I'm a little hot under the collar today so I am struggling for a topic and ways to turn my anger into humor. Sometimes it just isn't possible. For example, I find nothing humorous about some of the ways in which people manipulate others. Not funny. Animals can be manipulative, too, but it is usually because we've set certain things in motion which make it inevitable.
For example - Jack has figured out how to get us to do something his way. If he isn't happy with the seating arrangement at night, when we're all settled in watching TV, he will go to the door as if he really needs to go out. Of course when this first started, one of us would jump up to let him out. If you have ever had to clean up a mess from a Bullmastiff, you learn quickly to respond when they say they need to go out.
It took awhile, but we figured out he didn't really need to go, he just wanted us to move around and do something his way. Sometimes the seating arrangement was different upon his return - thus providing validation for his theory. Now, we don't know what to do.
Fancy is a master manipulator. I prefer to think he is so smart he has figured out how to communicate effectively with me. (If I'm being honest, he's really just good at messing with my head.) He learned early on, when he was a feral/stray kitten, that if he called out to me, he would get a response. He would sit in the bushes and mew at me and I would drive myself crazy trying to locate him.
For about a year, we played this game of hide-and-seek which he has now, as a solid member of the household, turned into his way of getting what he wants. If Fancy wants food, treats, my attention, or just to check in with me, he uses his kitten voice. It worked then, and it works now. Every time. He tweaks it a little so I know for sure what he's asking of me. Of all the cats, he is the one who always gets what he wants.
Finn just sits and looks pitiful if there's something going sideways, like someone is eating his food or the communal dry food dish is empty. Eli annoys the crap out of me with a whiny, clawing thing he does and I end up getting mad instead of giving him what he wants - mainly because I CAN NEVER FIGURE OUT WHAT THE HELL HE WANTS! sorry. Chance rolls over and stretches which is his way of getting me to pick him up.
Then we have Dash and Boo! Dash is very smart. He doesn't use his voice, he uses his head. What I mean is, he nods his head or looks at whatever it is he is trying to point out. If I ask him where Boo! is, he will either look at a spot, or go to wherever it is she is hiding. He has trained me to trust him. Smart guy.
Baby Boo! (and she will always be our baby and most likely always tiny) is another matter altogether. She uses every and all manners of getting her way. It's hilarious. And she uses all of her tactics on everyone. If she's hungry, she will start looking for food - anywhere. If that means eating off your dinner plate, so be it. If that means licking a spoon you just used to stir (anything) and dropped it in the sink, deal with it.
Boo! doesn't take "no" for an answer. That means there is no way to keep her from going wherever she wants to go. Sometimes, in order for me to leave my bedroom without her pushing in, I have to go out through the patio door and in the through the family room. That only works if the family room door is unlocked. Boo! has taught us she may be little but she is in charge and will not be denied.
It is much easier for me to forgive my fur kids for their manipulation than a person who makes it their life's work to screw with others. And there is nothing funny about that.
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| This picture has nothing to do with the topic - I just think it's cute the way Jack is worried the baby is going to fall into the pool |
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