Cats Are Also Con Artists

When I was at a training one day, the psychologist leading the workshop told us that all cats have Aspergers. There's even a book about it.  I don't know about that, since one of the criteria for Aspergers involves unusual speech and language, but who am I to argue with a PhD?   He's the professional. After all, I paid to hear what he had to say in order to get continuing education hours, so he has to be right.  Right? 

Cats do have their idiosyncrasies, however.  We call it idiosyncratic, I've noticed, when we have no idea what the heck is going on.  But I can admit that my cats certainly meet the definition of idiosyncratic.  But there's a method to their madness, I've noticed.

For instance, our youngest cat, Zena, seems to adore Morris, the oldest cat.  As soon as she sees the old guy, she runs right up to him and rubs her head under his chin.  He tries to pull back, but she manages to rub his chin three or four times before his 'lightning fast' reflexes process it.  When I saw that, I thought "Awwww! She loves Morris. How sweet!"

Except it's not really. 

Every night, Morris gets a treat.  We've been doing this for years.  It's his version of a bedtime snack; he eats his three little squares and then he heads off to find a spot to snooze.  On this particular night, I put Morris' treats out for him, and waited for him to eat them. Suddenly Zena is there, swooping underneath that fuzzy yellow chin, once, twice, three times.  Then she runs off. 

And the treats were gone, too.  I didn't even see her take them!  Neither did Morris--he actually had his mouth open to bite for them.  He might have thought that he ate them himself.  You never know with Morris; he has never been very sharp.

Still, my illusions about how my kitties all love each other dies hard.  That's what I get for putting human feelings onto feline form!