You've heard that "a horse is a horse, of course, of course."  But here's our explanation of why a racehorse is less like a workhorse than a workhorse is like an ox (as per Deleuze & Guattari's A Thousand Plateaus).  The science of ethology doesn't define a body by species or genus but rather counts affects.  Hence, workhorses and oxen are similar in that they both pull heavy burdens, are dirty, are tethered, move slowly, work long days, and are crucial to farm production.  A racehorse is none of those things: it is unburdened, clean, untethered, can gallop, works short days on the track and not the field, is well-groomed, and wins trophies.  How does all this relate to being one's own cat?  A cat-person is more like a Persian cat than an indoor cat is like an alley cat.  For further explanation, easy tips, and immediate results, see How To Be Your Own Cat.  (And yes, we really did go to all this trouble to justify a tie-in to our book.  That's how important it all is.)