Kitty Litter Ethics

George in Bliss 

If there were to be a universal sound depicting peace, I would surely vote for the purr. Barbara L. Diamond

I have been cat-sitting this week. I love being the temporary home for special kitties, felines who are loved by friends who want someone who will love their animals when they are going out of town. I’m no professional cat-sitter. I just have certain favorite kitties that I am happy to host in my home for certain favorite friends. The two I am caring for this week have the fond aliases of “Kitty Boy Litterfoot” and “Zen Purr Master.” One is a very sweet independent male kitty who is a Tarzan muscle boy. The other is a soft ball of fur who loves to snuggle next to me and allows me to stroke her in the right kitty places. She isn’t a lap cat (I love lap cats) but she does honor me with her trust, and will sleep in purrfect peace on my bed at night. She also has a penchant for jumping on the desk while I'm trying to type, letting me know that my attention needs to be placed on more important things (like petting her!). 

There is all the daily work that comes with kitties. Kitty Boy needs his daily meds (though he’s easy to dose, as he just laps up anything I give him). Then there’s cat food. Dry is simple. Wet—well, it pleases the cats. Not my idea of gourmet dinner, but I’m not a cat. I just make yummy noises when I’m dishing it up, and they come running. 

Cleaning the litter box, though not one of my favorite duties in the world, can be the occasion for some deep thinking (along with scooping the deep poop). I have thought about reasons for keeping the litter box tidy and how it parallels certain areas of my life that need regular attention. Here is one of my musings on the ethics of kitty litter duty. 

Every life/business/household is like a cat, and every life/business/household has a kitty litter box. It's the nature of things. And every day, someone has to scoop the poop and clean up the kitty litter box so the cat can do its business. 

Good kitty litter ethics means keeping the box clean and just doing the work without complaining. Bad kitty litter ethics will ignore or gloss over the box and avoid the work. Instead, they'll shake the box to make it look nice and clean on the surface, but when kitty needs to do its earthy business (just a normal day of doo doo), it digs and finds those hidden turds, the petrified waste still needing to be attended to. And if this goes on too long, the box will smell and the kitty will find other, less appropriate places to do its natural business.

Good ethics: happy cat, purring in your lap, clean house, and everything working as it should work
Bad ethics: uneasy cat, something smelly coming from the corner, and an unhappy household

Sometimes it's just that the kid in charge of the litter box forgot, shirked, or is immature. Sometimes it's someone who isn't bothered by dirty kitty litter smells and waits for a long time to change the kitty litter box. Sometimes it’s someone too ethereal to notice kitty litter, or someone too proud to stoop and scoop. And sometimes it's someone who is unaware or abusive. But no business is without kitty litter issues, so you might as well work with people who like to keep the cat happy and the house clean.

So next time something doesn’t “smell right,” check out the kitty litter box and see who’s been taking care of business. 

•••••

And for a change of pace, here is a meditation I wrote for myself back in May. I was in the midst of writing a new book that will be coming out around Thanksgiving 2013 (more later on that and other projects I’m getting ready to release) and decided I wanted an affirmative prayer to help me remember what is important in my creative work. 

In this precious morning time I fill my spirit and prepare for a productive and celebratory day. I love to write inspired copy that is the equivalent of calling dolphins, whispering to horses, singing to the stars, and drawing the beloved ones I serve with love and joy and peace. I am visualizing that abundant good comes, and then, like a cat purring as it is stroked, sends out even more good vibrations to those I love and serve. I am setting my intentions in a more loving, peaceful, and joyous way than I have ever intended before, and I include all in that circle of intention. I am including the readers I create for, the clients I serve, the people I meet, the partnerships I form, the beloveds I tenderly care for, and I include myself as well. We are all drawn into an enchanted circle of bliss, ecstasy, and wonder. My writing sings as it reaches straight to the heart, from my heart. It is a language and lyric, a song that I can learn, memorize, and sing for my readers, for the earth, for the light and life of all creation. My work is not just earning a living, though I am blessed with a wonderful and prosperous living. My work is an expression of love. And I participate in bringing a higher consciousness to all, nurturing the spirit, and bringing ecstasy, wonder, and beauty into fullness of being. 
And so it is.