Lately, I've been having horrendous problems with my little orange Stu-guy. He is unhappy, unsatisfied and forever searching for .... something. I thought, for months, he was in search of more food. And I wondered how could a cat who gets fed ten cans of fancy feast, with three different kinds of crunchies always available, be THIS hungry all the time?
Yesterday, I took the day off. I overslept and I knew I would get to work and want a do-over. You can't have a do-over so I just stayed home. So I made it part of my day's mission to figure out what to do to make Stuart happy.
And you know what?
It was easy. He wanted attention. I brushed him and played with him and he was happy. He went and ate his favorite crunchies under the side board after our play session and then went to sleep somewhere. He was laying in wait in the evening, hunkered down under the coffee table, so we played some more. And again, he was happy.
And my daughter thought the whole playing with him thing was pretty rad too. She giggled and squealed and "look at him playing!" She dangled toys intrusively close to him and he loved that too. So what in the world is wrong with me? Why in the eff did I not think to PLAY with my cat? GAH, I feel AWFUL.
I stole this cat to heal my broken heart, and for the past six months two years I have been ignoring his little needs. I know I had a baby and that was a bit of a culture shock to me, but what about him? I mean really. I felt about two inches high yesterday. I've been throwing food at him and wondering why that doesn't satisfy him. Well, duh, he doesn't want food in the first place.
But at least I know now and can correct my erroneous behavior. I have a date with my orange guy today!
Aww, this is sad. I know I have neglected our poor cats since having kids. I am so annoyed with having to care for them sometimes because it's just another "to-do" but then at night, when they curl up on my lap or next to me on the couch and start to purr, I feel so guilty!
ReplyDelete