For some that might conjure up an image of a cat wearing a Gi and striking a martial arts pose with a look of utter concentration on its face. Well, it does that for me, anyway. Its belt is black and its claws are extended in a don't-mess-with-me kind of manner.
When my husband and I were studying Kung Fu, the head high honcho of our school was named Ted Lai (Lai Chunk, but pronounced Chung in the Cantonese manner. Oh, and it was Gung Fu, not Kung Fu). We called him Sifu Ted Lai. We were told that Sifu meant "teacher." Those of you who actually speak Chinese might know better, but for lack of any better information, that's how we thought of it.
I could have titled this article, "My Teacher, Miss Winnie" or something to that effect. But I've often thought that cats are inscrutable much as the Chinese are said to be and decided my final choice was most appropriate.
There is a small book called, "Meow Te Ching" by "Meow Tzu." It is full of wisdom from a cat's perspective. One little bit is, "Let every cat attend to his own cleaning and not worry about the dirt on his neighbor's coat," which I find to be quite profound. Another is, "Time is a whisker on the face of eternity," which is totally inscrutable to me. I haven't read the book cover to cover in a while so I don't know if this is included or not, but one thing our cat, Winnie, has taught me is that it is always better to take a nap than to worry.
Frequently, when she hears an unfamiliar sound or sees something she doesn't understand (like my husband, Bernd), she will get all wide eyed and low-slung slinky and hide under the bed. She isn't the most courageous cat. But when I go and check on her a few minutes later, there she is, curled up beneath the bed, sound asleep. When something gets me agitated, sleep is the furthest thing from my mind. My bed and sweet dreams might as well be located on the moon. She has the wisdom to, if not put it all behind her, at least shelf it for a while and take a nice sensible nap. Which I wish she were doing right now and not meowing so loudly and looking at me as if I know perfectly well what she wants and must give it to her this second. Maybe it's time for a break. Especially since the back side of my brain hs just translated that look to mean, "I am going to put my claws into your thigh if you do not pay attention to me right now."
We have finished a nice game of chase the cord, chew on the afghan, gut it, kill it and eat it. Translate that last as get a treat from "Mom." I learned a long time ago that she likes to combine toys and considers the afghan that I so laboriously crocheted for her to be a toy. Also, I crocheted a cord and tied a tassel to the end of it. The other end I tied to a two feet long piece of doweling. She goes crazy when I flip the tassel onto and off of the afghan. She loves this game so much that if I manage to ignore her long enough, she will go into the bedroom and try to make the stick play with her. I will hear the dowel banging into the wooden furniture and fearing that she will damage it, go and play with her. She has me very well conditioned. When she is finally bored with the game, she utters a series of very low and throaty meows. So, if I want to cut it short (she can do this for ten minutes or more), I start uttering these same meows and pretty soon she is lying down, purring and waiting for her treat. I used that little trick just now. See, I'm just as smart as she is. So, where was I?
Oh yes, what can our cats teach us? One thing I am certain of is that they can teach us more things than we might imagine or could enumerate if we will only pay proper attention. I'm not talking about washing your face after every meal or that good grooming is essential to good health. Although, these are excellent things to remember. You don't think your cat has anything wise to offer? I say that there are lessons to be learned from everything. Those of us who go through each day without this realization seem to me to be very poor. A wise person learns at least one new thing each day. I do think that it is those to whom we are the closest that teach us the most lasting, most important and sometimes most painful lessons. So, why shouldn't that be your dog or bird or lizard? Or your cat?
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Dianne Lehmann is a jewelry designer who has been in business since January of 2000. Her interest in designing and manufacturing jewelry goes back beyond that to 1994. It took her many years of trying various creative outlets to finally figure out that making jewelry is where she could really shine. Dianne began with simply stringing beads onto cable and has progressed from there. She is now an accomplished lapidary (cuts and polishes stones) and silversmith. Dianne and her husband, Bernd, live in northern Arizona and both love to hike. Dianne can not help but pick up rocks (they are her first love) and some of these find their way into her jewelry. Dianne makes one-of-a-kind pieces that she hopes give people as much joy to view as she gets from the making of them. If you like, you may view her work at http://www.syzygyjewelry.com
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Loved your article, Dianne. Cats can and do walk around with such a smug and intelligent look on their faces. As I read your first paragraph, the cat on "Shrek" came to mind. I watch those cartoons over and over, because I love that cat!
I too love the cat on "Shrek." He has such an air of self-confidence. It makes me think of a cat walking into a closed sliding glass door and turning to look at you over its shoulder and say, "I meant to do that."
I always thought I was a dog person, but I've come to realize that I am a cat person, too.
this was a fun article. we have a 13 year old cat who lets you pet her sometimes, and sometimes, she tries to kill you. however, when she comes in from outside, my dog runs over and licks her ear, and she lets him. i love animals,
Cats are great, but the real fun is in watching dogs and cats relate to each other. I've often thought that we should get our cat a dog, but we haven't found the right one yet.
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