THE FAT CAT SYNDROME

TOLSTOY AS A YOUNG BOY

If you have ever had a cat as a companion, you will know what I mean. Cats are super-intelligent, and thus, they are not easy to please.

I once had a extraordinarily smart cat whose name was Tolstoy. Tolstoy spent his nights outside with his friends, talking about literature and the weaknesses of humans.

In the morning he returned, generally a little worse for wear– a torn ear, a red eye, etc., but always very hungry.

I would prepare him his breakfast from left over food from my supper. Some pieces of meat or cheese, and a plate of milk. I never cooked too much, because I was afraid he would get obese.

But, then, one day, I had some pieces of veal liver left over. I gave him the pieces and I was amazed at the speed that he ate them. I decided that I would buy him some liver, because it was inexpensive and very easy to cook.

Soon, I was feeding him liver every day, because he took such pleasure in eating it and always made sounds of pleasure when he was eating and sounds of “More!” when he finished his plate.

Little by little he began to gain weight. I ignored this, telling myself that liver was good for him, it made blood, and in his nightly discussions he needed a lot of energy.

Soon Tolstoy was a fat cat.

TOLSTOY WITH REMOTE CONTROL AND NIGHTLY BEER

Finally, I decided feeding a cat one source of food was not good, even if it was liver. Tolstoy should be on a healthy well rounded diet, with fish, veggies and fruit. More importantly, the price of liver had shot up, as people decided that veal was an excellent meat.

So, one day, instead of putting veal liver on his plate, I put a tin of canned fish. The label had a picture of a smiling cat eating the fish.

Tolstoy went to the dish and smelled it. He then, instantly looked at me.

I smiled. Fish, I said. It’s good for you. High in Omega 3 and Omega 6.

Tolstoy put his nose up in the air. Evidently the fish had a bad odor. He started to walk away.

I stopped him and petted him. “Try the fish”, I said. And I pushed the fish under his nose. He looked at the fish, stepped over it, and then pretended to bury it with his paws, as though he had made feces.

I shook my head. “Not good. But when he get’s hungry, he’ll eat that fish”.

You must know the rest…Day after day he would bury the fish. He got thinner and thinner.

THERE’S NOTHING TO EAT!

I, of course, got more stubborn. He’s only a cat, and he’s starving.

What would he do in the jungle? But, he was not in the jungle. He had known the good times.

Each day he would look at me as he buried the fish. One of us would have to give in. Of course, I gave in. After all, who can kill such an intelligent cat?

Today, we are seeing the human equivalents of Tolstoy. People in the U.S., and Europe are unemployed and deep in debt.

Cleveland, Ohio is a cesspool of unemployed workers. It is difficult to understand how the people there stay alive. And yet, one day I had to have some work done on an elderly relative’s house.

When I inquired about the cost, I was astounded to learn that it was as high as it had ever been!

When I asked a friend, how could the unemployed demand so much, he answered: They’re spoiled. That’s how much they got for twenty years. They are not about to change.

And, in Europe today, workers walk the streets without work, living on the small payments that their governments hand out.

Yet, if you ask these workers to work for less, the answer will be: “No!”

In the U.S., in Greece, in Spain, in Portugal, wherever you go, you see The Fat Cat Syndrome.

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