A Post-Colonial Read of the Cats

Greetings.

I decided it was time to do a postcolonial read of the activities of Po and Cleo.

These two dominant world powers have completely imperialized and colonized our Westcott apartment, enabling the Westcatt Empire to develop quickly and with little impediment from the indigenous tenants.

Cleopatra, the less agressive imperializer, retains a firm hold on the mother country of her domain - Laurel's room. Laurel's office, as well as my own, were conquered jointly, and remain shared territories. Po controls the highlands, such as the top of the bookshelves, while Cleo has almost exclusive rights to the fertile lowlands, which are under the desks. The Kitchen and Living Room are run with similar arrangements, although the Green Couch remains the source of occasional disputes.

Although Cleo makes occasional forays into the bathrooms and my bedroom, those territories have officially been conquered and colonized by Po. In order to maintain control over the native residents, Po frequently maps my colonial body by watching me in the shower. However, it is my room which has become the shining jewel in the Westcatt empire.

My bedroom was originally conquered so that Po could access its most valuable and proliferous export - high ties. Although he claims that the purpose of colonization was to cuddle the inhabitant, most postcolonial scholars agree that the economic benefits of plentiful hair ties and unsupervised yarn were what actually drew the colonial power. Po's colonization efforts were originally blocked by a closed door. After arduous efforts and much exploitation of native labor, a canal was dug to surmount the difficulty. Now, Po has almost unlimited access to his colonized territory.

All attempts to invade Lizz's room have met with staunch native resistance. Although Po and Cleo continue to plot, neither has made any noteworthy advances. Both Po and Cleo have also explored outside territories, such as Upper Porch, Lower Porch, and the Driveway and Backyard. While Cleo regards these areas with suspicion, and shows no signs of continued commerce with them, Po has eagerly marked them for future colonial projects - and escapes to them whenever possible to continue mapping.