It's interesting because, when I was a child, I spent a lot of time in the school holidays and weekends 'living as a cat'. I would move round the house on all fours mimicking what I saw as the behaviours and movements of cats.
Obviously, I wasn't a full time cat, and I reverted to being a human when it was convenient/necessary/suited me... and I wasn't able/required to fulfill all the functions of being a cat (I've never caught a mouse with my mouth/bare hands)
So I enjoyed all the benefits of being a human, but was able to indulge my desire to be a cat when it suited me. I even gave myself a cat name.
But I desperately wanted to be a cat. And I used to look at 'other cats' and feel a little bit envious that they were recognised by cats and actually able to live as cats all the time.
If I'm honest, I don't see that as being any different to a lot of what I read about trans-gender.
Except that the law didn't require anyone, least of all cats, to recognise me as such.