up some plant that we want left alone. He halts for a split second, ears flicking back, proving that he’s not as stupid as he looks because he does actually understand commands. Unfortunately he just isn’t interested in following them.
So Freeze – actually more of a momentary pause than a proper Freeze – is often followed by him reattempting the undesirable action, unless we intervene.
To summarise, the Catorzian way is as follows: Fight is for meeting something likely/able to kill you, Flight when it’s something utterly benign, and Freeze when you want humans to think you might actually give a shit (when, in fact, you don’t).
Therefore, no, we absolutely do not trust Catorze’s instincts. But, since he’s still managing to pitter-patter about the planet at the age of fifteen and a half, clearly he’s doing something right.
For more Catorzian capers, please visit http://louiscatorze.com
louiscatorze.com 
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