What I get from my cats that I've never gotten anywhere else is unconditional love. My cats have never stabbed me in the back, they have never stolen from me, they have never made me feel inadequate, they have never told me they would like me better if I lost weight, they have never told me I would be more attractive if I acted more like a dumb blonde, they have never told me they wished I had never been born, they have never used me or tried to manipulate me for their own purposes, they have never taken credit for my hard work. I come from an unloving, abusive childhood home, and at 43 I have never married. I have seen much more of the dark, selfish, callous, ugly side of the so-called higher animal than most people. I don't mean to come off as a martyr, because that's not my purpose. But when I am in a bad mood because I'm behind in my bills, I lost out on a good job, and I've gained three pounds after starving myself for a week, my cat still wants to cuddle next to me on the couch. I have not yet met a human being that does. Maybe that's why as I begin middle age my cats have become the next most important thing in my life, next to my son (whose love is probably unconditional but by virtue of the parent-child relationship will eventually become less important to him as he reaches adulthood and leaves home).

[This message has been edited by 4 feline house (edited May 20, 2001).]