Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Cat Food, Biblically Speaking

Last night, I was so exhausted that I inadvertently provided a biblical experience for the cats by spilling an abundance of dry cat food onto the kitchen floor. The sixteenth chapter of Exodus came to mind as this was happening. But if you think I'm referring to the raining manna from heaven part, you'd be only partly right.

I had a more nuanced reaction as I watched my kitties scramble, jockey, and joust for nuggets of Meow Mix Wholesome Goodness scattering far and wide. My memory conjured up the lead for that story. More specifically, I recalled the grumbling and melodrama among the ancient Israelites. Why did you drag us out of Egypt? Better off dead back in Egypt than starving here in this desert. (Exodus 16:2-3).

Please excuse my reckless disregard for the second commandment, but I swear the Israelites' seemingly endless meowing and growling in Exodus about physical sustenance is exactly what goes on around here. Indeed, my cats reenact the seventeenth chapter of Exodus so frequently, I'm thinking of naming their water bowls "Massah" and "Meribah."

This morning, I woke up to a kitchen floor that had been licked somewhat clean. I also woke up to more tribal caterwauling for food and water. I can't imagine enduring forty years of this, which is why I probably would've forgiven Moses for the hissy fit that cost him entrance into the promised land (Numbers 20:2-12).