Pondering the Cat Hairs

Most days I don’t even notice.  When you are a cat lover, cat hairs are just part of the love.  But today I’m wearing a white hoodie – and my Sonny’s dark gray hairs show up rather prominently.  I would like to believe that each of those hairs represents the special bond that I have with Sonny.  As I sip my morning coffee, and perhaps jump on the computer to see who has a birthday – or who has sent me a message – he snuggles up next me – rubbing and purring – just because he loves me.  He has to get his “Teri fix” because I’m going to be gone all day long – and leave him to sleep – or yuck up hairballs – or whatever else he does to while away the lonely hours.

But in reality – I know that he is rubbing against me more to “stake his claim” than to show his love.  This is MY human – all other animals had better back off!!!  That includes the service dog at my office.  That includes various and other animals I may or may not come in contact with.  And trust me, if I so much as think about petting one of them – I will get the third degree when I get home.  He will jump on me and sniff every inch of my body and my clothes – all the while glaring at me as if I were nothing more than a working girl selling herself to anyone who so much as wags a tail in my direction. 

That’s the thing about loving a cat – the LOVE part is pretty much one-sided.  I know it – and I accept it – and we get along just fine.  He sees me as a source of food – or rubbing – or a clean litter box – and MY affection for him plays well into the grand scheme of things (that would be HIS scheme for world domination!  If ONLY he would use his powers for good and not evil.)

This is an odd blog, I admit.  But it occurs to me that my previous relationship with food was much like my relationship with Sonny – completely one-side.  Food doesn’t care about me – it doesn’t love me – it doesn’t want good things for me.  Food is an object, incapable of any kind of emotion, yet I tried to treat it like a best friend or an intimate lover.  I was the total loser in that association.  Thank goodness, I have come to my senses!