Some ignore the alarm clock and sleep in as long as they feel like it. Maybe get up a little later and have a good legs and arms stretch and maybe twist the head around to loosen up the neck muscles, and then lie back down and get comfortable again; and then maybe later gettin’ up for a quick bit of food and a lap of water, then back to that comfortable position in the layin’ position, sometimes moving into the sun spot on the floor peering through a window. Ahh, retired life can be just great for many seniors; plenty of rest and very few worries, and no schedule to follow.
This is the way many seniors want to spend their retirement, and many do: Doing nothing, no worries, a day-to-day lifestyle, catching some sun rays when they can, and staying out of the rain. Perfect. But in this case we are not discussing their habits; we are describing the life of their cat. If they follow the cat and imitate its lifestyle, they will be in perfect harmony with the laid back life. “Time spent with cats is never wasted,” Sigmund Freud. If he said it, then it must be true, or to extend that thought — imitating a cat is not a waste of time, and that is good for seniors.
A couple of things a senior should not imitate when living like a cat: one is using a cat box in the corner of the kitchen. That is not wise and can get pretty messy and smelly. When company comes over they will start the paperwork to have the senior transferred to a real box with locked doors and a bathroom down the hall, so don’t hide behind the couch like the cat does.
Using fingernails to scratch and shred the curtains and sides of the couch and easy chairs is a no-no. Raised eyebrows from your company and maybe even your companion can cause all kinds of cat fights.
Now senior male retirees must be particularly careful if they think they can imitate the tomcat and prowl at night. Tipping over garbage cans looking for bits of food is not only negative as well as messy, but it can inspire the neighbors to call the police or even the humane society and report a dirty old man creating a mess; or a large cat that has brought along his pet man.
But the other trouble a senior male tomcat can get into is carousing around looking for those of the female species. The mates for those female species may not like what is happening and become aggressive or even violent in a protective sense of the word. In other words, males must be careful of this imitation facet of being like a cat. “Cats are intended to teach us that not everything in nature has a function,” said Garrison Keillor, or to extend this thought, functions must be placed in the proper place, and a male senior on the back fence is not the real nature of things.
They can be lovey-dovey and curl up on the foot of your bed and warm your feet on a cold night. Sometimes they may snuggle up to the hair on the top of your head as you snooze, to keep warm. Again this is describing habits of the cat and not a senior, although some mama seniors have been accused of doing the same thing when they visit the kids.
“Cats have it all – admiration, and endless sleep, and company only when they want it,” Rod McKuen said, but he could have been talking about many of those dedicated retired seniors.
Patrick M. Kennedy does full-service editing and writing and has published several books. http://www.abetterword.com/ and http://www.funwithretirement.com/