Lessons from a cat

Let me say up front that I have never really been a "cat person"... I usually prefer dogs. But several years ago, my mother-in-law's cat had kittens, and I fell in love with this sweet little gray kitten. I actually begged my husband to let me bring her home with me. She is the sweetest cat I have ever been around. Most cats I know prefer to be by themselves... they hide when there is company around... and they are not seen often. BUT this sweetie loves to be around people. She talks to us when her bowl is empty. She tries to reach up and open the door when she wants out... now, of course she hasn't ever gotten it open... but we see her and hear her begging to go out so we usually help her get the door open.

The only bad part about her is that she is the mother to all of these other kittens that are now "ours". I know... I know... we need to just have her fixed... but right now, spending money on an animal is not is the budget. Anyway... something about her is different these days.

If another cat or kitten even comes in the same room with her, she stands up tall and starts hissing at them. She spats and spats until they just turn around and leave. And if they are coming to eat out of the bowl that she is eating out of, she really has a fit... she chases them spatting. She just seems so mean and moody these days!!

I keep fussing at her saying, "What is wrong with you???" "Why are you spatting at everyone???" "They have't done a thing to you!"


After several days of seeing this... I started thinking to myself, "how many times am I like that?". My sweet husband comes in the room, and I start spatting at him. My children come to me for something and instead of being kind... I start fussing at them. How about the driver of the slow car in front of me? I start spatting at them in my head just because they aren't on my same schedule. Over and over... I can see that I do that same thing. Why would I react to them that way?? I don't really have the answer to that question. Could it be little things that have rubbed me the wrong way?... could it be frustration with something else?... could it be stress over another area of my life?.... could those things be the problem?? I don't know.

The one thing that I do know... is that it looks awfully ugly to someone just standing on the sideline. AND I mean ugly. It looks ridiculous too. She just has a fit all by herself. No one else has a problem but her. Yikes! I don't want to look that way! I don't want to spew and spat at the ones I love. I don't want others to look at me and say, "what is wrong with you??" "why are you spatting at everyone?" "they haven't done a thing to you!". Hmmm....I know that I need to take a lesson from this moody cat. I need to watch the way that I react to the ones that walk into my day.... thanks Miss Kitty... a lesson learned.