Empathy & stepping into my world

This is me being a counsellor! This is the chair my human sits in when she's 'working' with clients. It doesn't seem much like work to me ... she just sits here & listens to people. Sitting in a nice comfy seat, talking & listening ...

She tells me that it's not quite as simple as that; but I'm not so sure. Apparently she listens in a special way & tries to 'step into the client's world' so that she can understand exactly how things are for the client. Apparently humans don't always do this, & can be quite selfish, just understanding things from their own point of view. So when a counsellor is able to provide this special kind of understanding ... 'Empathy' I think it's called ... it can be very helpful.

I think it's good of my human to listen so well to her fellow humans ... & I have to say, she manages to listen to me quite well most of the time. She's good at stepping into my world & understanding my world ... so she must be quite good!!

Ouch!! Crackly, static shocks!!

I don't know what's going on with my human just now, but there's been a few times recently when she's been tickling my head & I've heard a little 'snap' sound!? It's usually around the tip of one of my ears & it not only 'cracks,' ... but it hurts!!  I don't know what she keeps doing to me ... must be one of these weird things that humans do, that no cat in its right mind would ever dream of doing.

I heard her talking about it the other day to someone ... so it's not just my imagination;  he hears and feels it too.  And I think it hurts her fingers too. She seems to think that it's some kind of 'static shock' or something.

But apparently, it doesn't just happen with me.  She thought there was something wrong with one of her light switches, because the same thing happened there.  But then it happened again, on her laptop.  And apparently she gets really loud & painful 'shocks' from her car door!?  And the other night, she was wearing those lovely pyjamas that I love to snuggle in to & they were all stuck to her legs.  You have no idea how stupid she looked! It's all apparently something to do with the same thing.

I don't know what we're going to do about ... or rather, what my human is going to do about ... but it's time it stopped cos I'm sick of my ears getting hurt.

I think it's something to do with all of this energy she seems to have found just now ... doing her PhD, her website, working, etc., etc.

 Somebody left her plugged in to the socket too long & she's got so much energy in her, it's leaking out ... but hopefully her battery might run down soon ... ?!?! 
 Or maybe, it's all that time she's been spending on her computer ... 

Hello !?! I'm here !?! ...

She's at it again!? Sat at her computer, working on her new website! Now I know that her website is important to her & that it's important that she gets it right ... BUT ... does that mean she has to ignore me!?

I've tried all sorts today to get some attention ... miaowing & demanding more cat food, treats, to go outside. And to be fair to my human, she has listened to me & kept getting up (a little grudgingly it seemed at times!?) & doing all of these things for me ... she is quite a well behaved human & does too what she's told, most of the time.

BUT ... she's been missing the point today. What I really want if for her to get off that stupid computer & either play with me or let me snuggle on her knee.

I got so fed up of trying to get her to notice me that I've finally just had to sit on the horrible hard desk in front of her computer so that she HAS to look at me & talk to me ...

Humans are funny creatures ...

My human never stops ... I get tired of seeing her working; with clients, on her computer on her websites, her blog, her research & PhD, reading, etc., etc.  

What all this means is that she doesn't give me the attention I deserve.  Her and I share lovely cuddles and play good games together sometimes ... but she spends more time with her work things than she does with me.  And I don't think that's fair!

Take today for instance ... she's been out all day.  She came home, did something on her computer, shut me out of her counselling room whilst she saw one of those client-things, had her tea, gave me a little cuddle, and then she's been working on her computer and with her books all night ...

I mean, look at this picture ... I had to squeeze my way on to her knee, pushing her arms and that book aside so that there was room for me on there.  That can't be right can it?

Mind you, I do learn a lot from her books and the things she looks at and writes on her computer ... I'll tell you a little bit about it all someday.  It's quite interesting all this stuff she reads about humans.  They're funny creatures, don't you think?  

And if she has to read lots of books to understand them (& herself, I guess), what chance do I have as a cat!?

Ssshh; don't tell my human where I am

If you look very carefully at the picture below, you might just be able to spot my eye peeping out! This is me snuggled in my human's duvet ... where else would a cat want to be on a horrible cold day like today?!

I'm also hiding ... so, ssshh, don't tell my human where I am. I'm sick of her going on & on about the computer & her new website. Getting frustrated when it doesn't do what she's trying to do ... or when she's just been too stupid to know how to work it properly. I manage it, don't I? So why can't she?!

Anyway, you might be pleased to hear ((I know I am cos it means I might get a little bit more attention) that's she's got a version of it up & running! You might like to have a look at it.

You can find it at www.therapywithsharon.co.uk

And make sure you don't miss the most important & best bit ... my page!! This blog!! Yes, my human has been very kind & made a link between this blog & her new website !!

Kind of her, don't you think?!

Oops ?!

My human does some funny things sometimes, so how was I meant to know what was going on when I went to use my litter tray (as you do!) & found it not there!? The floor was all wet & smelly too!

I thought I should investigate cos I was worried that someone had crept into our house when we were busy on the computer & stolen my litter tray. What would I have done then?

But phew! There it was in the bathroom! Sitting with my dinners & the kitchen bin .. I told you my human does stupid things didn't I?!

What was even more odd though was that there was no litter in my tray! Now that's never happened before! I wasn't sure what to do cos I don't know where litter comes from ... there must be a cat litter shop somewhere that my human goes to; but she's never taken me there! Which is a bit of a cheek isn't it? I mean, I'm the one who uses the litter, shouldn't I get to choose it? My human does a good job though; she always gets good stuff.

Well, what's a cat supposed to do? So there I was, quite happily minding my own business doing my business when my human came in & started laughing at me?

"Could you not have waited 2 minutes, Elsie?" she asked. I was just cleaning the floor (that's what the funny smell was!) & your litter tray!"

Well; how was I meant to know?

And of course, she then had to wash my litter tray out all over again! Oops!

But at least it's nice & clean now ...

Saturday snuggles on the sofa

I've been a bit fed up with my human this week ... she's been off work, so I assumed she'd be spending lots of time playing with me. No such luck though!

I know she wants to get this new website of hers up & running, but the amount of time she's spent on her computer has been ridiculous. I've had to keep sitting at her feet & shouting at her to remind her that I'm still there. And then, she has the cheek to complain about me disturbing her! A cat deserves some attention, doesn't she?!

I can though, to a degree, understand how addictive these computer things can be. I'm quite pleased with how many times I've been able to write on here this week ... mind you though, most of my posts have been written on my human's mobile phone whilst she's been too busy to be bothered to play with me!

She'd had enough of the computer tonight though! And it's been lovely because she & I have been able to sit together on the sofa.

I just love nights like this ... snuggly cuddles on the sofa with my human ...

Welcome to my new blog old followers ...

I just wanted to say a very special miaow & welcome to everyone who's joined me from my old blog.

I was quite happy over there, but my human persuaded me to move to this site.  I'm not sure why, but for once, I did as I was told.  It was quite good fun setting up this new blog & designing it just the way I wanted it.

Apparently, my being over here will make it easier to keep mine & my human's online lives under control ... we'll see about that!?  And, she's promised me a page on her new website www.therapywithsharon.co.uk which she's currently building.  It's taking her absolutely ages ... but from what I've seen of it so far, it's looking good!  She assures me that it will be up and running within the next few days ... I'm looking forward to seeing it!


Anyway, that's all I'm going to say for tonight ... it's been a long day & I'm ready for snuggles with my human before bedtime ...

Goodnight everyone & wishing you lots of furry, purry dreams ...

Lions ... am I not enough?!

I can't believe she's bought another one. Another book about lions!

My human went & fed a lion a few weeks back, & okay, I understand it must have been good. I mean a lion's just a bigger version of me ... & who wouldn't want more of me?

But since she came back she's been obsessed with them. Pictures, books, DVDs, TV programmes, cuddly toys ... they're all over the place.

If I didn't know just how gorgeous I am & just how much my human loves me I could begin to develop an inferiority complex.

A lion can never compete with me though. I mean, my human couldn't have one of them curled up on her knee, or snuggled into her in bed like I do, could she? And if one of those tried to help her with her computer work, they'd just break it wouldn't they?!

So, much as I'm getting a bit tired of all this lion stuff I don't think I've got anything to worry about, do I?!

Work gets in the way ...

My human often complains that I get in the way when she's trying to do her work. She tells me off for trying to sit on her knee when she's got her books or laptop on it. I get wrong for jumping on her keyboard when she's working on her computer!

Or this morning, I just wanted a cuddle & she was telling me there wasn't room on her knee whilst she was sitting at her desk ...

Well, look; I proved her wrong didn't I?! All she had to do was push her chair out & there was plenty of room for me! Okay,she might have to stretch over me a bit, but surely that's a small price to pay for having me snuggled, purring on her knee?

And anyway ... I think it's about time she stopped doing this work thing anyway & concentrated on the important things in life ... me!!

Working on our PhD

This is me helping my human with her work. She's writing a PhD thesis & I thought it was very kind of me to offer to help her ...

She didn't seem to think so though? I don't understand why ...

I'm much more fun to play with than a computer keyboard ...

Musical Musings

Silly little human doesn't even know how to hold a guitar properly!

At least my human knows what to do & can make it sound nice ... unlike the little one !

Not a happy cat ...

This is me in the huff!

I'm not happy! My human has allowed that silly little human she calls Lucy into our home again. I don't know where she comes from, but she comes here sometimes & just takes over the place. Toys scattered all over the floor, crayons, paper, pencils ... everywhere! And she's not even happy when I play with them!

I'm staying here all night in the huff ...

Talking with my human . . .

My human and I are very best friends, and both her & I thought that every other cat and human relationship worked the same way.  It seems that we were wrong though.

Snuggling with my human

At the weekend, I had a bit of an embarrassing problem … I hope you’ll not be too shocked by me talking about it on here!?  I came down with cystitis.  I’ve had it before, so I remembered how nasty and uncomfortable it is in my tummy and little girlie bits.  I didn’t want to suffer any longer than I had to so I knew that I had to be brave and just tell my human what was happening.

I knew it would be fine, because she’s lovely … but it’s still a little bit embarrassing!  But I knew she would help me fix it so I just had to be brave …

I went into her room where she was playing on her computer & I told her (with lots of insistent miaowing) that I needed her to come with me.  She soon got the message (she’s very good at listening to me) and came with me.  I think at first though, she thought I was asking her to open the door for me so I could go outside … she still sometimes gets it wrong when I talk to her; you’d think we were speaking a different language!  As I’ll tell you later, I understand her perfectly clearly!

Anyway, I just kept walking past the door & went to my litter tray.  Obviously, she knew something was wrong, because as you know, us cats don’t like to be watched whilst we’re ‘busy.’  I had to suffer the indignity of her watching me whilst I  … well; you know what.  I told you this was embarrassing!?!  She could see it was uncomfortable for me (the pained expression on my face was a bit of a give away) and so afterwards, she took a look & noticed the diluted blood (ouch!!) on the litter. 

As I’ve already told you, I’ve had cystitis before, and of course she remembered, so she phoned the vet (they’re an odd species, but somehow have the power to make us poorly cats all better!) & we went in that horrible moving thing which makes me cry all the time till it stops.

When we got to the vet … yet more indignity as he examined me.  He asked my human how she’d known I had a problem, and when she said to him that I’d told her, he just looked at her as if she was mad!  What’s odd about that?!  Don’t all humans and cats talk to each other?  She had to explain to him exactly how I’d told her … the vet was amazed! He said it was very unusual and that she and I must be very intune with each other !?!

My human and I were both shocked.  We thought it was just normal.  If it’s not, then I worry about all of those poor lonely humans out there who aren’t fully appreciating their feline friends!

Sprawled on my human's knee

And then last night, we had another moment.  I’d ran into my human’s study where she was talking to another human.  And as you do, I just ran and jumped up onto this other human knee … it looked like a very comfortable human knee.   I made myself comfortable and she was giving me wonderful head tickles; so wonderful I got lost in the pleasure for a while.  If I’m honest, I’d drifted off & thought I was on my human’s knee … she’s very good at the head tickle, and if she’d not getting it quite right, I just push my head into the right position!  She knows what I’m telling her & shifts her fingers to suit me!

Anyway, I suddenly realised where I was!  “Oops!  I’m not on my human’s knee … she’s sitting over there on the other side of the room!  Oops!”

I felt guilty and a bit sorry for her, so I jumped straight off & ran across to her, rubbing my head around her legs, telling her that I was sorry that I’d been unfaithful. 

She said to me, “It’s okay, you’re allowed to sit on there!”

 “Phew!” I thought.  “What a relief.  I hadn’t wanted to upset my human; she irritates me at times, but I do love her!”

So, after that, I just turned and jumped straight back on the client’s knee.  She laughed though!?  And she said to my human; “Wow!  That was amazing; you’d think she’d really understood what you’d said!  You told her she was allowed and she came straight back!”

Stupid human!  Of course I understood!  What does she think I am?  A dog?!

Welcome to Mews and Musings . . .

Before I start, I have to let you know that the musings on this blog are entirely my own thoughts …  I'm not letting my human take any of the credit!

Let me introduce myself … Little Miss Elsie Cat is my name & I share a warm, comfortable house with my human. She’s a nice, kind human most of the time, although sometimes I find myself exasperated by her. She let me move in with her some time ago after my previous humans began to forget feeding me & left me outside in that horrible cold white stuff that sometimes falls out of the sky. She started giving me food and let me check out her home before I decided to move in and stay …

Me; hard at work 

I’ve been happy there since I moved in, but my human gets up to some odd stuff at times; I’m not really sure what she does, but at different times on most days I get shut out of the room she calls her “counselling room”. She gives me no explanation for this rude behaviour except to say that she has “clients” … whatever they might be!?! I get shut in the back end of the house and I hear other people come into our house, but I have no idea who they are. By the time she opens the door to let me out, they’ve gone!? Why won’t she let me meet them? I’m sure I could be helpful if she’d only let me in there.

Sometimes, when I’ve been able to open the door that shuts me into the back end of the house I’ve tried to get into the room when she’s with these “clients” but she won’t open the door. And she makes sure that it’s shut tight so I can’t open it by myself. And even if I use my loudest voice she just ignores my mews. Which is odd because when she’s not shut in that room she mostly listens to me (even if she doesn’t always do what I say immediately).

From listening to her talk to these “clients” and watching other things she does (usually on one of those things she calls a “computer” or a “laptop”) I’ve worked out that she does something called “counselling” or “therapy” in there. Some of the things she talks about or reads about seem really interesting … some of them just seem silly to my superior feline intelligence. I always make sure I read what she’s reading in her books or on her computer or laptop … You’d think she’d be happy that I take such an interest in what she’s doing, but she seems to get irritated when I sit on her books or in front of the computer screen. But where else am I meant to sit to read them?!

My human has one of these blogs on which she writes some interesting stuff, and I decided that I wanted one too. So one day when she was in ‘that’ room, I set this blog for myself up on her laptop. Computer keys are so much easier for me to get my paws around than pens are; I keep trying to write with the pens she leaves lying around, but I just can’t get a grasp on them. My human thinks I’m just chasing her pens around the room but I’m not. I’m trying to teach myself to write, but don’t tell anyone else that ’cause it’s not cool for a cat to admit to not being able to do something.

So, “Mews and Musings” is my blog and on it I’m going to write about my musings on my life with my human and the things that she says, does, reads and writes about. I expect that a lot of my entries will be my thoughts about the “therapy” she does, and reads and writes about, because that stuff fascinates me … even if it doesn’t always make sense to my obviously superior feline mind.

I hope you enjoy reading my musings … or should that be “mews-ings” … ?