When Monika curls up beside me, her tail thumps incessantly until I find just the right spot to scritch her. Petting her isn't enough; she demands a good scritching. Under the chin, along the side of her face, and on her snout, right between her eyes--those are the favorite spots. That is when the tail stops twitching, and curls around her body.
As far as Monika is concerned, I could spend the rest of my life just scritching her. I could take breaks when she's in the litter box, and possibly when she's eating, although even then, it might help her digest. Certainly the rest of the time, though, should be devotd to her--just because she's sleeping is no reason she shouldn't be getting her due attention.
Fortunately, scritching Monika makes me happy, too. I love watching her eyes scrunch shut as she drifts off to her happy place, and hearing the gentle, machine-like whir of her purring. It may not be what I want to do as my life's work, but hey, at least I'm making somebody happy, even if it's just a cat.
