There was a time when I waited for Sunday. After a week of work, and I worked hard, a day of rest was very welcome. I loved to sleep. I am not an atheist, and I go to church maybe once a year for midnight mass on Christmas eve. So I'm not a churchgoer basically. Therefore Sundays did not mean that I was seated in the pews in church listening to the pastor's sermon. The pastor, in fact, would not recognise me until my sister, who goes more often to church, introduced me as her brother after Christmas Eve mass. I also had a problem sleeping and would lie awake at nights trying desperately trying to fall asleep. I tried counting sheep and it never worked. I also tried those sleeping videos on YouTube. I listened \ and felt bored. They were not music I was familiar with and they kept my eyelids firmly apart. Even a safe tranquillizer that my doctor prescribed did not have any effect. The only thing to do then was to switch on
A friend once asked me if I was catatonic. I knew for certain that I was not dogmatic.
In 'dogmatic' you realise there is 'matic' something like automatic. Auto slobbering, auto barking and more.
But with 'catatonic' you see that 'tonic is part of the ball game. You don't get dogmatic slobbering. The tonic part of the cat is very pleasing. It might chew up your socks. You should have changed the smelly things many months ago anyway. Just don't blame the cat, it is just trying to keep the air at home fresh.
The cat has knowledge of where its favourite food is and will try to nick it. It points to the intelligent and the efficient burglar. There are cat burglars you know; a thief who enters a building by climbing to an upper storey, an act learnt from a cat. That's what cats do in innocence, but the cat is not a burglar. A cat is a killer looking for innocent birds. But they leave the two-legged ones alone or even win their affection.
In dogmatic, however large their size, they can match the cat in walking soundlessly. But aroused, sensing danger and nervous they will crash against the dinner table, ricochet off the chair, bump against the table lamp and create a shindig when you are at the last stage of counting sheep before falling asleep.
The cat, on the other hand, will go back to sleep and in rare cases rescue babies when the house catches fire. They are not dogmatic about it. It is part of their indifferent nature.
The dog will be drooling all over you once you are back home. Not the cat, he will wait to be called. He knows his worth and is much more regal than a dog.
Another thing about cats is that though they have a keen sense of smell, they don't smell, while dogs do.
In a cat and dog encounter, it is the dog that is more likely to back foot on its butt. A cat raising its hackles is another matter altogether. A few fierce spits thrown in does not encourage the dog one bit. In fact, it doesn't want to get bitten. That's from where the phrase 'once bitten, twice shy' may have originated, but I can't vouch for it.
Dogs are not shy, they can be friendly and aggressive. But once bitten by a cat they seem to go under the spell of chloroform. It takes a few trips to the psychiatrist's couch to restore a pooch's confidence. But the dog can always suffer a relapse. You can't blame the cat for it.
You can choose between cats and dogs. Cats will inevitably accompany you to the loo and keep staring at you till you are ready to step out. The dog is more of an outdoor buff. He keeps his master or mistress on a leash and ensures that they carry a small plastic shovel with them if his bowels come under sudden strain.
Cats love to scratch, so do dogs. But cats like to scratch the new furniture especially since they don't smell their scent on it. Dogs prefer scratching at the door when locked out. They prefer to leave the furniture alone.
Cats are great bird watchers and give you presents if they love you enough. Dogs are bird watchers too; the ones in slacks and tight blouses.
And that's catatonic versus dogmatic.
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