WHERE'S MY DUCKY?

There it was at my feet. A blue “fishing pole” with a knit ducky attached to the end by a string. The fishing pole came moving forward towards me and then fell at my feet. There it was waiting for me to pick it up. It was the first thing I did every morning. My Bengal cat was ready to play and his favorite toy since he was four months old was the ducky. It was his favorite thing to do and whenever he was ready to play, he let me know by bringing the ducky from wherever it was in the house.

The game was rather simple. Use the “fishing pole” to hide ducky under the bed while Beau waited for the right time to pounce on the toy. Sometimes he liked to hide under the bed ruffle and wait for the ducky to swing by. Then at times he liked to have ducky up on the bed where it could hide under the covers or fly up in the air. That trick meant that Beau had to catch his prey in the air and bring it down to his level where he could show ducky that he was the king. The game fascinated him and it was played more than once through the day. Each time he brought the toy to me and begged to play.

Cats are known for their independence and usually when I want to spend some time with him in my lap, he could seem to care less. He will jump down and walk away. Then when I am really busy he becomes very insistent that he wants my attention. He will crawl over the computer desk, sit down on the bed while I am trying to fold clothes, or sit on the back of the rocker and put his paws in my hair. For some reason that satisfies him but the resulting hairdo is much less than perfect. But then that is why I like cats. I appreciate their personality and rather than make them behave I have to “read” their facial expressions or body language. I have the challenge of meeting them on their own terms.

There is a wonderful comparison between my cat and his antics and my relationship to God. Unlike my cat, I don’t have to get God’s attention. He is always there and hears me whenever I call upon Him. I can call upon Him and don’t have to wave anything back and forth to get His attention. He always has time for me and even when I have lost my way He still is there beside me. He knows my emotions and doesn’t have to play a guessing game to see if He can find me. Isn’t it great to know that God cares enough so that I always have His attention!