The stars of our next article in the Cats of Fantasy Twitter series — Oliver & Lucy
The Cats
Oliver (below) and Lucy (above) are Aaron's cats (@DynastyDVM). Oliver only has three legs and is a yellow and white domestic longhair. Much like his namesake, Oliver Twist, he often asks "Please sir may I have some more?" only for cat food instead of porridge.
Oliver loves to follow Aaron around and meow at him until he shakes the food dish to redistribute the food so it looks like the dish has been topped off. This behavior often leads to the middle of the food dish being eaten and empty and the edges filled with food, which in turn led to the rise of the legend of "whisker fatigue", which will be our cat topic for today.
Oliver was the first surgery Aaron ever performed on an animal. (Aaron is a veterinarian and our local cat expert in our cat league and group chat.) He took Oliver home with him afterward and gave him a happy home, having grown attached to him while providing this care.
Oliver is lucky to have had such an excellent veterinarian perform the surgery on him he so desperately needed and even luckier to end up in a loving home afterward.
Lucy (above, staring at her humans in disgust) is a shorthair that was desperately underweight when she came into Aaron's care. At only 0.75 pounds, it's a miracle she survived and is now thriving. Lucy enjoys picking up random objects in the middle of the night and carrying them around the house while meowing.
This is often done at the most inconvenient time possible and as loud as possible. Typical cat behavior right there.
Whisker Fatigue: Fact, or Fiction?
Let's dive into the whisker fatigue topic since Oliver exhibits the classic cat behavior of eating food in the center of the dish and then demanding more. A simple redistribution of the remaining food is usually enough to satisfy him, but this behavior led to the rise of the theory that cats endure "whisker fatigue from trying to eat their cat food near the edges of the bowl."
The theory is that their whiskers, which are very sensitive and vital to their sensory perception of the world around them, were hitting the sides of the food bowl and being hurt. This has led to a pop-up industry of "whisker fatigue" proof bowls and other items and a raging debate as to whether this affliction exists at all.
Much like Aaron, I've encountered this with my cat. A simple shaking of the food bowl to get some back into the middle of it is more than enough most of the time. But for others, this theory is a fact. They've purchased angled food bowls and other products to lessen the real or imagined whisker fatigue that these cats endure by eating from normal food bowls.
Cat's whiskers help them with their spatial awareness and have a similar level of feeling as a human's fingertips would. They allow your cat to navigate their environment and provide excellent additional sensory input. This little tidbit from VCA animal hospitals puts it better than I ever could:
As a cat approaches something in his path, he stirs up air currents that bounce back when they hit solid objects. Whiskers detect very faint vibrations caused by these changes in air currents and act like radar detectors. In the wild, whiskers can alert a cat to the presence of prey or potential enemies. At home, whiskers help domestic cats locate their food bowls or favorite toys at night. In other words, whisker radar can help a cat hunt at night, as well as prevent him from bumping into walls in the dark. (vcahospitals.com)
Whisker fatigue is described as a bombardment of a cat's senses by overstimulation from deep food or water bowls that can cause stress and anxiety. While it is true that our cat's whiskers are sensitive and shouldn't be harmed in any way, recent studies have found that whisker fatigue is likely an exaggeration that's been cleverly used to sell products.
If our cats are indeed stressed, it's more likely caused by their environment or lifestyle. A cat can use its whiskers as an extra sensor and will literally headbutt things to gather information. That doesn't lead one to believe they're so concerned about their whiskers being touched that they would forgo eating or drinking from a specific bowl for being too deep.
Aaron weighed in on whether or not he thinks whisker fatigue is real. As a veterinarian, his word is gospel for me.
I think whisker fatigue is possible, but mine and my wife's theory is that cats prefer not to stick their head into something that obstructs their vision and leaves them vulnerable. In Ollie's case, he will meow even when his bowl is full, sometimes within an hour or two of the last time I walked him. I've wondered before if he doesn't think it's safe but he'll go into the room on his own sometimes because that's where the litter boxes are too. I finally just accept that it's part of my routine first thing in the morning and last thing before bed to walk him in there." (Aaron @DynastyDVM)
Hoarders, Cat Edition
More likely, our cats can't actually see the food on the edges of their food bowl since their vision is excellent at the peripheries and less so for things directly in front of their nose. Another theory is that our cats are natural hoarders, this being another genetic memory, so to speak.
If they can modify their behavior (yell at their owner to get more food) and this results in being able to hoard more food, they will do so just to have it around. Cats in the wild will even sometimes bury their prey to save some for later and to help mask the scent from other hunters, so this hoarding behavior is something that is predisposed in our little critters.
While the debate on "whisker fatigue" will likely continue to rage on, at least now we know some of the reasons why kitties like Oliver will meow when the middle of their food dish is empty. In all likelihood, it's not because their whiskers are fatigued.
Aaron is clearly a great cat dad and an excellent veterinarian. We salute him and know that Oliver and Lucy welcome him to cat society, and we wish him luck in this year's cat league.
Oliver being fluffy
The Draft
Aaron got a Superflex stud in Murray
Offense
Aaron's strategy was to "roll with the punches," so to speak, but he did stick to some basic guidelines that ensure success in the Superflex format. One of these was to ensure he got a stud quarterback as soon as possible. Mission accomplished with Kyler Murray.
Aaron mentioned that if getting that second excellent quarterback doesn't look likely or make sense based on how the draft is going, he'll get a solid skill position player or two instead before circling back to get that second Superflex quarterback. That's what he did here with CMC. Aaron then rounded out his quarterbacks with Ryan Tannehill.
From there, it was all about grabbing value where it fell and acquiring the best of the best at certain positions early because this league was loaded with degenerates, so there was no "waiting on IDP" around these parts.
Beyond CMC, Aaron ended up with Nick Chubb, Dameon Pierce, Chase Edmonds, and some high-upside guys for a really loaded running back corps. At wide receiver, he grabbed Marquise "Hollywood" Brown, Mike Williams, and Marquez Valdes-Scantling with some depth pieces too.
When you add Mark Andrews at tight end and factor in the tight end premium, this offense is clearly more than capable of scoring a ton of points any given week.
THE DE1 leads Aaron's IDP Defense
IDP
On the defensive side of things, Aaron ended up with Jeffery Simmons for his defensive tackle premium option at DT, which is obviously very solid. For defensive end, he got the DE1 himself, Myles Garrett, along with Montez Sweat, Jayson Oweh, and Azeez Ojulari for a truly excellent stable of pass rushers.
At the suddenly scarce linebacker position, Aaron drafted Eric Kendricks, Tremaine Edmunds, Jamin Davis, and Jerome Baker. This provided him with a great mix of excellent veterans and high-upside youth.
Aaron's cornerback is AJ Terrell. This is clearly the perfect choice if you were only to have one. There's a great chance that he ended up with the CB1 for the season right there. At safety, he went with Derwin James and Eddie Jackson for a nice mix of the best possible option (James) and a solid option (Jackson).
All in all, Aaron's IDP lineup is loaded from top to bottom, and so long as he keeps up with the ebbs and flows of the season, he certainly drafted many excellent pieces to give him a great foundation for a run at the title in this year's cat league.
Conclusion
Aaron is also no stranger to leagues like this and will adapt as the season progresses. He made sure to get an excellent quarterback option with a solid Superflex quarterback, and he may have the best IDP defense in the league and some great depth at running back. He's put himself in position to win week in and week out and will be a tough out all season in the cat league.
Thank you for reading this entry in the Cats of Fantasy Twitter article series! There are more to come, as fast as I can get them out. A special thank you to @DynastyDVM for joining me on this insane journey. Make sure you go check out his work and we wish him luck in this years cat league.
Keep an eye out for the next installment in this series! It will be here as soon as I can write it, and Faith can edit it and send it. Until next time!
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