Buddy and Molly

I guess its time for me to admit that Molly and I are having problems with Buddy. Each morning he gets up all excited and full of himself because he just loves his first breakfast. Then he runs to the living room because he is very excited to play laser mouse. After that, he goes and finishes his breakfast. Then he spends the day napping, cuddling and being held. Even at the end of the day, when he senses its bedtime he runs to the bedroom in happy anticipation of another favorite time of day.

As Molly explains it, Buddy wants the rewards of being a cat without putting in the work of a cat.

For example, its a cat's responsibility to turn away from some meals, just because. At playtime, one must take an extremely long time to set up an attack...at least as much time as it takes for staff's head to explode. And several times a day, a cat is responsible for yeowing with great urgency for apparently no reason...at least enough to make staff's head explode. And at bedtime, a cat must do whatever is necessary to keep staff up, such as exploring the hallway closet and knocking items down to the floor. It is a cat's responsibility to teach staff not to become attached to things. And one of the hardest jobs for a cat is to consistently maintain a look of "nice try" regardless of how much one is enjoying oneself.

So yes, Molly and I are at our wits end trying to explain to Buddy that we will not be happy until he is completely miserable.