TGIF
Miss Kitty, (my surviving cat) is a creature of habit.
She won’t go to bed until I do and when I’m late for bed she will annoy me until I come to bed.
I don’t recall when I agreed to this arrangement, but it exists nonetheless.
When I do get in bed she comes up to the top of the covers and begins to knit and weave until she has achieved whatever state of bliss that puts her in.
She pushes in rhythmically with each paw, claws extended, pushing and ripping with joy and vigor.
They say that’s how a kitten gets the mothers milk to flow.
I might have known that it was something that happened in her childhood…
The same process is repeated in the morning as she decides what time breakfast is to be served.
Every night.
Every morning.
Now, she has a set of claws…long, sharp claws…that she does her knitting and weaving with.
My bedding looks like I sleep with a wolverine.
However, I noticed this morning that even in her ecstatic ripping that when she touches me her claws are retracted.
She pushes, but she doesn’t tear.
She is very, very, careful not to scratch or claw me.
My cat is ethical and intelligent enough to curb her instincts and desires for my good and the benefit of our relationship.
My cat.
Now, if my humans could only grasp the concept…
Make your own application.
very beautiful
first!
being a hamster, Miss Kitty, would probably regard me as breakfast
just saying
Yup…..cats rule, setting the standard for behavior (most of the time, with a few exceptions)
love ya!
monax,
In a way I wish that were true.
She has been known to sit on the bed and watch a mouse eat out of her dish.
She would probably invite you to stay for dinner and share…
Love you too, Paigemom…
Michael, I do ever so love cats!
and, fwiw, I am able to shape-shift into human form. .
Blessings to you and your family—including beautiful Miss Kitty. .
I really love this picture. It’s dear to me right now as we have a mama cat and 2 kittens around 9 wks old who still try to nurse.
The claw illustration at the end is bittersweet for me. It reminds me of a painful situation that I’m dealing with. I wish I could exchange a certain person for your cat.
I’m acquainted with someone who claws me.
This person knows he/she is clawing me.
I cannot stop this person from clawing me.
This person says that clawing me is “loving” me.
I tell this person that clawing me is NOT loving to me.
This person rejects my response and claims I just don’t understand.
This person says he/she knows better than me.
This person says he/she must claw me for my own good.
(start at the top and repeat over and over and over again)
=^..^=
Kitties are so very clever, and wonderful, and lovely, and smart, and my favorite thing.
Now that we have had 8 cats in our lives in the past (almost) 19yrs I don’t ever want to live without at least 1 kitty. Our newest addition is finally coming into 1yr of age. She is becoming less nocturnal and less likely to kill your feet as you sleep mode. She sat on the bed with me this am licking the dogs muzzle (dog had her head on the bed) the two of them together is very sweet. Huge dog loves little kitty and vice versa. Honestly, I think that tiny little kitten followed us home because she wanted to live with the dog. đ
ja, my own mother knows only how to claw me. .
and for this reason, as you know, last week i let my mother go for the sake of my own healing. .
Julie Anne,
That’s exactly the kind of situation I had in mind.
Our dog is a lot like your cat. Dachshunds are burrowers, so she likes to get under the covers and claw around until she’s satisfied that she cannot dig a hole in the bed. When we play, she will put her teeth on my arm or hand, or try to dig under my feet. The moment she gets anywhere near my face, she will only lick.
I liken her to someone who has a biting sense of humor, but knows when to quit. She is my superior in that regard.
Michael..I’ve had a lot of cats and the behavior you describe is a wonderful part of the human:cat relationship. My first Calico was separated from her mother far too young and was a bit neurotic because of it. Our stray male Tiger cat acted like a dog and went on walks with us around the neighborhood. Now we have a Tortie Tabby from a feed store and she demonstrates that wonderful restrained behavior you described. Cats are wonderful, in a different way than dogs and your application is SO pertinent!
Cats are weird.
That’s my application and I’m sticking to it.
()_()
(=’.’=)
(“)_(“)
meow meow meow meow
goofy question:
so iâve had this life-long default-tendency to refer to dogs (without knowing their gender) by masculine pronounsââhe,â âhim,â and âboyâ
and to refer to cats (without knowing their gender) by feminine pronounsââshe,â âher,â and âgirlâ
i know gender distinction for these animals is a matter of grammatical convention in other languages outside the Englishâbut does anyone think there might be something inherently masculine in the nature of a dog and likewise something inherently feminine in the nature of a cat?
Michael,
I bet your kitty is purrrring all the while. It’s very comforting.
London,
I once applied for a job at a sticker factory but they said my experience didn’t apply and they wanted a quicker sticker.
monax,
I never gave it a thought but I do the same thing. Dogs are boys and cats are girls. I wonder where I got that.
When my mother passed all I had left was the cat, it seemed to know I was grieving silently, I do not nor ever will allow myself to publicly grieve in any way for any reason (personal reasons). The cat knew instinctively that I was hurting and was always by my side, purring when it sat on my lap. I treat the cat very well, it has its own room, actually it has three rooms, but it likes to be in mine, laying right on the keyboard. So I rearranged my desk to accommodate. We actually talk, I talk to her and she talks back, I explain why I did not have the food ready and why it needs to stop pressing down on the space bar. I miss my family it was hard to watch them die it really was, it was almost as hard, no in someways having to had been the one that dealt with the aftermath of death.
In my experience in the evangelical community death pisses people off, not the dying that’s doctrine, but the mess it causes, that’s unacceptable. One other thing my cat lets me cry, I can hold her and cry she purrs and comforts. I would pray the wrath of God would fall on me before I ever did that with humans. That is just me and limited to just my perceptions of my experiences.
Brian, you are so right. I don’t think anyone could ever accuse a cat or a dog of being a “Job’s comforter.” I’m glad you have your Keyboard Kitty.
They are truly gifts of healing balm for hurting souls.
All of my six cats came to me. Cats just happen to you when you least expect it. They came one by one. All are just like your cat Michael. It amazes me that Elsie bell is the only one who will scratch if picked up. She is totally independent and you get to love on her when she dictates.
Julie Anne,
You described a perfect boundaries issue. Look up Dr. Henry Cloud’s book on Boundaries. It is a great read on the topic. Hope it helps.
Brian,
Your cat is very blessed indeed!
I am mad at my cat right now. 12 yrs old and the first thing she does when we get back to MS…dashes out the door and stays gone for 2 1/2 days. Shows back up yesterday, but I am not pleased.
The thing about cats, or any being for that matter, is the more you put into them the more you get out of them.
jlo,
you mean food?
Gary, yep, that and more….
p.s. welcome to the blog, really enjoying your contribution.
Thanks jlo.
Gary,
Food and scratches on the head seem to be their major desire. I also welcome you here!
We’ve had dozens and dozens of cats over the years. There was one cat who was shy (well, probably feral) but he eventually came in the house. It took him a while but he eventually trusted me enough to lay across my lap on the couch. Pretty soon that’s all he wanted. He would even get in bed with me. I could pet him and snuggle with him. But when he was outside I couldn’t approach him. He would either run away or hiss and claw at me. I felt sorry for the poor cat. I figured someone must’ve abused him or he was born and raised in the wild.
We had one cat that was only interested in butting her head on everyone and everything. Guess what we called her.
Thanks David. I don’t remember what we first named that cat but everyone ended up calling her Butthead.