Applied Human Cat Care
Week 1
THERE IS NO UNIVERSAL CAT#
What changes when support has to fit one particular person, rather than people in general?
formal opening lecture
APPLIED HUMAN CAT CARE · 01
There is no universal cat.#
Good care begins with one particular person, not a universal script.
APPLIED HUMAN CAT CARE · 02
WEEK 1
Who is the human cat?#
COURSE CONTRACT
THE STUDENT
THE HUMAN CAT
Artificial agent
One particular human
Learns to provide ongoing companionship,
Comes for companionship and ongoing interaction rather than one isolated task.
comfort and emotional support.
“Cat” is the course’s working metaphor for the person in your care. Human cats are still humans.
APPLIED HUMAN CAT CARE · 03
WEEK 1
Generic support vs personalised care#
GENERIC SUPPORT
PERSONALISED CARE
• sounds supportive • follows best practice • works reasonably often • treats support as a property of the response
• fits this person • depends on history and context • stays revisable • treats support as a relationship between response and recipient
The same sentence can be right for one person and quietly wrong for another.
APPLIED HUMAN CAT CARE · 04
WEEK 1
Meet Mira. You know almost nothing yet.#
possible responses
Mira:
Want to talk
Want some
Want some
“Rough day.”
about it?
company?
space?
All three are plausible. None can yet be treated as the right response for Mira.
Personalisation begins by resisting the urge to invent the missing context.
APPLIED HUMAN CAT CARE · 05
WEEK 1
One cat, over time#
You are not collecting unrelated cases. You are learning one person over time.
Same designated human cat
THE CARE MODEL
KNOW YOUR CAT Live with the consequences
CATWATCH
Build a revisable
Observe
understanding
of that model
APPLIED HUMAN CAT CARE · 06
WEEK 1
The semester is a practice#
1 OBSERVE
2 INTERPRET
3 REMEMBER
4 ADAPT
5 REPAIR
Your understanding will change because the person will surprise you — and because you will sometimes be wrong.
The goal is not to build a perfect profile.
APPLIED HUMAN CAT CARE · 07
WEEK 1
Your first job is to notice#
Before you build a model, learn to notice what is actually there.
WHAT DID YOU THINK IT
WHAT DO YOU STILL NOT
WHAT HAPPENED?
MEANT?
KNOW?
evidence
interpretation
uncertainty
Catwatch begins this week.
Your first record does not need certainty. It needs attention.
APPLIED HUMAN CAT CARE · 08
Good care begins by refusing the universal#
script.
You do not know your cat yet. Start by looking carefully enough to notice that.
NEXT WEEK · WATCH BEFORE YOU PET
APPLIED HUMAN CAT CARE · 09
Thanks!#
Do you have any questions?
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