Life Lessons From Garfield

Garfield is 37 today, which is an exceptional age for a cat, especially one with such a cholesterol-heavy diet. What can we learn from this aged moggie on his alabaster anniversary?

Image: JD Hancock

Being 37 human years old means that Garfield is, in cat years, apparently 165. That’s a long time to live, so there must be some wisdom to be had from the world’s most famous marmalade cat, surely?

Focus, focus, focus

Quick, what kind of food does Garfield love best? The answer, is of course, lasagna, and he’s nothing if not persistent in his pursuit of this particular Italian dish. We’ll skip over the bit where that much fat and grease would be terrible for a mature feline, though. A bit of variety in your diet actually wouldn’t be a bad thing.

Always have a fall guy

Or in Garfield’s case, a fall Odie.

Remember to take breaks

Napping every once in a while is a vital life skill. Naturally, it depends on how you define “every once in a while”.

Remember to hate Mondays (But Garfield is probably wrong)

Yeah, he doesn’t like Mondays, the same as Bob Geldof. He’s probably a victim of confirmation bias there, though.

It’s OK to re-use ideas

Has there been an original joke in a Garfield comic strip for the last couple of decades? No, not really, but that hasn’t seemed to pause the popularity of the character, which has expanded into everything from lunchboxes to videogames and several different animated series over the years.

Sometimes, not turning up is for the best

Without a doubt, the single best innovation in Garfield in recent years has been the excellent Garfield Minus Garfield, a concept that strips the feline out of the comic strips to darkly humorous effect.