Sarcasm Is Lost On A Cat

We all do things we come to regret. And in those moments of regret come moments of self-reflection.

Questions like “why did I do that?” help us learn and grow. I’m not here to enlighten you with something I learned in one of those moments. I just needed a way to get in to my topic.

In the middle of the night, I woke up thirsty. I staggered into the kitchen for some water.

Boog, seemingly unfazed by the incident.

It was three a.m., so the details of what happened next are a bit hazy, as if they were part of a dream. I’m certain it wasn’t a dream because there was a bottle of water on my nightstand this morning.

But as I stood in the kitchen in the early morning darkness, enjoying the first sips of my lemon seltzer water, our cat entered the room. He’s a friendly sort. Usually I am too, but apparently I’m not at that time of morning.

I spoke earlier of regret. It would be an overstatement to say that as I walked back to the bedroom I had a moment of regret. I didn’t do anything severe enough to warrant that. But there was some self-reflection.

And I was still questioning myself as I got back in bed. My wife rolled over and checked on me, so I admitted what was on my mind.

“I was just sarcastic to the cat”, I told her.

She said something like “ok” right before she went back to sleep. My wife is a woman of few words at three in the morning. I don’t think she should regret that or even have a second thought about it…and I’m not being sarcastic in saying so.

Like I said, I didn’t really do something that is worthy of regret. The cat’s English proficiency isn’t high enough that my sarcasm insulted or embarrassed him. He still likes me, as long as there is food in his bowl four times per day.

But the part of me that looks inward wonders why I’d drop sarcasm on a cat.

That part of me looks inward and it finds no answers.

Yeah, as if it needed them.

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