The other day, I heard my cat meowing its head off on the balcony. Often when we've been gone for awhile, it likes to go outside and meow. I joke that it's his way of expressing his dislike of being so long home alone. But as we'd been home most of the day, I figured this time it had to be something else - so I went out and checked. The cat from the neighbours downstairs was on their balcony - and Jerry was adamantly trying to have a conversation with him. The other cat, however, just stood there looking at him. And I couldn't help but feel bad for my cat - and I wondered how I could explain to Jerry that no matter how wonderful he is, sometimes others just won't be interested in being friends with him.
But the life lessons only continued! As I went upstairs yesterday and Jerry had greeted my home coming with enthusiastic meows, I heard a different meowing - and I realized that it came from the neighbour cat. And I thought to myself, "hmmm, when it suits you (i.e., you're bored or lonely), you're interested in talking but otherwise not." And how could I explain to Jerry that others might use him when it suits them?
And then I realized that life lessons for a cat are different than those for people. Jerry's a cat. He just likes meowing. What does he really care if he gets an answer to his meows? The only reason Jerry's even interested in the neighbour cat is as a potential distraction/toy. He just wants food and attention and a good place to sleep and he's happy. And he'll probably meow to tell you that :)
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