Imagine a world where you are fed every day, you are massaged when you choose to be, you can be as active or as passive as you wish, and you are loved by everyone. In this world, if you have a surge of primal instincts, you can go out and hunt to satisfy it. If you are tired, you can choose literally thousands of places to sleep, each depending on your mood or preference of situational variables. During your life, you would not worry about having to pay rent or being educated. No expectations. No deadlines. No social problems: Welcome to the world and life of my friend’s cat.

If you have ever observed a cat, especially one as content and laid back as my friend’s cat, you will notice how carefree they are. They lie on a couch as motionless as a two day old mole hill, eyes lightly shut or sometimes half open. Sometimes, you will come back after 4 hours and the cat will still be there, content and fulfilled, knowing that her day was a productive one.

On especially active days, a cat might go for a hunt, bringing a dead mouse or bird back into the house. She stalks her prey almost in homage to her primal ancestors, who were not as fortunate as her to be fed every day. Also, during these days, she may decide to run from one end of the house to the other, for a reason and curiosity that is beyond the comprehension of any other life form. These acts of curiosity spice up the days of her simple yet infinitely intricate life, like sprinkles on the waves of frosting on a homemade cupcake.

Now, all of these are things that a cat does with itself. If they feel like it, they may have an inclination to “interact” with another species, and preferably not one that will eat or chase it. That pretty much leaves humans (if you aren’t including all the other “cat-food” animals) to satisfy this feline desire, usually through being petted, scratched, rubbed, massaged, or all four of these. Sometimes we believe, as the species most favored by evolution, that all other species are simply there to serve us. Well, that is correct for most species but not so when cats are involved. To bring another house hold pet in for comparison, I once heard someone say that: “Dogs have owners; cats have staff.” This is shown to be true with my own observing of my friend’s cat. I watched her from one side of the room, she on hers, while she continually ignored me. But this is nothing new to me. I have been ignored by this cat for about 6 years now. But that is what makes people (me) want to walk over to the other side of the room and pet her. In other words, cats have mastered the art of “playing hard to get,” and this is what lures people (cat’s staff), to try to please and get the attention of cats.