A.A. Milne’s wonderfully wistful Winnie the Pooh once said “Some people talk to animals. Not many listen though. That′s the problem.” I am sure we would be a in a better place if we listened to what the animals are telling us about our environment, but as to not listening…They never had a cat like Oscar. Listening to Oscar is not a choice. There is no not-listening option. You see, with Oscar, if you don’t listen immediately, he just gets louder and louder and louder and he does not stop. He perseveres. This comes up when he decides he wants me to lift up the corner of the quilt on my bed or the lap quilt on the couch so he can crawl under. I know he will not stop, so I am well-trained and immediately hop to it when he begins to meow (Howl is more accurate.) But then sometimes he looks at me like “what are you thinking?” and walks off tail in the air. Ten minutes later, he is back to howling for a blanket lift. After a few cycles, I try to ignore him. It never works. He perseveres.
