Swapping roles  − 8 June, 2008

When we first acquired our new cat Meep, I had said that I would wait for Meep to come to me, that I would not pursue her. As it turned out, Meep is such an affectionate cat that she did not need to be pursued. Ironically, it is I who must be pursued. Meep learns quickly, except when it came to the giving of affection. It took awhile, but she learned after being pushed away many times that I am particular about when I like to give affection to her. 

I am an on the go person, even when “going” means sitting on the couch to do something. It used to be that her favorite time to come to me for affection was when I was on the couch doing something. At first I would try to accommodate her, but after a while, I began pushing her away. It was just too hard to get anything done with a cat climbing all over me. But Meep finally learned, and quit jumping up on me when I was on the couch.

I recently moved my computer down to the finished basement, where it is cool and quiet, so that I could use my voice recognition software without unwanted words appearing on the screen because of ambient noise. Meep tried her wiles on me, but I pushed her away because I wanted to get things done. Last night, as I laid down in our basement futon to go to sleep, Meep kept to herself on her favorite chair in the corner. I had expected her to climb all over me, as she did her with previous owners. I figured that she had given up on me. I have been so unapproachable.

But I have also learned that Meep does not carry a grudge. After breakfast today I made a special effort to make time for her. She soaked up the attention as if I had never pushed her away. I could do nothing else while I stroked her and allowed her to rest on my chest, as she loves to do. It is a good thing that she is so tolerant, and waits patiently for me to be ready. It allows me to get done what I need to get done, but it also forces me to slow down if I want to give her attention.

Slouching on a couch in our screened in porch, with Meep on my chest, I was forced to sit still and simply enjoy the morning sunshine, and to enjoy the sounds of a breeze shaking the many tree limbs in our neighborhood. It forced me to do nothing for a short period of time. Doing nothing is not something that comes naturally to me. But perhaps it is something I should do more often. It is certainly something I must learn to do if our cat is to get any attention from me.

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