I’ve noticed that many flute people are also cat people. I have always had cats and I seem to know more flute people with cats than with dogs. Maybe this is just my experience, but I wonder if there is something to it.
Cats do seem to make good musical companions because they are usually pretty disinterested in what you are doing and will leave you alone when you practice, though they may complain if you spend a lot of time in the high register. Some flute friends were at my house last week to read quartets and I was certain one of my cats was about to swat the person playing the first part of a particularly high-reaching piece. Turned out that he just wanted to see if he could get her to share her chair.
My cats do seem to have an affinity for my flute bag (and anyone else’s!) so I can’t leave it lying on a table or else it will be covered in fur. The same goes for open flute cases. Very cute, but not good for the flute! A couple of them also delight in clearing any table or desk of music, tuners, metronomes, etc., with reckless abandon. They then look up at me as if to say “I was only doing my stretching exercises. Didn’t you want this table cleared off?”
One of my cats particularly likes the Baroque flute. When I play it for him, he gets this beatific look on his face and he gives a lovely little meow in the pauses between phrases.
I probably sound like the crazy cat lady, but I share my home and often my practice space with a colorful cast of feline characters. I just hope they get as much out of it as I do!