The Best Thing, or Life According to Cats

In honor of International Moments of Laughter Day (I'm not kidding about this one, either), please drop a comment saying hello to my blog readers from outside the US.  Maybe they'll say hello back.

You know, cats are wonderful creatures.  They have no sense of human boundaries or ownership, and respect no property claims other than their own.  I've often thought about this glorious (and singularly annoying) fact about cats when I try to understand what my cats might be thinking, which leads me to today's topic, "The Best Thing," another topic brought to you by our friends over at The Crazy Hip Bloggers and their "Write Out Loud" series.  (Candidly, we could also make it part of their "Take it Tuesday" photo series under the topic "Animal Antics," so I linked it to both segments.)

I think the singularly best thing about cats, and what makes their lives so enviable, is that they are mentally incapable of imagining a world where they are not welcome, entitled to be wherever they are, and blessing you (the mere human) with their presence. 

Of course, in the case of our outdoor cat, Princess, her sense of entitlement can cause problems when she wanders over into the garage of the neighbors that don't like us.  (Hey, it isn't us.  They don't like anybody, and we refer to them as our Nutso Neighbors -- see here.)  As far as I know, they have never tried to chase her away, but I never know what I don't know.  I can only imagine what they must think when they find her walking their fence like it was put there especially for her, and I am grateful when she doesn't make me get up and shoo her away from their garage.  She is semi-wild, so picking her up would be ... well ... not the wisest idea anyone ever had.

Inside the house, the sense of entitlement means that we (the humans) need to demand our fair share of the bed and continue to assert our authority all night long.  This same sense (or in the case of Houdini, a sense of utter cluelessness) means that one or other of the cats is often in the way of any place we might want to walk, sit, or stand.  Some nights, as we approach "feeding time," a casual observer might think the cats are playing some aggressive game of chicken and the humans are playing, "Kick the Cat."

In the end, perhaps the very best part of being a cat is the complete and utter cluelessness they have that they might be in the way, and their complete lack of caring.  Like this: