I Have a Cat
His name is Jack
He loves the welcome mat
As well as rubs on his back!
Jack is part of my life. He wakes me up by demanding for breakfast. Follows me and more often than not, try to trip me up as I descend the stairs to the kitchen. He drinks milk, eats "beef in gravy", sometimes cat biscuits. At times he'll tolerate sardines. "Real meat" like chicken and fish is a rare treat since I don't often cook. He'll be on my lap whether I'm on the rocking chair or sitting cross-legged at the computer. Sometimes he would settle for a nearby seat if I was working at home the whole day. He would come home as soon as he sees my car drive up to the gate. He'd jump in as soon as I open the door and scratch the back seat, marking his territory. He loves car rides and would never bite the vet. He will come and greet any visitors and make friends with them (even those who are afraid of/ allergic to cats); some say he's a dog trapped in a cat's body. Yes, he's a lovely cat.
But is he perfect? Hardly. He's a common cat, a shorthair in white and ginger with a stumpy tail that looks like it had been cut off. (Well, I got him from a mamak shop. Do you think that.... could it be...?)Anyways, he was scruffy and small and trying to commit suicide by sitting behind the tyre of a van. Soon after I cleaned and fed him, he developed blisters on his leg; they turned ot to be abcesses. He has always had one medical problem or another; his vet bills is about 5 times what I pay for my own medical visits. Currently he has gingivitis, a condition that makes him drool a lot sometimes. Quite disgusting, really. It also makes his fur rough and icky. He can't eat hard biscuits, which is why he gets milk and soft food. He is a nightmare to pill. And he quickly gets wary of any food that might contain 'medicine', even cod liver oil and vitamin gel. And he would rather starve himself than eat these 'suspect' foods. And his manja-ness can get too far when he insists on sitting on the prayer mat while you are praying...
But I still love him to bits. I'd budget out money for his vet visits, get him 'special' food; suffer scratches and bites to pill him; the list goes on. WHY?? While others would put this 'problematic' cat down, I chose to suffer the inconvenience. For the simple reason that I love him because he loves me. You may say he loves me/ is manja because I feed him. It might be true. That leaves just me loving him. But I'd still not put him down. Because knowing does not make me love him any less.
Now let's put this theory on parallel with humans. After decades of trying to be the sweet, modest, ladylike, etc girl I am not to try to be on the good side of the male gender; I have decided that it does not matter after all. Men have loved women who had been used, abused, poor, rich, fat, skinny, nice, nasty, etc etc for reasons that only they know. It's the same as women loving men who are too old, too young, bald, poor, rich, abusive, etc etc as long as they like the combination. Men or women can be womanisers, swingers, playgirl, married, divorced with kids, etc etc etc, and it would not make a difference as long as they fit your needs. It's as simple as that.
You love someone and you accept him/her as he/she is because he/she is there and that's the way he/she is. You live with their shortcomings, their history, their paranoia, because they are part of your life, and you can't live without them. So the next time your significant other rubs you the wrong way, think again about picking a fight. You'll be living with each other for a long time still, hopefully...
Musings by The Dodgy Kerang.
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