Things A Cat Can Teach Us

As I was walking from my dining room into my kitchen a few days ago, my cat reached out and swatted my leg with his paw as I passed him.  He was perched on top of the box where his food bowl is located for his convenience.  The bowl was full of food and his water bowl was as well.  So, what did he want from me?  I continued about my business in the kitchen and momentarily went back toward the dining room, only to be swatted again.  "Okay, Diesel.  What do you want?" I asked him.  (Yeah, I know... Diesel. What an odd name for a cat. But that is another story! ) He looked up at me with his green eyes and meowed, as if to answer my question.  The only problem is that I don't speak kitty and he doesn't speak human.  I have to admit though, I understood what it was he needed even though we speak different languages.
I reached down and began to scratch him behind the ears and rub his head.  I stroked his fur and stopped what I was otherwise doing for a few minutes and paid attention solely to him.  So what? Right? He's a cat and that's what cats like.  Everybody knows that!
But later on I got to thinking about that little incident and the small nugget of truth it holds for me as a human.  When we've been in a relationship for a while with someone, we get used to them being there.  They're kind of like the cat in the house.  You know they're there.  They brush up against you at times.  They come snuggle with you when you sit down in your favorite spot sometimes.  They're just there.  So you just get used to their presence and you don't think a whole lot about it after a while.  And that's where the problem starts...
Like the cat in the house that we just know is there, we provide his food and water and what we come to know are other things he likes, but we begin to take all of that for granted.  We do the same thing in our relationships sometimes. 
We need to take a lesson from the cat.  If you're not getting the attention you need, if you're not getting your itch scratched, reach out and swat someone! Let your partner know where your itch is and give them the pleasure of taking care of it for you.  We owe it to each other to communicate our needs to one another because like cats and humans, sometimes men and women don't speak the same language either.  Meow!