If you’ve never met my beloved cat, Sydney, behold a photo of the princess herself, grooming in all her glory. (Please note by the computer screen in the background that this stunt takes place literally as I type this very blog post, hence making it increasingly difficult considering that the caps lock key keeps getting pushed inadvertently — see the sentence below for further evidence.)

She’s quite the socialite, for a feliNQ

Ahem. Let’s try that again, shall we?

She’s quite the socialite for a feline. Although, her personality comes with a few annoying quirks. One in particular I’ve never been able to figure out: she meows incessantly for food — even after she’s been fed.

I’ve tried everything. Not feeding her, thus not rewarding the behavior. Squirting her in the face with water. (Cats hate water, supposedly.) Startling her with loud noises. Nothing works. Nothing, I tell you.

So yesterday, my roommate presents me with a gift: a book entitled Cat Talk by Sonya Fitzpatrick, The Pet Psychic. (I kid you not.) Though it’s actually something of a joke, I thought there just might be some tidbit of info that could prove helpful in addressing the meowing issue.

I proceed to peruse the table of contents and my eyes land on chapter 5, “Attitude Problems and Disruptive Behavior.” Ah-ha! I say to myself and flip to page 104, where Ms. Fitzpatrick has conveniently outlined 15 things that can lead to disruptive cat behavior. The list is followed by “stories that show a cat’s point of view” and a gentle reminder that “it’s always a cat with a human problem, not a human with a cat problem.”

Huh. Wonder what my problem is.