We have been suspicious for some time about our cat's eating habits. Whitie is an unusual domestic cat, apart from his name obviously, in that he probably more resembles a small panther with a considerable amount of white markings across his black body. He certainly looks too large for the average tabby, though he shows all the affection of such a species and of course at times, total disregard for others. I certainly would never question his love for his adopting family yet at the same time I fully understand that this love may be based entirely on certain factors involving what he is getting out of the relationship, a situation that he might just be prepared to sacrifice in the face of a better deal elsewhere. Such is the mentality of our feline friends that all relationships are strictly on their terms - no questions asked. It's a world away from the friendship which dogs provide, not necessarily any less fulfilling, but just as long as you know the score right from the start, everything usually works out fine fro all involved parties. Take mum's pet dog, Snoopy, for example. Ever since her passing over two years ago, he has frequented our house with a high degree of regularity along with his son, Patch, from his only long term relationship with a older lady who at the time was homeless and maybe he took pity on her! Anyway, for years, the mum, dad and son held court alone at my home and now that only two survive, they seem to enjoy the company and of course the odd morsel of food that seems to pass their direction most evenings. Recently, I have taken even greater pity on them as their aging bodies show more of their skeletal frames that previously and now they have their own adapted bowls that usually have at least a few dried pieces of mixer meal every day. Of course the problem for pet dogs is that they tend not to be diligent hunters in the same way as their enemy, the cat and so without human intervention, hunger soon begins to manifest itself visibly on their bodies.
Which is not the case with Whitie at all, who is now bigger than either dog. Hence our suspicions. Two things tend to support our concerns. First, over the past few weeks, he has not been particularly interested in the food occupying his bowl, often quite content to sniff the contents and then go and curl up in his basket. Secondly, I have on several occasions seen him play with a small mouse, though the rodent may not exactly view their time together in the same light and there is ample evidence to suggest that when playtime is over, mealtime begins almost immediately and the mouse isn't around for dessert! I have made my own conclusions that a fresh, hot rodent is more appetizing than a chunk of cold, processed, slightly smelly meat from a tin. I mean, would you eat tinned peas when you could have fresh ones instead? Anyway, to cut to the story. Tonight, Whitie suddenly catapulted from his semi-sleeping state on the garden seat into the bushes and disappeared out of sight. Some fifteen minutes later, Snoopy made came around the corner, stopping only briefly at the cat's dish to quench his thirst on the cold milk therein, before waddling on towards the picnic table. Several moments later, though almost blind and deaf, he managed to unsettle the black and white object under the trees. In the ensuing name calling, growling, verbal abuse and stand off that followed, Whitie's warnings went unheeded and after a an extremely short period of physical violence, the cat sprang out of the bushes and took up a position on top of the wall. Moments later the victor emerged with his trophy, a slightly eaten rabbit and proceeded to satisfy his hunger in full view of the conquered predator. I guess there's a lesson in there somewhere, but for Whitie, there'll be other, better days.
I guess I have felt just like that sometimes, when all my efforts and planning don't bring the reward I had hoped they would. Often, situations are just taken right out of our hands and the outcome is not what we would have chosen. And don't we all do it? We work, strive, make an effort and I suppose at some time in our lives we have all dreamed the big dreams about what we might accumulate during our time on earth and how we would enjoy the fruits of our labours. And in itself there is nothing wrong with having such dreams, making plans and securing our own and our children's futures. As Christians, we make plans too and on those bad days, when things go against us, we can kneel before our maker and still pray the prayer of Job, 'Blessed be the name of the Lord.'
Satan is also on the prowl for prey and he knows that if he doesn't make his catch today, he can always return tomorrow, in the knowledge that sooner or later he will find his target off guard. After all he just didn't tempt our Lord one day in the wilderness, not did he leave Job alone after his first attack. Make no mistake, he is happy to wait and we must always be ready for he makes his move when we least expect it. That's why we must always have the words of our Lord's prayer on our lips, 'And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one' and also you must 'Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.' I guess when you are the prey that's when you really need to pray!
