If you are, or have been, a cat lover you’ll understand perfectly the strange mix of emotions you feel when you look at your cat, when it is curled up on your bed, sunning itself in a tiny patch of afternoon sunshine. One moment you want to go to your angelic cat and cuddle with it (which you refrain to do, because experience has taught you that your cat is in fact demonic and will scratch if you disturb it), and the next moment you are envious of this pampered little feline, lazing about all day. A cat can surely teach you a few things which will help you sustain yourself in the corporate world, for example, “how to do chamchagiri”, “how to be (unabashedly) charming when you want food or warmth” and “how to look out for yourself” and lastly “how to be conceited and selfish and still get everyone to like you”. But it can also teach you a couple of other things…if you let it.
A cat you own..oops sorry..I mean a cat which owns you and walks around in your house like it’s the boss, will seldom come and sit by your side just because. It’ll almost always want food or warmth or something to play with.. (and it considers biting your toes at 5 o clock in the morning as playtime ). And this is why I was pleasantly surprised and a little suspicious, when my cat snuggled up to me one lazy afternoon. This time I was sunning myself in a patch of afternoon sunshine. She came right up, without being called, nipped at my toes for a bit, and then curled up in the crook of my arm. Woah..this is a first…such a perfect Instagram moment. Normally, to take a typical Instagram cat picture, I have to carefully position my already sleeping cat and pray that it doesn’t wake up and run away. And then there are those moments (when I expect that my cat should love me back, in return for all the food, warmth and unrequited love I shower it with) where I’ll try to deliberately make it sit still. Moments which almost always end with scratches on my arms.
And today, here she was, on her own, wanting to spend some quality time. And I wasn’t going to let this Instagram worthy moment slip by, so I began a frantic search for my phone. Realized a minute later that the cat was sleeping on it. I couldn’t take a picture without waking her. At that moment she lazily opened her yellow eyes and stared at me. “Still want the phone? What an idiot!! I am not always this affectionate. Humans should learn to “carpe diem” and let go. ” She seemed to say. (I have a very strong feeling that cats can smirk…and often do so at their dimwitted owners). And then a glorious “affectionate” fifteen minutes later, my cat finally stretched and woke up. Stared at me again…I stared back. Controlling the urge to make her sit still and trying to get her to fulfill the duties of a loving pet (as a dog would do without a moments thought). After a moment of intense staring, and deciding that I had indeed learnt my lessons (seize the moment, let go and most importantly, you CAN’T control a cat) she settled right back down. And this time I swear she smirked that evil little smirk !!!
The Merry Dilettante 