DEKKER GIVES CATS FREE ADVICE
The word is getting out that Dekker offers free advice to anyone who will listen, and he has become quite insistent that I keep transcribing his wisdom.
Truthfully, it is a joy. I had been looking for something to keep him busy while I work. I didn’t count on him taking over my job!
Today, his mail is full of postcards and letters from cats. Cats! Of all things! Most dogs consider cats as a toy to chase, not as a creature with concerns and needs. Not Dekker.
DEKKER’S QUALIFICATIONS
Dekker has two feline brothers, Merton and Moxie, who follow him everywhere. I suspect he gets his cat-advice from listening to them. I mean, what do you suppose is going on in their conversations ‘of the spirit’?
Just now, I watched Merton cleaning Dekker’s ear as they curled up together, ostensibly to take a nap. Do animal tongues have special communication sensors we don’t know about?
I know I receive messages through Dekker’s tail. “Can we play? Huh? Huh?” “Is it time to eat? Huh? Huh?” “It’s time to play ball!”
If I can ‘hear’ these comments through a wagging tail, who is to say dogs and cats don’t communicate by lapping each other’s ears?
Following are some of the questions Dekker received from “The Fab Four” – Daisy, Ishtar, Oolong, and Jasmine – a quartet of felines who struggle to keep their two humans in line.
HOW TO ADJUST TO CHANGE
Dear Dekker,
We are having difficulty adjusting to changes, like new people and new cats. My sisters and I talk about this all the time. We decided that enough is enough. I say we gang up on intruders until they leave. Oh, one more question. Do you ever see your human pull their hair out? Just wondering.
Meow-meow, Thank you. Oolong
Woof, Oolong, Woof. Adjusting to changes rattles my crate. I grew up in prison with a bunch of men. Men can throw a ball a lot farther and wrestle and run.
Now, I live in a retirement community with an older woman who never runs. And suddenly, without warning, two kittens are using MY crate. Woof! They stay there during meals because they don’t have good table manners. Yet.
And then when they get out, they sleep in MY bed, use MY water bowl and hone in on MY playtime. But they are great soccer players. I plow right over them, and the game goes on.
My advice is for you to practice hospitality. When people come into your space, greet them warmly. Purr. They will like that! I wish I could purr.
Then find a cozy hiding spot until the way is clear. Peeing in a far corner and carving your initials in the arm of the sofa are not very hospitable – and that’s when you will notice your human shedding his hair.
Woof, Dekker.
HOW TO HELP SOMEONE FEEL LOVED
Dear Dekker,
I want my human to feel loved, so I rub my fur practically raw against his leg to tell him so. He doesn’t get it. He shoos me away. What can we cats (and dogs) do to make people feel loved and cared for?
Thank you, Ishtar
Woof, Ishtar.
Do? Woof! Nothing. Feeling loved comes from the inside. All feelings do. We can’t MAKE them feel anything. Choosing to receive love from a soft, cuddly purring cat is up to them. Just be yourself.
Woof,
Dekker
THE DILEMMA OF OBEDIENCE
Dear Dekker,
What can I do when I just don’t feel like doing what has been asked of me? I would rather stay curled up in the sun than come
when I am called. What’s the big deal, anyway? Then I feel guilty about it, but I don’t change.
Meow, Thank you, Daisy
Woof, Daisy,
Sometimes I am called to come, just as I pick up the scent of a critter who crossed the lawn recently. I want to please and I want to follow my nose at the same time.
The key is the kibble in her pocket. When there is a small reward for little things I am much more inclined to want to do what she asks.
Do your people give you rewards? Perhaps they haven’t learned the importance of kibble and other tiny rewards in their own lives yet.
Woof, Dekker
GETTING INTO TROUBLE
Dear Dekker,
Do you feel like being naughty once in a while? I get into all kinds of trouble and I don’t mean to. What can I do?
Thank you, Jasmine
Woof, Jasmine. That depends on what you mean by naughty. In a cat’s world, getting on the counter to steal a chicken wing isn’t naughty. It is a divine calling.
We animals have gifts of curiosity and wonder. Humans don’t always understand that we are wired for purpose and meaning the same way they are. I might call Ardis ‘naughty’ for reading and writing for hours instead of seeing the importance of throwing a ball for me.
My advice would be to eliminate the word ‘naughty’. I lie on her feet and roll my eyes up at her frequently. When she is upset with me, I wiggle all over until she laughs. Do cats wiggle? You might try that.
Woof, Dekker
CAN A CAT HAVE A CALLING?
Dear Dekker,
All four of us agree on one question: Sometimes, we cats just want to be quiet. We each have our hiding places, but our people are always dragging us out to play. How do we teach them that we want to be alone?
Thank you,
“The Fab Four”
Woof woof!
Truthfully, I don’t ever want to be alone. I know my calling is to serve others, and that is when I am happiest. Though, some of us are called to a more contemplative life and seek solitude and silence.
There is nothing wrong with that, but it is difficult to explain to humans. Don’t even try. Follow your bliss.
Woof, Dekker.
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