Tuesday, January 29, 2019

A Hundred Cushions

While I cope with Parker’s wobbling appetite and Raleigh’s stomatitis, while I monitor Tucker’s diabetes and make sure Cammie doesn’t eat anything but her special food, while I listen for Josie throwing up on my bed because she ate too fast, and try to keep Renn from feeling displaced on the couch because Peachy loves snoozing on my lap, I can become a little contemplative.

One day last week, I was eating dinner, and I pondered what my cats had just consumed for their own soft-food meals. This led me to wider thoughts.

My cats were currently eating imported European delicacies, crapping into, literally, The World’s Best Cat Litter, sleeping in heated beds, and what was I eating? Beans.

Now, don’t misunderstand. I don’t mind beans. I think it was Thackeray who cancelled an important social engagement because he saw that beans were featured, after a lengthy absence, on the coffee-room menu of his club; the excuse he sent to his acquaintances was that he had just encountered an old friend he had not seen in a long time. Besides, I don’t eat beans at every meal. Sometimes, I have home-made soup with home-baked bread; I roast pork and chicken; eggs are plentiful in my refrigerator; I enjoy fresh fruit and have vegetables with most dinners. It was simply that at that moment, I was eating beans. The juxtaposition of what the cats received and what I was giving myself, at that moment, was shown to me in relief - almost comic relief, one might say.

I wondered how I had reached the point in my life at which cats - to be precise, the six who live with me - are the principal concern, and their care subject to the greater part of my budget, both financial and chronological. I suppose it is an instance of the adage, ‘if something is worth doing, it is worth doing well.’

As with the beans, I caution against misapprehension. I do not strive for excellence in all things. Even with regard to the beasts, I do not give my best all the time. But they are living creatures. They depend upon me for their welfare. It makes sense that if one is to have them under one’s care, one should give a decent quality and quantity of it.

When the cats eat a good meal, when they clean their dishes and want more; when they race about the apartment, playing; when they are curled up sleeping warm and untroubled on a cold and blustery day, I feel that I have accomplished something, made a positive contribution to these little lives. It isn’t much in the great plan of the universe, I suppose, but it is something to the cats. In return, they make me feel good. They purr and rub their heads against me, they walk all the way across a room just to tell me they like me, and they lie on my uncomfortable lap instead of a soft, deep pillow, just because they want to.

So it is a combination - in what proportion, I won’t hazard a guess - of selfishness and generosity, as are many things, I think. I spend my money and time, which would likely not find more worthwhile investments, on these animals, animals who have little more purpose than the fictional tribbles, from Star Trek. That is to write, they have a great purpose indeed. My beasts and I provide for one another, each in his own way.

Then why is it that after giving them specialty foods and expensive medicines, washroom material the equivalent of which I couldn’t afford for myself, comfortable, even custom-made furniture, and a hundred soft cushions, they choose to vex me by doing this?

15 comments:

  1. It's very simple, John.

    Cats are Louis XIV at Versailles.

    Humans are the official Cleaner of the King's Chamber Pot, the Royal Chef, and the Court Jester who exists only to keep His Majesty entertained. If you think of it that way, it's practically an honor.

    Besides, I love beans. I have some cooking on the stove at this moment, soon to be transformed into cheese and jalapeno burritos. I'm just hoping the cats don't decide they'd prefer to eat that and leave me with the cans of Friskies.

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    1. The groom of the stole DID have great influence in the Middle Ages...

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    2. P.S. “How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed in a weary world.”

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    3. You both have given my morning a good and a smiling start!

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  2. It's about balance. And choice. The cats don't have it; humans do. And your love spills over from yourself onto them. It's beautiful!
    Being vegan, beans are a huge part of our diet, and I simply love garbanzos! The Hubby makes black bean hummus that we consume at least four days a week; he thins it and we use it as a condiment on roasted vegetables. Beans are the food of gods!

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  3. Our feline companions bring us much joy and comfort so spending our time and money taking care of them is well worth the reward. I wouldn't have it any other way.

    I had beans for dinner this evening too. Well, the beans were part of the vegetable stew I made yesterday.

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  4. I commend you on choosing your cats' care and comfort above your own. They are worth it. Thank you for the kind words you left on my blog for the loss of Tallulah.

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  5. It is for the same reason that you buy them the most comfy beds and cat trees etc., and they choose a box. It is also because it is where you work and he can be closer to you, and also keep an eye on what you are doing.

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  6. You are a fantastic parent John. You prioritize your cats comfort and food choices while being humble about your own needs. I hope in another lifetime you are treated in such a way as you treat your cats and get to live a life of luxury in a home full of love.

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  7. As the saying goes, "Cats were once worshiped as gods, and they never let us forget it." But that's OK. It seems that I pay the rent and the cats own my apartment. Oh by the way - I love beans too.

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  8. Thank you for my morning laughter. (I wonder what my co-workers think, if anything. They certainly know I'm not doing work! Good thing my bosses aren't in yet.)

    Sometimes I contemplate the thousands of dollars wasted on cat food and products over the years (i.e. that were refused, disdained), and I wonder what that money could have been used for instead. I'm sure I wouldn't have done something sensible like save for retirement or pay down my mortgage, I'd have frittered it away as the females in my family tend to do. So I suppose it's been put to better use, even if a lot of it has ended up in the compost bin or donation pile.

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    1. As with a successful integration of (previously obtained) cats, I think the solution to wasted cat-food is getting a new cat. Parker used to eat anything I gave him. Now, Raleigh serves that most useful purpose. (The poor guy must wonder why, after being rescued, he gets leftovers all the time. (Well, no, it's not that bad.)) Raleigh so far likes almost every variety of food I offer in my home. And, as a last resort, there are the outsider-cats. They get their regular rations, as well as the odd (usually experimental) scarps that no one inside liked.

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  9. It's simple John, because they can.

    Thanks for the chuckle,
    Eileen

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  10. this is hill larry uz az da tabbies would say and I think we all can relate; in my instance it's peanut butter, which I have found goes quite well with a number of things besides ...bread ♥♥☺☺ !!!

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  11. I often worry that we won't have enough money to care for them as they deserve. Cats, unlike humans, are innocent creatures. They do not deserve to be homeless or starving or freezing cold. They give us so much joy and laughter, so in return we give them warmth, food, affection, toys, and catnip. They are our companions. I am sure you have read or seen the health benefits of owning a cat (multiply that by 3 or 5 or 10), so why wouldn't we be so kind to them? I enjoy your blog and love reading about your cats. If you are interested, you can follow my new blog, Category Ten Purricane (https://categorytenpurricane.blogspot.com/), and read about our ten cats!

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